finger language; signing; sign language
Refers to communication using hand and finger gestures, often in the context of deaf communication or manual alphabets. May be used interchangeably with 手話 (しゅわ) in some contexts, but 指話法 can specifically emphasize finger-based methods.
She used finger language to converse with the hearing-impaired person.
Compound of 指 (finger), 話 (talk), and 法 (method). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it likely emerged as a technical term for manual communication methods.