society's_child

I've been signing for over 2 years now (still a newbie, I know) and I still continue to "mumble", or drop signs. I'm a very lazy signer and i'm trying to work on that but it's a tough habit to break.

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Deafness

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rjcon88

Once I suggested that my friends dog needed to piss... except instead of signing piss, I signed penis. You should of seen some of the comments after that!

Hear Again

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Right ear - Nucleus Freedom
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Deafblind/Postlingual

bkswva

Oh man, I have seen many people make goofs on their signs...

One of my all time favorites is when my friend tried to sign "train gone" (I had just taught him that one) and he ended up signing "cum"... Then another was when my transcriber tried to sign "Thank you" and ended up saying "f*** you"... It was priceless!

Plus, we have a hearing teacher who teaches the basic sign language (1 hour) course at our campus during the fall semester and I crack up so bad in his class... I normally go just to make sure I keep him on track and enjoy laughing with him...

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Peace, Love, and Skittles!

~ Keithy ~

heidi:)

I had to add this. I am in ASL 2 and yesterday in class this boy was trying to say morning and my teacher started cracking up. Apparently he said fart fart fart lol

pathymo

I've seen someone say they need sex instead of need to shave, that was a good laugh.

Oh, and penis instead of Polish

Tousi

Well, that sign for Polish is way outdated.....makes me wonder...

LDNanna

I am often corrected by a young man at work. He hears, but was raised in a deaf foster family. I am learning. It's better to be corrected. But it can be much funnier not to.

aprilskutt

I have a friend whose brother is a total ass****. My friend isn't deaf, but one day his mom, his brother and him were in a parkinglot and there was a deaf boy signing to his mother and my friend's older brother began to wave his arms around in the air making fun of the little boy. Well, the deaf kid began signing at him really fast! The kid's mother happened to see him saying something in sign language and she slapped his hand and yelled, "You know better than to say those words!" So, my friend yelled to his mother, "Hey mom! I think TJ just got cussed out in sign language!"

Actually I am learning sign language, so if you can help me with it, I'd apprecfiate it! I only know a few words of it.
Email me_ aprilskutt@gmail.com

Bottesini

Depressing.

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It's a joke Nathan!

JMackay

The English Merriam Webster's Dictionary 10th Edition has English swear words defined--just curious why not in ASL dictionary? Why aren't private parts mentioned?

I'm hearing and I never thought about that until I started refreshing my memory by looking up signs on ASL PRO.com's videos. I took ASL 1 and 2 and they never covered any of that stuff.

I wouldn't want to accidentally say the wrong thing.

If someone asked me a question about something intimate, I'd still have no idea what they were talking about-girl talk.

How would I know to explain to a friend in ASL that my mother in law has breast cancer, when I don't know if it has a sign? Or is it just fingerspelled? Or to say I have an appointment to see the gynecologist, so I can't meet you for lunch, for example?

Sorry, I know it might seem like a silly question, but I just wondered if the people making the dictionaries thought about that sort of thing.

I know one or two swear words in Spanish, one because a friend taught me, and the other from watching the Spanish captions on a DVD. But I don't use those words, and I know another slang term for the bodily function of going #2 in the toilet, and that's considered mildly offensive in Spanish, which I learned and didn't get in trouble over.

Does anyone have a good answer for that?

Thanks.

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Hugs,

JM

Bottesini

Why don't you buy Sternberg's ASL dictionary? The words are in there.

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It's a joke Nathan!

JMackay

Wookie? I thought you were talking about Star Wars... is that some kind of a joke in ASL? Chewbacca is a Wookie.

I'm hearing, so if you just said pecker I'd have known what you meant.

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Hugs,

JM

JMackay

The old one I had didn't... do they update it every year? My old copy was from over 10 years ago.

Better to know how NOT to embarrass yourself! Thanks for the news.

I took ASL 1 and 2 in the 1990's. So I'm behind in some information, I think...

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Hugs,

JM

JMackay

Then I did it the right way... whew! I was a little confused there... I kept scratching my head thinking, How did you get work wrong??

Thanks for clearing that up!

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Hugs,

JM

JMackay

OK, I meant to ask WHY offensive words (to know what NOT to say!) are not in ASL dictionary, or are they now?

I took the ASL courses in college a long time ago, and my old copy of the ASL dictionary did not have those.

Sorry if I poorly worded my question.

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Hugs,

JM

Bottesini

You mean you want the dictionary to say "don't say this?"

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It's a joke Nathan!

JMackay

I think we have a misunderstanding here. I am going to explain better.

My reason to want to know is to learn. I am not trying to say the English dictionary is superior. I was merely using it as a comparison. It shows the term as OFFENSIVE in the entry heading after the word. It would be easy to do the same in ASL dictionary, mark OFFENSIVE.

I did not mean to offend you or give the idea that I think Merriam Webster Dictionary is better than ASL dictionary. That was not my intent. If I misstated myself, I apologize.

I took ASL and Deaf Culture classes back in the 1990's in college when Microsoft edition for ASL dictionary on CD ROM worked on WINDOWS 3.1. I need to REPLACE it since it won't work.

I just read that Microsoft will change operating systems AGAIN next year, so I am waiting for the new one on DVD (I hope there is one) to learn more. I don't want to buy the one now and just have to buy it again with upgraded operating system. Bill Gates knows how to make his money.

