To Flick or Not to Flick? That is <flick> the Question.

When the same handshape occurs more than once in succession at the side placement. A flick is used to distinguish the like-handshapes.

When we cue words like loves, craft, and horse, we have the same handshape occuring more than once at the side so we use a flick to make the second occurence clear to the receiver.

loves
6sd 2s ' 2s

Above, an apostrohphe ( ' ) has been used in the cue notation to represent where a flick would be present.

Historically, flicks have not gotten much attention in introductory Cued Speech classes. Even in professionally produced materials and videos, flicks are given only a few seconds of attention and examples are limited to words like those offered above. Flicks can occur in locations other than the ends of words. Also, flicks occur between handshapes other than handshapes 2, 3, and 5.

Which handshapes can flick?

This is a bit of a trick question. Any one of the eight handshapes in the American Cued Speech system may need to be flicked depending on their context. Let's look at some different examples of the flick beyond the basics.

Beginning of Words Flicks are not limited to the ends of words. We may need to cue at the beginning of words like the name Schwartz. Depending on your pronunciation, you may need to flick:

Schwartz
/sh_ woh r_ t_ s_/
6s ' 6sf 3s 5s 3s

Eventhough a side movement follows, the second occurance of handshape 6 would not be distinguished without a flick. Note: If you pronounce Schwartz as /sh_ waw r_ t_ s_/, you do not need to flick, because the hand moves to the chin.

The key issue here is making sure that every cue is seen clearly. In words like coke, pop, Mom, and knob, there is no need to flick because a vowel occurs between the two occurences of the same handshape. Remember, the same handshape must occur at the side in succession. If a vowel (or another handshape) occurs between the like-handshapes, one does not need to flick.

Some fan - no flick

those - no flick

tooth gel - no flick

skim milk - no flick

Likewise, a flick may disappear in connected discourse. The word lift would contain a flick, but the words lift it would not if they are spoken without a pause.

lift it
/li f_ ti t/
6t 5s 5t 5s

A flick can also occur in the middle of a word or at word boundaries. Examine the following examples:

rainbow
/ray n_ boh/
3s5t 4s ' 4sf

flashlight
/f_ la sh_ lie t_/
5s 6t 6s ' 6s5t 5s

fourth grade
/foh r_ th_ g_ ray d_/
5sf 3s 7s ' 7s 3c5t 1s

his crimes
/hi z_ k_ rie m_ z_/
3t 2s ' 2s 3s5t 5s 2s

Read the following sentence. How might this appear to a deaf cuereader if the flick were omitted?

His crimes are infamous.

If the flick (which occurs between the words his and crimes) is not used, the sentence might be confused as follows:

His rhymes are infamous.

Want to see how well you can spot the flick? Try this flick quiz.

HELPFUL HINT: If you have a wandering side placement, you may not feel the need to flick. Working on a more consistent side placement may help you in your flick practice!