Concept group: ABOUT
This page discusses the concepts: title, quote, approximately,
concerning, locale/area/thereabouts...
The general sign for "about," as in "Tell me about your family."
I use a "flattened O" handshape for the left hand, but I've seen
people using an index finger handshape on both hands. I prefer to use the
"flattened O" handshape to make sure the sign isn't confused with the sign
"WHEN."
The dominant hand (right hand for most folks) draws a circle around the base
hand
Note: I find very little use for the
generic "about" sign above. Instead I tend to use other signs like
"explain," "quote," or "what's up?"
For example, I could sign, "YOUR TRIP, WHAT's-UP? " to mean "tell me
about your trip. Or I could sign, "Tell me story your family"
to mean, "tell me about your family." Or to express the
concept "Today we are going to talk about dogs," I could sign
"STORY QUOTE-(topic) DOGS."
The general sign "about" is indeed used in the Deaf Community and it is a good sign to know. It does pop up in conversation, as in, "Tell me about...(your boyfriend, your new house, your school...etc.)
QUOTE / TOPIC / SUBJECT:
Please keep in mind that there are other signs and sign combinations that
might be more appropriate depending on the sentence. Check out the signs
below:
About as in "the subject of an article or book." This book
is "about" ...
The above sign can be used to mean: Title, quote, subject, topic, ...and
"about."
About as in "approximately":
The above sign can also mean: In the area of, around, approximately,
"or so," thereabouts, -ish...
Note: If you wanted to sign, "He just about made it..." you
could sign, "He almost made it."
If you wanted to say, "I'm almost finished" you could sign,
"I soon finish" or "I finish soon."