Sign language signs and polysemous words. We teach sign language #21

Have you ever thought about words in Polish that have many meanings? And is it the same in sign language? Yes or no? Yes! In sign language we also have signs where one character has many meanings, just like in Polish, one word can have many different signs in sign language. Are you curious about examples? I’m already showing.

Polysemous words – one word in Polish, many signs in sign language

Polish word MASK (MASKA): surgical, medical mask; diving mask; mask for medical procedures; carnival mask, fancy dress; welding mask (helmet); hood car. You see what a variety! And in Polish, only one word! Do you want more examples?

MOUSE: mouse, animal; computer mouse.

The Polish word “ZAMEK“: castle, palace, building; zipper – fastening, e.g. in clothes (also a sweatshirt); lock on the door.

Polish word “PARA“: steam, e.g. water vapor, evaporation effect; couple, two people.

Polish word “GOLF“: turtleneck; golf – sport.

Polish word “POKÓJ“: room; peace, respite.

SPRAY: spray, paint, graffiti; hair spray; nasal spray; spray, mouth freshener.

You see, a lot of interesting meanings, right?

Polysign – one sign in sign language, many words in Polish

Now I will show you the opposite situation, i.e. one sign sign, which has many equivalents in Polish.

ZERO as a number and the letter “o” in the alphabet.

KINDERGARTEN, a place for children before school education. This is how we will show “kindergarten”, but we can also sign it like this… and yes…. MUSIC, or art, perceiving sounds.

AUNT, family member, uncle’s wife. There is also a second sign for “aunt”, such… CRIMINAL, a person who does evil.

ALCOHOL, i.e. vodka, beer, wine, etc. CURVES, which is not straight.

ROLL, i.e. bread, food. BULGARIA, a country in Europe.

GREEN color. TRYING – whether something can be done or not. ESTONIA, a country in Europe.

PLAN – preparation, planning and subsequent execution of activities. DANCE, or body movement to music.

METAL, e.g. a nail. IRON, e.g. in chemistry. MEMBER, e.g. family. VITAMIN, e.g. tablets to strengthen the body.

WHITE color. BIELSKO-BIAŁA, a city in Poland.

APPLE, red food FRUIT, various foods in general.

PAIN, e.g. in the hand after an impact. DIRECTOR, an important figure at school.

YELLOW color. HOW? Question.

ENGLISH, ENGLAND, country, language. VIOLET, color. We can also sign “Violet” differently: (3 different characters).

WEATHER, e.g. rainfall, sun or rainbow, just nice weather. FACE as part of the body.

ITALY, state. EXERCISES, written or physical.

THE CAPITAL, e.g. Warsaw. CENTER – not right, not left, just center, in the middle.

ANIMAL, e.g. rabbit, dog, cat. NATURE – plants, fungi, trees, animals.

NATION, state. RADOM, a city in Poland.

HIGH SCHOOL, the next level of the school. IMITATE, that is to do something on purpose.

As you can see, sometimes there is one word in Polish that can be expressed differently in sign language, and sometimes there is one character in sign that has multiple meanings in the spoken language. It is enough to understand the context of what is said in sign language. Likewise, in any language with which we feel identical, we know what’s going on. I hope that I helped you and you recognize the meaning of the signs. See you later.