I'm learning ASL and some about the Deaf Culture

[xNinjaxAshx]

Hey everybody.

I'm an ASL student in high school and learning how to sign and learning a bit about the differences between Deaf Culture and the Hearing World. It's pretty interesting to learn. I have nothing against deaf people, especially since my ASL teacher is deaf, so I've gotten to know a deaf person pretty well.

I know the hearing world can be pretty harsh. I kind of think it's because we don't understand you guys or understand how you can live being deaf. So we just make stereotypes and make fun of them.

Far as learning ASL, it's a bit difficult for me sometimes, it's a language that goes real indept, more than people think. You have to be awfully smart to remember all those signs. I'm hoping I start understanding it better, because I do want to be able to sign to people. It'd be nice to be able to talk to other people besides hearing. So you know, I get to know different people and experience new things.

Yeah anyways.
Reply if you want.

Thanks for reading!

 

[SueThomasFBEYE]

I plan on taking ASL next year and I cant wait, I do agree with you in that a lot of hearing people do make fn of the deaf culture

 

[Handsome_Smiley]

Hope you guys have fun learning. Trust me, I didn't start learning sign till I was 19 and it takes time to learn. Soon as you learn, you start not to think what the sign is. What will be funny when you really start learning and understand, you will catch yourself trying to sign to hearing people and get weird faces to you after you repeat yourself a couple times.

Also, a little tib bit, it took me around 18 months to have a full chat with my wife in ASL and a little longer to be able stand on my own. It takes abt 7 years to be really fluent in the language and everything. But that also goes with all languages, it takes time to learn at the older ages. Since both you are young, it might not take soo long. Since you are soo earger to learn, then that will help too.

 

[Your Mom]

Hope you guys have fun learning. Trust me, I didn't start learning sign till I was 19 and it takes time to learn. Soon as you learn, you start not to think what the sign is. What will be funny when you really start learning and understand, you will catch yourself trying to sign to hearing people and get weird faces to you after you repeat yourself a couple times.

Also, a little tib bit, it took me around 18 months to have a full chat with my wife in ASL and a little longer to be able stand on my own. It takes abt 7 years to be really fluent in the language and everything. But that also goes with all languages, it takes time to learn at the older ages. Since both you are young, it might not take soo long. Since you are soo earger to learn, then that will help too.

I have gotten so used to signing that I do that exact same thing, most of the time especially around my girlfriend I just sign and voice. Which has become my most difficult task yet. It hard enough to learn sign language, and its even harder to try to voice everything that you are signing. I also have found that some of my dreams are now in sign.

Just keep it up and dont get frustrated. I think the most powerful learning tool I had, wasnt a book, but it was emerging my self into the deaf community.

I now work at the state deaf school, and have zero problem communicating with anyone about anything. But naturally I still have to sometimes ask people to repeat things from time to time. Just keep it up.

 

[xNinjaxAshx]

Yeah, once I had to sign half a book infront of the class, and my partner who was reading it, read so fast, I couldn't keep up with the speed she was reading. So I pretty much made an ass out of myself infront of the class. I couldn't keep up with her!

And learning ASL can be frustrating sometimes, the one I had problems with was classifiers, that caused me some problems, lol.

 

[BabyHornyBrat4]

NAH! My handsome smiley dont know SIGN LANGUAGES! HAHAHAH! JK JK JK JK


I am only the one who TAUGHT him sign languages for almost 6 years... Now, he is very good on sign languages.. He's very attractive to learn...I am very proud of him.. hehe

Now, my kids knows sign languages too..

 

[xNinjaxAshx]

NAH! My handsome smiley dont know SIGN LANGUAGES! HAHAHAH! JK JK JK JK


I am only the one who TAUGHT him sign languages for almost 6 years... Now, he is very good on sign languages.. He's very attractive to learn...I am very proud of him.. hehe

Now, my kids knows sign languages too..

Are your kids hearing or deaf or HOH?

 

[sculleywr]

Hope you guys have fun learning. Trust me, I didn't start learning sign till I was 19 and it takes time to learn. Soon as you learn, you start not to think what the sign is. What will be funny when you really start learning and understand, you will catch yourself trying to sign to hearing people and get weird faces to you after you repeat yourself a couple times.

Also, a little tib bit, it took me around 18 months to have a full chat with my wife in ASL and a little longer to be able stand on my own. It takes abt 7 years to be really fluent in the language and everything. But that also goes with all languages, it takes time to learn at the older ages. Since both you are young, it might not take soo long. Since you are soo earger to learn, then that will help too.

Yeah, I just wish I had waited on learning sign until college. Now I have to unlearn SEE in order to learn ASL. But hey, at least TTU has a large Deaf ministry, what I don't learn in class I can learn in real life.

I am picking up ASL pretty quickly expressively, now I need to figure out a way to study for a receptive test, which is about a third of the final exam. I agree with you. I have always had a knack for throwing myself into something full bodied, so I get in trouble at home when I suddenly start talking in sign. one year to the date that I started learning through immersion and I start recalling memories in sign rather than word. Maybe I should simply study for the receptive part by thinking.

 

[VamPyroX]

Yeah, once I had to sign half a book infront of the class, and my partner who was reading it, read so fast, I couldn't keep up with the speed she was reading. So I pretty much made an ass out of myself infront of the class. I couldn't keep up with her!

And learning ASL can be frustrating sometimes, the one I had problems with was classifiers, that caused me some problems, lol.

Sometimes, it helps to communicate with the other person when interpreting.

I've had deaf friends who sign really fast when giving presentation. In order for the presentation (PowerPoint) to go smoothly, they sign parts of the slide and let the interpreter voice it out.

One time, a deaf guy didn't communicate with or prepare the presentation with the interpreter. When he gave the presentation, he was signing so fast in ASL that he breezed through the slides. The interpreter couldn't catch up with voicing for him and the whole class got confused since the slides were ahead of the voicing.

 

[sculleywr]

Sometimes, it helps to communicate with the other person when interpreting.

I've had deaf friends who sign really fast when giving presentation. In order for the presentation (PowerPoint) to go smoothly, they sign parts of the slide and let the interpreter voice it out.

One time, a deaf guy didn't communicate with or prepare the presentation with the interpreter. When he gave the presentation, he was signing so fast in ASL that he breezed through the slides. The interpreter couldn't catch up with voicing for him and the whole class got confused since the slides were ahead of the voicing.

The same reason going to the pie auction Harvest Baptist held was funny. You heard the hearing people laugh and then the interpreters caught up with the 90 MPH voice of the speaker, and then the deaf people laugh.

 

[Handsome_Smiley]

Are your kids hearing or deaf or HOH?

Our kids have perfect hearing. They have no hearing lose. It is really funny, cause I swear my son has better hearing then myself, and I am hearing myself. My son can hear me turn the door knob when I come home.