My signing is a little "rusty", meaning I need to refresh my memory. I was using ASL PRO DOT COM to help when I couldn't remember something. I know I need to improve.

The program CD-ROM came with a print copy, and it was an older edition. I have moved several times since the 1990's. I was trying to ask about the current edition. I can't find my old print copy. I have looked. I just replaced some of my older reference books, and it needs to be added to my next trip to the bookstore.

I wasn't aware if they had included terms for things like sex, or intimate body parts in the current edition. The old one I don't remember seeing those there.

I know Deaf people ask questions to their friends. I have not seen some of my deaf friends in a long time. I moved around a lot and want to try to locate some of them again, say hello, because I moved back to the area. I have been gone a long time and lost touch with some people.

I know they will ask me if I have children. I don't. My husband CAN NOT have any children. I don't know how (I'm trying not to feel frustrated) to explain this. He has a medical condition and it is not possible. The explanation is longer and I don't know the signs for it. My fingerspelling is slow, might take me all day. I just wondered about this stuff, that is all. I wanted to be prepared if the question is asked of me.

My friends are religious and do not use curse words. They never taught me those. I would feel very stupid if I accidentally cursed one of them. How can hearing people avoid making total idiots of themselves if we can't find out what not to say? I want to be respectful, not malicious or offensive.

I wouldn't want to say certain words in Spanish accidentally to someone I first met, and I was able to find those out. I have been wondering--that is all. Please don't be angry at me for being an ignorant hearing person. I am just trying to understand.

I work full-time 40 hours and I am trying to improve on my own on free time.

I also found out the community college won't allow people who have had ASL 1 to take it again without permission. I don't understand this. I repeated ASL 1 twice at a different college back in the 1990's.

Sorry if I seem a little frustrated. I am trying to improve.

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Hugs,

JM

Mountain Man

I don't expect that you would in any beginner level ASL courses. They're just trying to get you comfortable with the basics of the language at that point. The technical stuff and sign variations will probably come later (I'm just finishing up ASL 2 myself; final exam is today).

SimplyMints

Every institution around here teaches ASL 1 and 2 only. There are none that go beyond that. It would be nice if I could move on. But I guess my family are stuck with our own private version of sign language without a name.

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Mountain Man

I suppose I am fortunate, then, to live near a college that offers ASL and interpreting as a major.

Em903

I just learned the f*** word in sign and can see how it can easily get mixed up!

The one that my friend learned recently: she was watching a video about signs and the scene was a boy and girl and the boy was teaching the girl how to sign "month" She tried copying him and ended up signing "condom" We now jokingly sign that in our ASL 2 class LOL

YOU WORK HOW LONG? (correct answer, 6 MONTHS) (what we sign) 6 CONDOMS

lol the other one was with the man I am dating. I asked him if he liked to french kiss. I know I signed it correctly but I think I signed maybe awkwardly. He answers no! So in shock I repeated, you don't like french kissing? He said, oh no! I like french kissing. I said well what did you think I said?

Do you like cat kissing?

No!! LOL

JMackay

...for answering me. It's making my head spin around in circles trying to figure out how to explain (my post above) without saying it wrong, or offending.

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Hugs,

JM

Bottesini

So I am the one you think was rude to your question?

I only tried to give you an accurate answer.

Body parts are in the dictionary.

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It's a joke Nathan!

Daredevel7

In my ASL class on Monday, the instructor signed lousy and signed "be careful when you sign that. ask my why after class" and I was the only one who cracked up. My friend taught me all the "dirty" signs even before I started ASL class. So I knew the sign for lousy was really close to the sign for orgasm.

Oh did I mention that this class was being taught at a CHURCH?

SerendipityG3A

My mom and I were having supper tonight, and she was telling me about her sick dog, and how she thinks she's getting better. She said something that I got stuck on for several minutes, and she kept repeating, telling me that her dog had been drinking squares of water. I could not figure out what she was trying to say. I asked her if she meant really big ice cubes (the size of her square was rather large, and continued to get larger every time she repeated). No, that wasn't it. I told her that I'd run out of ideas.

Finally, she fingerspelled, "lots of water."

CJB

How do you sign month and how do you sign condom?

souggy

MONTH - two index fingers. The passive hand is static, pointing upright. The dominant hand is sideway. The dominant hand go behind the passive hand and slide down it.

There are two way of doing CONDOM. One is similar to the above, but instead of the dominant index finger sliding down behind the passive index, it is infront of the passive index. The other is making an O-shape with the dominant hand, then sliding down the passive index finger (... like putting on a condom.)

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Warning! Contains skewed comments & inane ramblings. May cause spontaneous human combustion

souggy

Funny story:

At an all-Deaf cafe, my mom went to get breakfast at the Manitoba School for the Deaf. They weren't allowed to speak at all, well the workers wouldn't know spoken English anyway. So she forgot the sign for toast. So she signed "brown bread."

What came out was "beer and bread."

Wee! Someone want to get smashed at 6 in the morning!

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Warning! Contains skewed comments & inane ramblings. May cause spontaneous human combustion

Bramus

I'd wish I'd kown that first one >.<

Apparently I've been signing A***HOLE instead of CLUELESS until one of my professors corrected me in class the other day Looking back, I've used that sign a lot...