SASL - A Teacher, Friend & Family Resource for Beginners - Basic SASL Vocabulary Kit

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel

SASL is an introductory South African Sign Language vocabulary curriculum designed for beginners, especially teachers and families of deaf or hard of hearing children. The resource provides quick, easy reference guidance across foundational topics including the alphabet, numbers, finger reference, and thematic vocabulary areas such as animals, routines, emotions, family, food, home, and daily conversation. It also includes practical learning advice on handshape, movement direction, one- vs. two-handed signs, fingerspelling, and using nouns and verbs in short sentences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages336

Reading Time14 h 7 min

AccessFree to download

Welcome & thanks

Introduction Letters

Alphabet

Numbers

Finger reference

Themes

Animals

Bath routine

Beach

Birthday

Clothing

Colours

Days and calender

Deafness

Descriptions

Emotions & Feelings

Family & People

Food, Fruit, Veggies & Treats

Home

Manners

Money

Months

Nature, Seasons & Weather

Occupations & Places

Pronouns

Question words

Safety

Sport

Toys

Transport

Verbs & Instructions

Miscellaneous words

Basic conversation

SASL A teacher, friend & family resource for beginners Quick and easy reference to learning South African signs with SASL, English, Zulu & Afrikaans A special word of THANKS A teacher, friend & family resource for beginners We have loved working on this project, as it has been a fun and collaborative project - a labour of love for all of us as we share a dream ... a happy and fulfilling life for all our deaf and hard of hearing children . The Centre for Deaf Studies would like to thank our two collaborators on this project, Einsteinhands and Thrive. Along with a huge thanks to the members of the Deaf community for their input and especially Monique Sutcliffe. Thank you to Delia van Zyl, Emma Segoati & Gemimi Masienyane, our 3 models, the graphic designer; Charmaine Jordaan as well as the Photographer, Marais Nell INDEX PAGE Page Welcome & thanks 1-2 Introduction Letters 3-14 Alphabet 15-17 Numbers 18-19 Finger reference 20 Themes 1. Animals 21-36 2. Bath routine 37-42 3. Beach 43-47 4. Birthday 48-51 5. Clothing 52-59 6. Colours 60-66 7. Days and calender 67-76 8. Deafness 77-79 9. Descriptions 80-105 10. Emotions & Feelings 106-116 11. Family & People 117-127 12. Food, Fruit, Veggies & Treats 128-164 Page 13. Home 165-180 14. Manners 181-184 15. Money 185-189 16. Months 190-200 17. Nature, Seasons & Weather 201-213 18. Occupations & Places 214-222 19. Pronouns 223-226 20. Question words 227-232 21. Safety 233-240 22. Sport 241-246 23. Toys 247-252 24. Transport 253-261 25. Verbs & Instructions 262-284 26. Miscellaneous words 285-292 27. Basic conversation 293-302 BASIC SASL VOCABULARY KIT Welcome to our introductory South African Sign Language (SASL) vocabulary curriculum. We are so excited to have developed this foundational SASL vocabulary kit of just over 300 words along with “Einstein Hands” as we know that every Teacher, Parent and family member of a deaf or hard of hearing child needs some basic building blocks of vocabulary in this new language, South African Sign Language. This set of vocabulary has been developed with specific core themes in mind; themes that all teachers, families and friends can use to begin communicating with their young deaf child. This resource has not been developed to serve as a dictionary, but rather as a foundational resource as you start to learn this rich and beautiful language. South African Sign Language, as with all other languages in South Africa, has a large and varied vocabulary and so it wont surprise you that there are variations and differences to some of the signs you will learn here . I would love to share with you some examples of how we hope you will be able to use this curriculum, but would also like to hear from you, as you begin to play with and become creative with these first 300 signs. • Build basic vocabulary before you even need to communicate – choose one theme a week/ a month and read through them, signing and saying each word/ sign out loud. Sit in front of a mirror and copy the sign and then consider if it looks the way you see it in the book. Focus on your handshape and the direction of your hand, as the clarity of your signing is as important as pronouncing a word correctly. If thereis any movement in the sign, the picture will have an arrow showing you the direction of the movement. • Sign Language has both one-handed and two-handed signs and one usually signs one-handed signs with the dominant hand (the hand you write with) and then in two-handed signs, your dominant hand is usually the one that is the most active. • Fingerspelling (A-Z) and numbers (1-10) are usually signed with your dominant hand and it’s a good idea to start practicing both your alphabet and numbers so that you become fluent before you even need to use it with your young learner / child. As with hearing children, spelling does not become a core part of communicat

FAQs

What is the Basic SASL Vocabulary Kit intended for?

It is an introductory SASL vocabulary curriculum built as foundational language “building blocks” for teachers, parents, and family members of deaf or hard of hearing children.

How should beginners practice the vocabulary in this kit?

Choose a theme to study regularly (e.g., one theme a week or month), sign and say each word clearly, and use a mirror to copy handshape and movement direction.

Does the resource treat signs as just single words?

No. It encourages natural communication in short sentences by noting nouns and verbs and using them in statements, questions, and directive examples.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Hazel