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Handshape
There are around 150 handshapes(approximate), not all are phonemically distinct in American Sign Language. This is very similar to how there are hundreds of linguistically producible sounds, but only some are considered phonemically distinct in English.
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fist with thumb on side (the shape of the ASL letters A, or 10),
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fist with thumb between index and middle finger (T),
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fist with thumb on front (S),
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flat hand with fingers apart (4),
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flat hand with fingers together (B),
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spread (and sometimes clawed) hand (5 or E),
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thumb touching fingertips (O),
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cupped hand (C),
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pointing index finger with fist hand (1 or Z),
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pointing pinky finger (I or J)
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hooked index finger (X),
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pointing index finger with lotus hand (D),
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index and middle fingers together (U or H),
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index and middle fingers apart (V or 2),
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'chopsticks' hand (K or P),
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thumb and index finger apart (L),
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thumb, index, and middle finger extended (3),
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thumb touching pinky (6 or W),
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thumb touching index finger, other fingers extended (F or 9),
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crossed fingers (R),
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fist with pinky and thumb extended (Y),
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fist with pinky and index finger extended (horns),
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flat hand with middle finger bent (open 8),
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fist with bent index and middle finger extended (snake classifier)
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fist with pinky, index, and thumb extended (ILY), and
These handshapes are constrained in their interactions. For example, the 5 and F handshapes usually make contact with another part of the body through the tip of the thumb, whereas the K and Y/8 handshapes usually only make contact through the tip of the middle finger, and the X handshape with the flexed joint of the index finger. The L hand usually makes contact by means of the thumb, though contact with the index finger would be just as easy: when contact is made with the index finger, the position of the thumb is unimportant, so the same signer may sometimes use a handshape closer to a letter G, and sometimes closer to a letter L; the G shape is considered more basic, and therefore these are considered allophones of the G hand.
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