Hearing/Deaf conversation etiquette?

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sima1289

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Hi everyone! I've been a member on here for a few years, but haven't been on in a while...that thing called life got in the way :-P

I'm going to be getting dinner with a Deaf friend of mine tonight, and I'm a little worried because my signing is very rusty. That being said, is it rude/inappropriate for a hearing person to talk while they're signing? My main concern is that my signing isn't up to par for me to "turn off" my voice :-/

Any suggestions and advice are welcome. Thank you! :)
 
Personally, I would use this priority (unless your Deaf friend is more on the Oral end of the spectrum).

ASL
Psuedo-sign (mime)
Fingerspell
Voice

I'd use voice as a last resort because (at least for me) signing and talking at the same time is real pain. And sooner or later as the night wears on you'll gravitate to your stronger language (voice) and do less and less signing.

Just my opinion.
 
This got me thinking. I am deaf. My sons are hearing and they don't know signs. They talk to me without using their voice. My childhood friends used to do the very same thing when I was growing up. My family would listen to me in the other rooms and it sounds like I'm talking to myself because my hearing friend didn't. lol.

It doesn't bother me but it does to outsiders. It sounds like I'm talking to myself and they can't hear the other side of the conversation. Don't ask why my sons do that. One finally stopped doing it and the other one persists. I can't tell the difference so I can't tell him to use his voice.
 
How about just mouthing the words as opposed to using your voice? I think that's more the norm......
 
Thank you all! And thankfully this is a good friend of mine, so she won't give me too much grief if/when I make mistakes :-P
 
When in doubt - just ask them what they'd prefer :)
 
When I went to dinner with my deaf cousin, I would talk low, but also try to sign at the same time. She can lip read when I do not know the sign, but I try to sign as much as possible since I am trying to learn to sign.
 
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