Sweetpolly

Hi, I just wanted to express my frustrations here with the DVDs and CDs out there that are made for Hearing people to learn ASL and that have audio explanation only! ... I just purchased a DVD to assist me further in learning ASL and paid $33 dollars for it and it is all explained in audio..(I will keep it so others in my family can watch and learn) ........thats fine.......but .....hey what about the HOH ?
I have rented from the library dvds also and I face the same dilemma, no CC. I know what people are going to tell me,,,well take a class and socialize....ok....yes, when they have time and I have time...however, I want to learn at home then go out and socialize knowing more sign words....
Do people realize that when HOH people (or hearing) are learning ASL, oftentimes we are restricted in our learning sign in socialization because there are some many words that fluent signers do not sign to us (yes, they understand we don't know a lot of words).
I guess I just want to learn because I have that "caught in between two worlds feeling". The other day a HOH person asked one of my friends if I was "hearing"......I asked her why did she think that? ...she told me because yr signs don't flow. I thought ....crap, and I am trying so hard and I got "insulted to be called hearing person now?" I laughed at that thought of course......but I feel caught in between two worlds and of course want to be as close to the Deaf world as possible because total communication can be done for me as a HOH person, but I feel as if I can not until I am fluent in sign. Also, buying or renting a dvd to help me learn sign that is audio only and no CC doesn't help the stuck feeling either.

Deafness

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deafbajagal

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with learning sign language. You're right - a lot of videos/DVDs are made for hearing people and do not have CC - which is annoying. What I would suggest you do is to go to Dawn Press website and purchase a sign language workbook kit that comes with a video/DVD. That way you can follow through the workbook and then watch the video. There is nothing wrong with learning Signed English - ASL is just one option. For some folks, Signed English is more appropriate for their needs. Most of my HH friends use Signed English or PSE (mixture of ASL/English) which is perfectly fine. Call me on VP tonight when you get a chance and we can talk more about this .

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deafbajagal

Also, a lot of my big "D" deaf friends do not have the patience to slow down and try to talk with folks who may not be as fluent. While I love them to death, I get very annoyed at them for this reason. I love to meet new people and will go out of my way to try to establish a communication system that both of us (me and the new person) will be able to use. A lot of my big "D" deaf friends miss out on meeting wonderful friends that way. Sucks to be them. This is the reason I had became a CDI - and I learned to use many different manual communication systems: cueing (though I've forgotten a lot of it since don't use it much), signed English, SEE II, and ASL. I would love to learn Auslan and BSL one day. I hope all Deafies read your postings and realize that it is worth taking the time to interact and talk with other deaf/hh folks who are trying to learn the language. There isn't a such thing as two worlds (hearing/deaf)...it is one world...and we're all in this together.

Sweetpolly

True,,,,,that a great correction on my thoughts and feelings...there is only one world and we are all in this together! Thanks! It's my view that needs to be changed.. and I am going to try to not let this get me down...I know all my hard work will pay off...I am just in this stage for now and it will get better! I don't get upset when big D's don't have time to sign to me......I understand in socialization time they would like to commo. with their friends, catch up on events etc.. I do have some patient Deaf friends here, however, bu I don't see them all the time...and most of my time I am trying to learn so I can become better... when I learn new words in sign, I will ask my friends who know sign, why don't you ever sign that word to me? They tell me because I know you may not know that word. I acknowledge their reasons but I need to see those signs, perhaps in a slower pace.. Oh well, I will check out Dawn Press as you said...I wasn't aware of the workbooks. Thanks!

VamPyroX

Really? Wow... I'm surprised. I guess they weren't thinking when they made those DVDs.

Did you contact the company?

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Sweetpolly

No,,I am hoping those companies will read these posts and understand that HOH people need CC to understand what they are saying on those ASL teaching videos...I mean my goodness....we need to learn ASL now for total communication.

Anij

I would recommend the Signing Naturally Video series - often times this is available through your local library, or Deaf Cultural/Community centre. Of course the best way to learn ASL is to take classes with a qualified instructor - many cities (with a larger Deaf community) will have classes for those who are hh/d and want to learn ASL that are low cost or free.

JClarke

What about ASLPro.com Home ?

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Sweetpolly

AWWWWWW thanks for that link...I do use it..but here in Florida I am told that is from Texas and their ASL sings (or just signs) are completely different signs than the Floridans,,so if ASL Browser (whih I use frequently) doesn't have the sign word I am looking for I check ASLPRO.com......still need to probably take a class...and just socialize continually with signers I know.

JClarke

It doesn't matter, I have a deaf friend who is a floridan, and I am fluent in my ASL, my friend still doesn't care. Anyone would not care about what sort of ASL signs you use.

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Sweetpolly

Oh yeah??? Try learning sign and then going around my Deaf friends that see me sign a wrong sign I learned from one of those two links and they are like all "That's WRONG!! NO NO thats the wrong sign!!!" so, Oh Lord....I am trying the best I can. I am going to move to Cali. in July...so I will try to be around frequent signers and take classes at one of the places that teach ASL,,,I looked into a college class in Ca., but I don't have my residency there yet, so I can't take it there until a year later. I couldn't while was here in FL cuz of full time college classes I was taking.

JClarke

Everyone makes mistakes though

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KristinaB

try • ASL • American Sign Language

Bill Vickers has a free ASL university online. It includes video clips and still shots of the sign being done as well as explanations for how the sign is done. It is one of the many things I am trying. One other thing I have is the Signing for Dummies book with CD.

Wokamuka

In addition to starting off with vocabulary, fluency in sign remarkably improves (leaps and bounds!) with you experience an "immersion" Immersion, if you don't know, is an experience of when one comes into a completely sign environment. For some Immersion experiences, it is completely sign and Deaf.

". . . but I feel as if I can not until I am fluent in sign." Who told you that? Sympathetically, I'm guessing yourself? You've given the people around you an unfair advantage, it would seem.

Trust me, immersion works wonders.

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Reba

That's interesting. I live in South Carolina, and most of the ASLPRO.COM signs I've looked at are the same as we use here. There's a few regional differences but not so many as to make a big difference.

No matter where (geographically) you learn your signs you'll run into people who sign something differently. It's no big deal. It's variety.

CCfan

Yes, I am from Minnesota. There are our ASL is very original for me.

I am sorry to hear about your situation with that.
I hope you can find a different DVD does have closed-captioning or SDH (subtitled for the deaf and hard-of-hearing).
I am fully support on the captioning or SDH if video have ASL
or not. Especially, I support CC or SDH on foreign movies like
Lust, Caution has SDH from Universal Studios for DVD.

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jenni-m

I am not sure as I don't know a lot about computers...
But I think there is a software where you can 'hack' out the DVD code and add subtitles to it, then re-burn it to a new blank DVD. You of course would need someone to make a transcript if you can't hear it well (obviously) but it is kind of a way to add CC.

Normally this is illegal to do I think, but since you actually bought the disc, I think it would be ok to add subtitles as long as you do not give away the copied disc or make copies for other people.

Byrdie714

Just say, " I sign with a Texan accent."

Amen Wokamuka!

It's fun learning different regional signs as well as learning how it came about. To this day, I know of 7 different signs for, "Happy Birthday".

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