Hi all! Im new to this site Iam hearing,but ever since i started my career(s) in the health care field i have always been interested in learning sign language as ive worked with both HOH & Deaf people. I finally decided to take ASL at my local community College. My teacher is hearing and for our final project she has assigned us to translate a song. Ive already reviewed quite a few controversial opinions of others regarding teachers giving out song interpreting. I must say I also agree that its not the best idea or way to learn ASL(especially if there are both hearing & deaf students as this wouldnt be a "fun" nor feasible assignment for a deaf person) Not to mention this is only ASL 1 and I feel learning more signs,proper grammatical rules, sentence syntax & glossing is soo much more beneficial and crucial for new learners to truly understand ASL. Never the less I have to complete the assignment which I already did and will be presenting to the class next week. However this is where I'd greatly appreciate some opinions/assistance on how to translate/convey a certain line in a song... the song is "Don't go breaking my heart" by Elton John... the line is "Ive got your heart in my sights" I was wondering how 'you guys' would convey this idiom? . In my gloss Im thinking of putting 'your heart in my thoughts' or maybe 'your heart I see everywhere'... Id appreciate any feedback at all. ThankU
Learning ASL to benefit a career in health care is a great idea! My mother wanted to learn ASL when she starter nursing courses, but the state was paying for everything and wouldn't allow her to tack on any extra classes (too expensive for her to pay on her own).
I agree that it's a bit reckless trying to translate something when you barely got your feet in the pool, but maybe it's part of the learning experience to set up something like this then either correct your grammar afterwards or maybe later on in the course you'll be expected to take that translation again with better signing structure. Kind of like looking at a "before" and "after" thing.
I'm afraid I don't know enough ASL to help you, but this concept of translating a song sounds really cool and I hope you make a post about it with the final result.
We need more people in health care that sign so it is really great you are learning.
I am not a big ASL songs fan but when interpreting, look at the meaning behind the words. The line seems to be saying "I want your love" or "I want us to be together". Others may have a different interpretation.
I hope that you'll continue in your ASL studies, and that the next level is taught by someone with enough "Deafness" to give you an assignment in ASL story telling rather than translating songs.
For this song, check your private message "conversations."
