Indigenous signs: South Pacific

Indigenous signs for countries in the South Pacific

national flags David Bar-Tzur

map of the South Pacific

Flags: World flag database.
Map: Virtual Tourist.

For a quick, interesting resource for facts about this and other countries,
try Mystic Planet - The New Age directory of Planet Earth.

Explanation of glossing system used
(to understand how I describe the signs in this dictionary)

Australia (Australia): (2h)[8], POs away from signer, FOs up, flick to (2h)[open 8] 2x.¹ For a QuickTime movie of this sign, see ASL browser - Australia.
Cook Islands (Cook Islands): (2h)[B], POs up, FOs away from signer, move away + (2h)[F], POs ><, FOs away from signer, alt. poke down while moving away.¹ (< NZSL, literally COOK and ISLANDS.)
Fiji (Fiji): (2h)[3:], each PO > ear, held at their respective ears and shake.¹ [< coconut(?).]
Guam (Guam): [G], PO > NDS, FO away, circles while contacting [S], PO down, FO > DS.
New Zealand (Aotearoa): (1) NDH [B], PO > DS, FO up. DH [B] slides down palm, then changes to [B^] and touches palm again. For a QuickTime movie of this sign, see NEEDS Outreach: New Zealand. (< Modulation of NEW and their Zed [Z].) (2) (2h)[B], POs away, DH is held so that FT point to "10 o'clock" and NDH is held below it and points to "12 o'clock. For a drawing of this sign, see http://www.vanasch.school.nz/pdfs/NZSL/New_Zealand.pdf - you may need to scroll down to see the image.
Samoa (Samoa): (1) [A], PO > signer, FO up, rubs against cheek in circles.¹ (2) FT of [X] taps neck.⁴
Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka): [1^], PO down, FO away, circles horizontally (CW as seen from above) above [5], PO up, FO away.¹ (< islands distributed like five fingers, and people would point to where on the "palm" they lived, as is done with cities in the state of Michigan.)
Tahiti: (1) [H] stirs inside [O], PO > signer, FO > DS.¹(2) (2h)[T], POs > signer, are held with DH held high and NDH held at chest, both hands twist at wrists in place. ² (< from an indigenous dance.)

Taupo

List of sources cited

1. Signs around the world: Countries [Videotape]. Burtonsville, MD: Sign Media.
2. Native sign informant (name lost).
3. http://www.mcs.vuw.ac.nz/~pondy/nzsl/ (NZSL dictionary), which now denies permission.
4. ASL Introduction Vlog 1.

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