TExES American Sign Language (ASL) (184) Practice Test

Facial expressions and other facial movements accompany hand signs to convey meaning in ASL. This set of cues is known as non-manual signals. They’re essential for grammar—raising the eyebrows signals a yes/no question, while other expressions and mouth shapes add negation, emphasis, or aspect. Manual signs cover the hand shapes and movements, and gestures is a broader term not specific to the sign language system. Lip patterns aren’t the standard label for these grammatical facial cues. So, the best term is non-manual signals.