The Auslan alphabet: a beginner’s guide to fingerspelling

Auslan uses a two-handed alphabet

Unlike American Sign Language, which fingerspells with one hand, Auslan uses a two-handed manual alphabet. One hand (your dominant hand) acts on the other to form each letter. Auslan shares this alphabet with British Sign Language (BSL) and New Zealand Sign Language, two closely related languages in the same BSL language family.

The five vowels are the easiest place to start: they are made by pointing to the thumb and fingers of your non-dominant hand. The thumb is A, the index finger is E, the middle finger is I, the ring finger is O, and the little finger is U. Once you know the vowels, the remaining letters come quickly with practice.

When is fingerspelling used in Auslan?

Fluent signers don’t spell out every word. Auslan has its own rich vocabulary of signs. Fingerspelling is used for specific jobs:

• Names of people, places, brands, and organisations.
• English words without an established sign, such as technical or specialised terms.
• Clarifying a sign the other person didn’t catch, or confirming spelling.
• Some common short words, which experienced signers spell so fluidly they almost become signs of their own.

Even so, fingerspelling is only one tool within a much bigger language. A 2007 pilot study of 2,667 utterances from 205 deaf signers found that fingerspelling accounted for about 10% of the lexical items in its sample, with frequency varying by factors including the signer’s age. The rest of Auslan communication draws on signs, grammar, and facial expressions. Leaning too hard on fingerspelling is a classic beginner mistake.

Five tips for learning the Auslan alphabet

1. Start with the vowels. A, E, I, O, U anchor the whole alphabet and appear in almost every word you’ll spell.
2. Spell your own name first. It’s the word you’ll fingerspell most often when meeting Deaf people.
3. Aim for clear, not fast. Smooth and readable beats speedy and sloppy. Speed comes naturally with practice.
4. Practise reading, not just producing. Understanding someone else’s fingerspelling (receptive skill) is harder than spelling yourself, so practise both.
5. Learn from video, not just charts. Static diagrams can’t show the movement and rhythm of real fingerspelling. Watching native signers is the fastest way to train your eye.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Auslan alphabet the same as the ASL alphabet?

No. Auslan uses a two-handed manual alphabet shared with British Sign Language (BSL) and New Zealand Sign Language, while American Sign Language (ASL) uses a one-handed alphabet. The two systems are completely different, so ASL fingerspelling charts won't help you communicate in Australia.

How long does it take to learn the Auslan alphabet?

Most learners can produce all 26 letters within a few days of regular practice. Reading other people's fingerspelling fluently takes longer, usually weeks of practice, because signers spell quickly and smoothly in real conversation.

Can I communicate in Auslan using only fingerspelling?

Fingerspelling alone is slow and is not how Auslan works. Auslan is a complete language with its own signs and grammar; fingerspelling is a tool within it, used mainly for names and words without an established sign. Learning everyday signs alongside the alphabet is the fastest path to real conversations.

Sources and further reading

The factual claims in this guide were checked against the following community, government and research sources.

• History of Auslan: British origins and fingerspelling — Auslan Signbank
• Sociolinguistic variation in the use of fingerspelling in Australian Sign Language: A pilot study — Schembri & Johnston, Sign Language Studies (2007)

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