Reba

Now it's my turn to ask for sign help.

What sign do you use for "rock & roll" music?

I can't get a consistent answer from my local Deaf community. Many people just spell "rock" and then sign MUSIC.

But I really need a sign. There is one person that I interpret for who doesn't read or write, and so I'm trying to stay away from spelling out words, for now.

I've seen some people use the "devil's horns" sign upward for rockers, and downward for hip hop. Is that right?

Please excuse an old granny who doesn't keep up with the current music scene. I don't listen to that music myself but I want to keep up with current signs relating to pop culture.

Deafness

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RedheadGrrl

I just spell it.. R O C K and R O L L. Sorry Reba.

Reba

That's OK.

RedheadGrrl

Any luck Reba??

GalaxyAngel

I use.... ASL
play gultairs ASL that's all

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Ariakkas

i see most people do the sign for "rock" or "stone" knuckles of one hand striking the knuckles of the other hand.

Reba

Yeah, I've seen that also but it seemed very English and non-conceptual to me. For someone with no English background it doesn't make sense. The "rock" in "rock & roll" doesn't have anything to do with "rocks" or "stones" or "hardness".

I understand that sometimes new signs show up in the Deaf community that aren't conceptual, for whatever reason.

But thanks for the input. I guess there is no one "right" sign for the phrase.

Reba

Yes, I was thinking about that one. I was a little concerned that just doing an air guitar might wrongly imply all guitar music was rock music. But Hubby suggested to me that for folk and classic guitar I should "hold" the air guitar neck upright. For rock air guitar, I should hold the neck down, straight across at the waist.

Lojistik

Dude just do an air guitar... WAAAAIRRRR

AussieGal

To be honest this icon is heavy metal devil sign !
As for "rock n roll" its like the twisting dance which i find it useful for that sign so they know its the 1950's era !

Kuifje75

I sign it as fingerspelling "R-R" with the palm facing to the person. So that it won't be confused with "restroom"

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Reba

Yes, that's an important difference!

Reba

If you're referring to me, I'm a "dudette".

LuciaDisturbed

I'd go but that's just me!

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My own CI experience, my views on CI and ASL and Deaf Culture and Society

DeviantArt

HiBluE01

My sign language is .

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Reba

I think most people now think of "rock and roll" as hard rock, not sweet "twister" rock of the 50's and 60's.

And I thought that I was old! Heh, heh!

I like the sign better than gyrating a twist with my body. Have mercy on my audience.

Etoile

Wow, this thread is on Metafilter! Anyway, I once had to interpret a song that included "let me hear some of that rock and roll music" AND "I like that old time rock and roll" - and I have to admit that I spelled out #ROCK and #ROLL - swinging in a circle, like #STYLE is sometimes done, and to the beat of the music.

jasin

If you do r and r you are signing bathroom or something similar to bathroom, depending on how you sign it.

Just sign Music and loud.

RIPrhoads

what I always do is use the sign for "music" but use an "R" hand instead. It usually gets my point across

rockdrummer

Why not the sign for rock followed by the sign for roll.

shel90

You are right..someone would need a strong English background to figure it out.

Because I work with young ones who are acquiring English as their 2nd language so if I wanted to sign that conceptually accurate, I would use the ASL sign for guitar and shake my head up and down as if I was playing in a concert. I know it is kinda dramatic but that is the best way toget the message across to what kind of music it is. Does that person have any background knowledge of different kinds of music?

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shel90

Because the conceptual message would be as if Reba is interpreting a lecture about rocks rolling (literally). It would be a confusing message to the person she is interpreting for. SEE is too confusing for many deaf people who do not have experience with English.

That's why I never recommend it as a means of language acquisition. Only when the person is familiar with English or has a strong first language and is able to figure out the signs and put it all together.

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Reba

Right. The original concept of "rock 'n' roll" was the human body moving, rocking and rolling. It wasn't about a rock "stone" but about the rocking motion.

Maybe the "rocks rolling" SEE sign would work for the group "Rolling Stones", ha, ha. ("A rolling stone gathers no moss.")

Reba

Mostly young adults, so I would say yes.

I don't know how the head shaking would look done by an old lady like me.

rockdrummer

So then how would you sign Rock and Roll?

shel90

Just like I described in post #21

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rockdrummer

oh.. kind of like this then eh?

SCBassist

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.11) 320x320; XV6900; Window Mobile 6.1 Professional

Try what they've always done since the 80's - it's an internationally recognized sign by displaying "the horns" in the air and banging your head a few times. If you want to say you love rock, display "the horns" (palm toward you) below your chin and do the Gene Simmons tongue deal. Now I know you're conservative, this will make you look ridiculous, but it will make your point across.

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Daft

Reba,

How I don't envy you. As we all know, everything needs to be taken in context. So this brings up the questions, "What exactly is Rock and Roll?" and "Is this what is really meant?"

Personally, I think of Rock and Roll music as coming from the 1950s and 1960s. The more modern type I consider "Rock".

If the discussion is about 1950s music, I don't think the "rock on" sign would be appropriate. For that, I would fingerspell "rock" and sign music. To me, the "rock on" sign would be more appropriate for the hard rock or heavy metal type of music.

But then again, would all these genres of music make sense to your typical, everyday Deaf person?

To me, signing anything about music makes my head want to spin because I find it rather difficult to convey the concepts.

SnAzZyStyLe2002

Well my interpreter would say it as the "party" sign but with R's instead of P's.

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