NIC ASL Proficiency 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which area of the body is considered the 'neutral space' in ASL signing?
- Top of the head
- The area in front of the torso between waist and chin (Correct answer)
- The dominant hand's side of the body only
- Behind the signer's shoulders
Correct answer: The area in front of the torso between waist and chin
Neutral space in ASL refers to the area in front of the signer's body, roughly between the waist and chin, where many signs are articulated.
Question 2: What is 'initialized signing' in ASL?
- Starting every sentence with a topic sign
- Using the first letter of an English word as the handshape for a sign (Correct answer)
- The first sign produced when meeting a new Deaf client
- Fingerspelling before every noun
Correct answer: Using the first letter of an English word as the handshape for a sign
Initialized signing borrows the first-letter handshape of the corresponding English word into an ASL sign, such as using a 'W' handshape for WATER.
Question 3: In ASL, which sentence type is marked by furrowed brows and a wh-sign (WHO, WHAT, WHERE, etc.)?
- Topicalized sentence
- Conditional sentence
- Wh-question (Correct answer)
- Negative sentence
Correct answer: Wh-question
Wh-questions in ASL are marked by furrowed (lowered) brows held throughout the question, along with the wh-sign typically placed at or near the end.
Question 4: A Deaf individual corrects the interpreter's sign choice during a session. What is the appropriate professional response?
- Ignore the correction and continue to avoid disruption
- Accept the correction graciously and use the preferred sign going forward (Correct answer)
- Stop the session and explain your sign choice to the client
- Ask the hearing consumer for guidance on which sign to use
Correct answer: Accept the correction graciously and use the preferred sign going forward
Accepting vocabulary corrections from Deaf consumers respects their linguistic authority and improves communication accuracy — a key professional standard for NIC-certified interpreters.
Question 5: What does 'ASL to English transliteration' differ from 'ASL to English interpretation'?
- Transliteration preserves ASL grammar; interpretation uses English grammar
- Transliteration converts message to a different form of the same language; interpretation crosses two languages (Correct answer)
- Transliteration is faster; interpretation is more accurate
- There is no meaningful difference between the two terms
Correct answer: Transliteration converts message to a different form of the same language; interpretation crosses two languages
Transliteration moves between two forms of the same language (e.g., ASL to Signed English), while interpretation moves between two distinct languages (ASL and spoken English).
Question 6: Which NMM signals that an ASL signer is depicting something very small or narrow?
- Puffed cheeks
- Compressed lips with 'mm' mouth morpheme
- Lips pressed together tightly with a squint ('oo' or 'cs' mouth morpheme) (Correct answer)
- Tongue slightly out
Correct answer: Lips pressed together tightly with a squint ('oo' or 'cs' mouth morpheme)
The 'cs' (compressed/small) or 'oo' mouth morpheme, made with pursed tight lips, signals small size or narrowness in ASL.
Question 7: How does ASL express temporal information such as 'yesterday' and 'next week' spatially?
- Signs are made at the dominant side for future and non-dominant for past
- Future events are signed forward in front of the body; past events behind (Correct answer)
- Time signs are always produced at chin level
- Past and future are indicated only by mouth morphemes
Correct answer: Future events are signed forward in front of the body; past events behind
ASL uses a time line where the future is in front of the signer's body and the past is behind; signs like TOMORROW move forward and YESTERDAY move backward.
NIC ASL Proficiency 5
Which area of the body is considered the 'neutral space' in ASL signing?