ASL ...
Pris
Hi Amy N. ...
the absolute easiest way to learn
ASL is to take a class from a deaf person!!! second best is to spend time
w/ deaf people but if this isn't possible then try to check out ASL video tapes
from the library b/c most of the videos are too expensive to purchase unless you
plan to use these long~term ... you're absolutely right, it's difficult
learning ASL from a book b/c it's a 3-dimensional language ...
there is a big diff b/t learning
signs and actually signing; clear as mud??? it cracks me up when I hear
people saying, "ohhhhh I got an ASL dictionary and Sally knows such and such
signs (therefore) she's fluent" ... this makes me laugh b/c there is a big world
of diff b/t the two statements ... also, if you're going to learn ASL, as w/ any
language, you must also learn/understand it's culture; the two go hand in hand
... believe me, Deaf culture has a long very involved history but it's
very interesting w/ many sad elements, too!!!
back to the ASL sentence structure
... *hearies* (term used by deaf people to describe US)
rattle~rattle~rattle until we've
FINALLY made our point ... not so in the Deaf world, the most impt info MUST be
given first b/c it could be a matter of life/death; noun, verb, whatever else is
going on ... for instance, if you're signing "the baby is crying because
she is teething" ... prepositions (a, an, the) aren't used in ASL, so you'd sign
"baby (pointing), crying, why???, teething, (pointing to baby) she, (nodding
yes)" ... ugh, I'm not sure this was a very good example but you almost
have to turn the sentence around in your head, so to speak ... grammatical
markers are made on your face, for instance when trying to emphasize
*WHY*??? your eyebrows would be raised, your head tilted forward a bit and
eyes opened wide while looking @ the person you're signing to ... anyway, ASL is
a beautiful and very expressive language and it's not just a bunch of
disconnected words; it's an official lang w/ sentence structure, syntax, etc ...
Cathy Rice, Ben Behan, Linda Dove
(Sesame Street lady) are very impt in the Deaf culture, so anything written by
these people would be a great help (there are a # of other impt people but I
can't recall their names @ the moment; bad bad Pris) ... also, a # of great
videos are available from Garlic Press and the Bravo Video Series: The
Finger Alphabet, Signing at School, Can I Help?, Caring for Young Children,
Animal Signs, Pets Animals and Creatures, Mother Goose in Sign, Number and
Letter Games, Songs in Signs, Foods, Fruits and Vegetables and folk tales,
Cinderella, several others I can't think of @ the moment ... all of these
videos are really terrific but expensive, so borrow/rent if you
can ...
Galludet University in Washington,
DC http://www2.gallaudet.edu/ is the
only Liberal Arts Univ for the deaf in the US (all of my profs graduated
from GU) ... GU has a wonderful website of the history of Deaf culture w/
info about Laurent Clerc and Thomas Galludet can be found @ http://www.gallaudet.edu/~pubreweb/visitor/history/page1.html
... as for teaching sign to your
little one, *yes*, she's a perfect age ... deaf people b/g signing to
their little ones @ birth, just like us hearies talk w/ our
babies and most CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) will begin signing @
6mths old which is about the same age most hearing babies begin to babble
(ages are just estimates, of course) ... @ first CODA/deaf babies will use
one word phrases, just like hearing children and more complicated sentence
structure the older they get; it's very interesting and of course, a LOT of
variable go into this equation!!! I started signing to my babies @ a very
young age and we were AMAZED @ how much they understood by their 1st b-day; yes,
mama was *proud*!!! :)
btw, all of my sign teachers were
deaf which proved to be an asset!!! *ACK* I was absolutely
TERRIFIED when I walked into my first intro ASL class but this
was *WONDERFUL* b/c I was forced to communicate w/ my profs and they
graciously allowed you to enter their world (I say that w/ a LOT OF LOVE, I
certainly *hope* this doesn't sound patronizing or cheesy b/c to this day, it
always pulled my heartstrings when I think about those wonderful people!!!) ...
so, if you have the chance to take classes, TRY TO FIND A DEAF TEACHER, I always
say, learn from the master and you won't be sorry!!!
