Anne. said:
Just FYI-
I am swiss,Filipino, spanish,(hearing person,also) & born in the philippines,
now living in Honolulu Hawaii USA.
That is the first in my life I have heard of, & I am very glad to know that they now have something like that there(filipino Interpreters).
My question is, How is it different? or is it (alot)similar to ASL or SEE??
Do they & you sign in filipino (tagalog) or in ASL or SEE as well??
I have never met a filipino deaf person at all, & I am unfamiliar with how they sign, So I would like to know.
I am sorry that I too have quesions of my own than an answer to give you.
So, I do hope to hear from you soon.
P.S. I am also glad that they have finally come around into the computer world. When I left as a young child, computer there did not exist at all, nor any cell phone what so ever.
I wait for your reply.
Take care & have good week.
Anne. 
Hello there Anne!!!
It's very nice to hear from you!!! I'm so glad that someone responded to my thread, even better because a lady replied. Are you a sign language interpreter too? How long have you been living in Hawaii?
Interpreters in the Philippines are a very very rare breed. Those that stay here are the ones having a great big heart for our Filipino deaf brothers and sisters. A great many of them are enticed by the green buck and most of them are living in other countries like the US. Did you know that some used deaf people just to go there? It's very depressing to find out that they just take some units of special education here and that's the only requirement in order to go there. It's a surefire ticket in going to the US. Those of us who opted to stay here are doing multi-tasking jobs. We interpret in courts, seminars, churches, wherever there is a need, and most of them are pro bono.
In spite of that, deaf education, interpreting, deaf awareness, culture and rights are developing at a rapid stage. Even then, we are still facing an uphill battle. Acknowledgment of a unique Filipino Sign Language is not being encouraged by the Department of Education and the principal of the biggest school for the deaf in the country don't even know how to communicate well with the deaf.
FSL is a distinct indigenous language. ASL has a great influence due to American teachers for the deaf. But researches in FSL are making headway through the grant from the Japanese foundation.
Visit the sites:
http://www.phildeafres.org
- they are the ones doing the researches
http://b.1asphost.com/philfeddeaf
- this is the Philippine Federation of the Deaf official website (made by our deaf students for free); they are the ones advocating FSL usage
What we believe that since a deaf child only learned a language when he entered the school, there is a need to develop his inherent language first before feeding the English or even Filipino language to them. Our educational system is patterned after a hearing perspective. I can feel the child's big task ahead of them, learning three languages at the same time when they entered Grade 1. So it's either one suffers or everything.
What we are doing now are just remedial measures. I am a training director of a post-secondary school for the deaf. It's too difficult for us. Instead of concentrating on the skills to be developed, we need to go back to language acquisition and writing system.
I think Gallaudet university or any schools for the deaf there in the US already have a book or writings about ASL in computer terms. May seek your assistance in that? I hope you may be able to help us. Thank you in advance.
Jojo
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