ASL and Spoken English at the same time

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MornHyland

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I was visiting a friends family who doesn't use ASL and while I can kind of follow a conversation where I have enough visual cues, I got told that I should be signing at the same time I'm speaking (my speech is very good, hence they don't really think I am deaf). I was told that signing at the same time I'm speaking is to distracting, yet since signing is part of my normal everyday communication style it is difficult to just sit on my hands and not move them as I speak.

I mean at least my hand movement has meaning and not just random gestures.
 
You have the total right to use whatever form of communication you like. It seems like you are showing the way you would like all of them to communicate. Like you said, you can "kind of follow" a conversation with them. If they aren't willing to learn sign for you, why should you have to stop signing for them?
 
I could go either way. If come to deaf friends, I sign, if HOH then I don't sign or sign depending how well they can understand me. If hearing, I just talk. <sigh> If one told me to sign and talk at the same time in either way, I'll mum myself shut. Becuz if I sign and talk at the same time, my head confused me. I can't get them in the line. So I rather just separate 'em. Me think.....I need to go back to ASL class and learn more.
 
At least for hearing people learning sign, Sim-Com, to put it simply, sucks. If you are speaking English, you will sign English, even signing CASE can become difficult. Also, speaking in general is an easy way to forget to sign, assuming the person will understand you because you verabalized a full sentence. (With deaf people, this doesn't always work, believe me) It is much easier for me to just sign or just speak. I can do both if I have to, but I apologize to both parties in advance for the "speshal" as deafdyke would say, communication they will get from me.
Many deaf people are totally comfortable signing/speaking and hey, go them! They've also generally had a lot more exposure to sign than hearing people learning sign, and at a younger age. For those deaf people who grew up oral, learned/are learning sign, and can just do it, yay for them.
 
Yeah, I noticed it. Hmmmm...I remember when I talked to my daughter, I ended up w/ a habit of speaking and signing at the same time. She would yelled, "Mom, you're signing. I'm not deaf!" Oops. Oh, well. I decided to tell her, "Well, honey, you have to read my hands while I'm speaking so you can improve your skill." She looked at me with an awkward and puzzling face. <sigh> So I stopped signing and speaking at the same time toward my kids. But she's improving her skill, my son is finger-spelling boy. He also learned some hand signs. He won't speak his dad's family's native language "Spanish." We can't force him to speak Spanish (he has his reasons) as we don't force him to sign with his hands. He'll growing with the signs. He has a nice habit of signing and speaking at the same time to their dad but if he doesn't have much signs, he'll gesture with his hands. I will have to work on signing and speaking at the same time. Like I said, it's hard for me. I would be quiet and signing when chatting with deaf ppl. My tongue would slip if I sign. Oh, well. That's life for me. But I'm ready to go to the next level in college. :)
 
It's not possible to sign ASL at the same time as speaking English - it is either going to come out like you're speaking ASL out loud, or your signing is going to be more Englishy.

That said, what you're doing is called simultaneous communication (aka SimCom). It's totally normal, and there's no reason for you to stop doing it. Goodness knows deaf people have enough trouble following a conversation most of the time, it's okay for the hearing people to have to concentrate a little harder occasionally!
 
Yes it can with or without orally speaking that you can learn ASL at the same time.. Most of us do not speak faster like hearing people do thats when it s conflict problem to be shown.. Hearing people do not write the whole sentence on paper pad while they tried to communicate with us in a real life. So what is your point?

Smile!
Sweetmind
 
Sweetmind said:
Yes it can with or without orally speaking that you can learn ASL at the same time.. Most of us do not speak faster like hearing people do thats when it s conflict problem to be shown.. Hearing people do not write the whole sentence on paper pad while they tried to communicate with us in a real life. So what is your point?

Smile!
Sweetmind
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I didn't mean that hearing people when they SimCom are leaving stuff out, although that happens too. It is just not possible to speak two languages at the same time even if one of them is with your hands...it is like speaking in German and Spanish at the same time. They are constructed differently, so it doesn't matter how slow or fast you go. It can't be pure strong ASL and correct English at the same time...which is why many people use PSE when they SimCom.
 
I am used to speaking while I sign and when I am in the company of 100 % Deaf friends. I don't use my voice. I come from an all hearing family and I am the only one who is Deaf. Just one, myself Deaf too.
 
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