WELL, Amy N. this was a crash
course in ASL and I HOPE I haven't scared you off ... hehe ... OHHHHHHHHHH, by
all means, GO FOR IT, you'll have a *blast* and so will your dd!!!
and, HAPPY *1st* B-day to your
little Accalia (what a pretty name) ... AND HAPPY B-day to little Morgan,
too, oops, now I can't find Morgan's mama's post,
ACK!!! ohhhhhhhhh, if we were fact~2~face I'd
bust out w/ signing ***Happy B-day*** to both of the birthday children :)
<VBG>
Pris
----- Original Message -----From: CA NelsonSent: Sunday, June 11, 2000 3:45 PMSubject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] Fill in the blanks...Please.Pris-
I loved reading your novel :). It's so sad that you had to get to a point like you did with your childrens' schools to enter homeschooling, but I'm so glad it worked out for you. I read that you are proficient in ASL. I'm really interested in teaching dd ASL and baby signs so we're better able to communicate before she becomes verbal (she's fully hearing, BTW). I have board books that give diagrams of the signs (ex. First Book of Animal Signs), but I have such a hard time figuring a lot of them out since I know next to nothing of ASL. Apart from taking a class, are there any resources you could recommend that would help me out?
TIA
Pris
me again ...
btw ... you'll notice I used (D)eaf culture and (d)eaf people ... when
talking about the culture you use a capital *D* and when talking about the
people, you don't capitalize the *d* ... just one of those little cultural
quirks ...
Pris
----- Original Message -----From: PrisSent: Sunday, June 11, 2000 6:44 PMSubject: [Unschooling-dotcom] ASL ...Hi Amy N. ...the absolute easiest way to learn ASL is to take a class from a deaf person!!! second best is to spend time w/ deaf people but if this isn't possible then try to check out ASL video tapes from the library b/c most of the videos are too expensive to purchase unless you plan to use these long~term ... you're absolutely right, it's difficult learning ASL from a book b/c it's a 3-dimensional language ...there is a big diff b/t learning signs and actually signing; clear as mud??? it cracks me up when I hear people saying, "ohhhhh I got an ASL dictionary and Sally knows such and such signs (therefore) she's fluent" ... this makes me laugh b/c there is a big world of diff b/t the two statements ... also, if you're going to learn ASL, as w/ any language, you must also learn/understand it's culture; the two go hand in hand ... believe me, Deaf culture has a long very involved history but it's very interesting w/ many sad elements, too!!!back to the ASL sentence structure ... *hearies* (term used by deaf people to describe US) rattle~rattle~rattle until we've FINALLY made our point ... not so in the Deaf world, the most impt info MUST be given first b/c it could be a matter of life/death; noun, verb, whatever else is going on ... for instance, if you're signing "the baby is crying because she is teething" ... prepositions (a, an, the) aren't used in ASL, so you'd sign "baby (pointing), crying, why???, teething, (pointing to baby) she, (nodding yes)" ... ugh, I'm not sure this was a very good example but you almost have to turn the sentence around in your head, so to speak ... grammatical markers are made on your face, for instance when trying to emphasize *WHY*??? your eyebrows would be raised, your head tilted forward a bit and eyes opened wide while looking @ the person you're signing to ... anyway, ASL is a beautiful and very expressive language and it's not just a bunch of disconnected words; it's an official lang w/ sentence structure, syntax, etc ...Cathy Rice, Ben Behan, Linda Dove (Sesame Street lady) are very impt in the Deaf culture, so anything written by these people would be a great help (there are a # of other impt people but I can't recall their names @ the moment; bad bad Pris) ... also, a # of great videos are available from Garlic Press and the Bravo Video Series: The Finger Alphabet, Signing at School, Can I Help?, Caring for Young Children, Animal Signs, Pets Animals and Creatures, Mother Goose in Sign, Number and Letter Games, Songs in Signs, Foods, Fruits and Vegetables and folk tales, Cinderella, several others I can't think of @ the moment ... all of these videos are