I decided that I'd start using my ASL Book of Mormon to practice my receptive skill (very small). I'm finding that I understand most of the signs and am getting a feel for more of the pure ASL grammar.

However, there's a sign that I'm confused as to what it means and why it is there. I saw it a lot this morning in 1 Nephi 4. It looks like a combination sign of THINK and SAME where same is signed with the same hand that just signed THINK. It's the SAME where you use a Y-hand facing palm down.

I was thinking that it meant 'agree' but I'm not sure and it doesn't seem to be meaning that in all the places I've seen it.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Greta

I'm not exactly sure where you're looking (chapter and verse next time would help), but here's what I saw that was close to what you said:

1 Nep 4:2 (timecode 01:39): (2h)SO (2h)COME WE/US STRONG IDEA+SAME-AS MOSES ("Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses...)

1 Nep 4:3 (timecode 02:46): CAN HELP US ESCAPE SAFE IDEA+SAME-AS OUR FATHER LONG-AGO godHELP ESCAPE SAFE ("able to deliver us, even as our fathers...")

(I think that's the one you're looking for.)

IDEA+SAME-AS is a compound sign, meaning the first sign elides into the latter sign; other parallel compound signs might be TRUE+WORK or LOOK+SAME-AS. Distinctively, the sign isn't pronounced as two individual signs (IDEA and SAME-AS), but as "one" sign, where IDEA becomes the pinky of the SAME-AS sign.

The typical meaning associated with this sign is to create extra and/or recall familiar context with a concept by drawing a comparison to another known object. English does this (as in the English scriptural text) with a metaphor (using 'like' or 'as') and this is exactly what Nephi is doing in (at least) these two verses; ASL often accomplishes the same device with the LOOK+SAME-AS or IDEA+SAME-AS signs, as shown in these verses.

Thanks. That's probably what I saw. My eyes aren't as fast as her hands.

Next time I'll try to catch which verse(s) I'm talking about better.

Greta