really terrific but expensive, so borrow/rent if you can ...Galludet University in Washington, DC http://www2.gallaudet.edu/ is the only Liberal Arts Univ for the deaf in the US (all of my profs graduated from GU) ... GU has a wonderful website of the history of Deaf culture w/ info about Laurent Clerc and Thomas Galludet can be found @ http://www.gallaudet.edu/~pubreweb/visitor/history/page1.html... as for teaching sign to your little one, *yes*, she's a perfect age ... deaf people b/g signing to their little ones @ birth, just like us hearies talk w/ our babies and most CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults) will begin signing @ 6mths old which is about the same age most hearing babies begin to babble (ages are just estimates, of course) ... @ first CODA/deaf babies will use one word phrases, just like hearing children and more complicated sentence structure the older they get; it's very interesting and of course, a LOT of variable go into this equation!!! I started signing to my babies @ a very young age and we were AMAZED @ how much they understood by their 1st b-day; yes, mama was *proud*!!! :)btw, all of my sign teachers were deaf which proved to be an asset!!! *ACK* I was absolutely TERRIFIED when I walked into my first intro ASL class but this was *WONDERFUL* b/c I was forced to communicate w/ my profs and they graciously allowed you to enter their world (I say that w/ a LOT OF LOVE, I certainly *hope* this doesn't sound patronizing or cheesy b/c to this day, it always pulled my heartstrings when I think about those wonderful people!!!) ... so, if you have the chance to take classes, TRY TO FIND A DEAF TEACHER, I always say, learn from the master and you won't be sorry!!!WELL, Amy N. this was a crash course in ASL and I HOPE I haven't scared you off ... hehe ... OHHHHHHHHHH, by all means, GO FOR IT, you'll have a *blast* and so will your dd!!!and, HAPPY *1st* B-day to your little Accalia (what a pretty name) ... AND HAPPY B-day to little Morgan, too, oops, now I can't find Morgan's mama's post, ACK!!! ohhhhhhhhh, if we were fact~2~face I'd bust out w/ signing ***Happy B-day*** to both of the birthday children :) <VBG>Pris
CA Nelson
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain a little more about ASL and the deaf culture. It's absolutely fascinating and probably very misunderstood by most of the hearies. I do understand what you meant by there's a difference between learning signs and actually signing. It's even more complicated now after your explanation :).
I don't know if there are even any ASL classes in my community (town of 14,000), but I was planning a trip to our library tomorrow so I'll definitely check out if there are any videos there. I do have a close out of town friend that took classes. Maybe I can beg a little instruction of her.
My interest in baby signs started after browsing the book "Baby Signs", and then I heard from some people that they've taught their hearing babies ASL, and I thought "How neat!" I'm sure it'd be much easier just to teach Accalia non-ASL signs, but I think it's a skill that would benefit all of us throughout life.
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: "Pris" <x_t_sipr@...>
CA Nelson
Makes perfect sense. I'll remember that from now on.
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: "Pris" <x_t_sipr@...>
me again ...
btw ... you'll notice I used (D)eaf culture and (d)eaf people ... when talking about the culture you use a capital *D* and when talking about the people, you don't capitalize the *d* ... just one of those little cultural quirks ...
Pris
panchot
I must
know how to correctly pronounce your name! :-)
...please....
Brynn
Pris
... yes, ASL is complicated but oops, sorry, I didn't mean to
confuse you :}
Pris
----- Original Message -----From: CA NelsonSent: Sunday, June 11, 2000 7:38 PMSubject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] ASL ...Pris-
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain a little more about ASL and the deaf culture. It's absolutely fascinating and probably very misunderstood by most of the hearies. I do understand what you meant by there's a difference between learning signs and actually signing. It's even more complicated now after your explanation :).
I don't know if there are even any ASL classes in my community (town of 14,000), but I was planning a trip to our library tomorrow so I'll definitely check out if there are any videos there. I do have a close out of town friend that took classes. Maybe I can beg a little instruction of her.
My interest in baby signs started after browsing the book "Baby Signs", and then I heard from some people that they've taught their hearing babies ASL, and I thought "How neat!" I'm sure it'd be much easier just to teach Accalia non-ASL signs, but I think it's a skill that would benefit all of us throughout life.
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: "Pris" <x_t_sipr@...>
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CA Nelson
Well, you didn't really confuse me (not too hard to do, though), but you definitely expanded my scope of ASL. It's a good thing you did that :).
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: "Pris" <x_t_sipr@...>
... yes, ASL is complicated but oops, sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you :}
Pris
Pris
it really is fun, good luck and let me know what you decided to do, Amy
:)
Pris
----- Original Message -----From: CA NelsonSent: Sunday, June 11, 2000 9:08 PMSubject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] ASL ...Pris-
Well, you didn't really confuse me (not too hard to do, though), but you definitely expanded my scope of ASL. It's a good thing you did that :).
--
Amy Nelson
Mama to Accalia (6/14/99)
"The hardest to learn was the least complicated." - The Indigo Girls
From: "Pris" <x_t_sipr@...>
... yes, ASL is complicated but oops, sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you :}
Pris
Message boards, timely articles, a free newsletter and more!
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[email protected]
Pris,
Thanks for all the great information. I, too love ASL. I had a deaf friend
I met at work, who taught to sign. I am afraid I have not had a lot of
oppurtunity to use it in the last 8-9 years.
I have been teaching some signs to my dd (3) who loves it and wants to know
the signs for everything. My ds (1) has signs for shower, bath, bird, up,
need/want. He uses these pretty regularly, even though I have not be
consistant.
I think most of the "Baby Signs" are pretty close to ASL, but my little one
changes the signs, so he is able to do them---which is okay for now--I get
what he is saying and he will be able to do them in correct form later.
Julie
Thanks for all the great information. I, too love ASL. I had a deaf friend
I met at work, who taught to sign. I am afraid I have not had a lot of
oppurtunity to use it in the last 8-9 years.
I have been teaching some signs to my dd (3) who loves it and wants to know
the signs for everything. My ds (1) has signs for shower, bath, bird, up,
need/want. He uses these pretty regularly, even though I have not be
consistant.
I think most of the "Baby Signs" are pretty close to ASL, but my little one
changes the signs, so he is able to do them---which is okay for now--I get
what he is saying and he will be able to do them in correct form later.
Julie
Pris
TOO FUNNY ... when I first read your post I thought you said "My ds (1) has
SINGS in the shower!!!" haha, pretty good, just learning to walk and
SINGING in the shower, too ... *duh* on me ...
my kidos always felt like we were talking in a secret code (I guess we were,
come to think of it!!!) b/c I made a game out of learning sign ...
Pris
SINGS in the shower!!!" haha, pretty good, just learning to walk and
SINGING in the shower, too ... *duh* on me ...
my kidos always felt like we were talking in a secret code (I guess we were,
come to think of it!!!) b/c I made a game out of learning sign ...
Pris
----- Original Message -----
From: <Jaam1224@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2000 6:32 AM
Subject: Re: [Unschooling-dotcom] ASL ...
> Pris,
> Thanks for all the great information. I, too love ASL. I had a deaf
friend
> I met at work, who taught to sign. I am afraid I have not had a lot of
> oppurtunity to use it in the last 8-9 years.
>
> I have been teaching some signs to my dd (3) who loves it and wants to
know
> the signs for everything. My ds (1) has signs for shower, bath, bird,
up,
> need/want. He uses these pretty regularly, even though I have not be
> consistant.
>
> I think most of the "Baby Signs" are pretty close to ASL, but my little
one
> changes the signs, so he is able to do them---which is okay for now--I get
> what he is saying and he will be able to do them in correct form later.
>
> Julie
>
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