Sign Language

[Ariel]

I watched Switched at Birth and it was my first experience watching entire conversations in sign language, aside from interpreters.

I was surprised at the amount of emotions they could convey through hand gestures without using their voice.

It was also pretty fascinating to learn there was a whole, fleshed-out culture for the Deaf.

Does anyone know sign language?

[MamaToBoys]

I know just a tiny bit. However, you can buy programs for learning sign language. Some homeschoolers use it to meet their foreign language requirements for college applications.

[pcgamer]

Nope, nada, nothing. I don't know any sign language. That's why I have had difficulties  communicating with any deaf person.

[kitkat0124]

I only know how to say the Alphabet with the use of my hand. The correct way, but of course you can't communicate with them by forming all the letters of what your trying to say.  :grin:

[klassiter]

I would love to learn Sign Language.  I have always had an interest in it.  I have a 3 month old daughter and I plan to start teaching her some signs.  From my research signs are great to use with babies.  Teaching your baby to sign helps reduce temper tantrums and frustration because your baby has a way of communicating with you before they can talk.  I purchased the Signing Times DVD to learn some simple signs to teach my baby.  I can't wait to see how well it works.

[LauraM]

It was also pretty fascinating to learn there was a whole, fleshed-out culture for the Deaf.

Yes, indeed.  I first learned about the culture of the deaf when I was in college.  I had a close friend -- a hearing person -- who knew sign language fluently and who had grown up with deaf family members and friends.  She felt more comfortable within the deaf culture. 

As she was not totally happy in our college, she transferred to Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, which is devoted to the education of the deaf and the hearing impaired.  I heard from her from time to time; she was much happier there and was studying to become a teacher in deaf schools. 

So yes, it is very much, a separate culture and society. To learn sign language and to become fluent in it would be much like learning a spoken language and immersing yourself in the culture and customs of the native land where it is spoken. 

[btatro]

I know some very basic sign language, mostly what I used to communicate with my daughter when she was a baby. I don't think I would ever be able to understand a converstation though, but I do love to watch it!

[Topcho]

I find sign language fascinating, but apart from watching it in the news or in different shows, I didn't have any contact with people who actually use it. I think it is beautiful and wonderful tho. Maybe, if I never meet person who usues the sign language, I will never learn it. But I really admire the people who do.

[wannalurnspanish]

I know various words and phrases. I was using a book to learn, and the way it does it makes it pretty easy to remember the words because you practice them in sentences. Unfortunately, after I had learned what I had learned, I went on Amazon to get a review of the book (after watching Switched at Birth) and found the reviews to be dismal. Why? I figured that ASL was basically just English spoken through signs. You know, everything you say you sign word for word - which it would make it pretty easy once you learn the signs.

Unfortunately I found out that it's not like that. They have a special way of doing the word order, or so I read, that doesn't quite match up with typical verbal English. Crumbs! None of the languages are easy! The book was a good way to remember the signs though - I think anyway. Since you learn signs in sentences I think it just makes it easier. If I had time to learn the word order, or the rules or whatever behind it I would.

It really is fascinating to watch. I enjoy watching Switched at Birth, and have always loved watching Mr. Holland's Opus. The movie always makes me want to spend some more time working on it.

[spanish]

I don't know sign language but l would like to learn,  here in the UK there is a childrens channel and one of the shows has a lot of sign language in. lf l ever moved to a different country being qualified in sign language could come in very handy.

[GetFresh]

I honestly don't know a bit of sign language. I don't even know anybody that uses sign language. It would be cool to learn though.

[MyDigitalpoint]

When I just started surfing the web I found a sign language script that I thought was worth to setup as one of my first websites because I thought it could be helpful to understand this language and communicate with people using it.

However I later found the traditional sign language consisting of finger positions to get vowels and consonants seems not to be longer in use.

Watching the news on TV there is a section where a woman appears "translating" the news into a sign language and rather to make those vowel/consonant combinations, she seems to make symbolic reference of things that all of understand whether we know about this language or have no idea about it, but we all can understand.

Or at least most of what this woman "says" with her hands.

[Lorigh]

I watched Switched at Birth and it was my first experience watching entire conversations in sign language, aside from interpreters.

I was surprised at the amount of emotions they could convey through hand gestures without using their voice.

It was also pretty fascinating to learn there was a whole, fleshed-out culture for the Deaf.

Does anyone know sign language?

I teach at a school with a wing of Deaf students. I know a few things in order to be able to communicate with them. They are an amazing group of children. I love to watch them talk. Some of the teachers who work with them can hear, some cannot, and watching them communicate is fascinating. They do have a completely different culture.

[wander_n_wonder]

I watched Switched at Birth and it was my first experience watching entire conversations in sign language, aside from interpreters.

I was surprised at the amount of emotions they could convey through hand gestures without using their voice.

It was also pretty fascinating to learn there was a whole, fleshed-out culture for the Deaf.

Does anyone know sign language?

Yeah, I also enjoy watching Switched at Birth and get fascinated by the conversations in sign language.  They are really very expressive in a quiet way.

I have had an opportunity to learn a bit of sign language when I was in high school.  It was not easy and I ended up forgetting about it because I don't have much chance to practice.

[mareebaybay]

I don't know sign language myself, but I have heard that it is very easy to learn. Sign Language seems like an easy language to learn with me as well. I honestly think you could learn how to communicate using sign language by studying using online resources.

[leahcim132]

Sign language is definitely very cool. When I see someone using sign language, I am in such awe. It is a language like no other . One day, I would like to learn sign language!

[thekernel]

I have a few deaf people in my family as well as some others who know/teach sign language. It's very fascinating to see the vocabulary in action. I learned a lot of the alphabet and how to say things like "water" or "I love you", but I never did fully grasp conversation. Fortunately, deaf people are very good at reading lips and they can communicate with those who do not know the language of the hands.

One of the cooler things in my nan's possessions was the phone they used. It was the earliest form of text messaging I've encountered.

[rgaz83]

If you're interested in sign language, this guy has some beautiful videos of songs, done in ASL: http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainValor/videos

The nice thing about his videos is that not only do the captions display the lyrics, but what he's actually signing as well. Some of it's extremely different! I find it quite interesting to watch his videos, too bad he doesn't make them any longer.

[limon]

Oh that is excellent, thanks for the link.

I've always meant to learns some sign language.

[Elizabethr6144]

I do not personally know sign language but one of my best friends has a deaf sister. It really amazes me because her sister really can show emotion through her signs. She has taught me a few things and sign language is something I would love to learn. It's really a whole different world for people who can't hear, but I don't think they see the world much differently then we do.

[Moopfrteo456]

I want to learn sign language I'm always interested in it I have a 3 month old daughter and I plan to start teaching her some signs. from my research Good signs to use with babies Teaching your child to sign autographs reduces anger and resentment.

WWW.UFABET.COM

Because your child has a way of communicating with you before he can speak. I bought the Signing Times DVD to learn simple signs. to teach my child I can't wait to see how well it works.

[Elizabeth Williams]

It's cool that you enjoyed "Switched at Birth" and got to see sign language in action for the first time! Sign language is amazing because it lets people express feelings and thoughts without speaking. Plus, there's a whole Deaf culture with its own way of doing things.

Ever thought about learning sign language yourself? It's a neat skill to have, whether you want to connect with Deaf friends or just learn something new. There are lots of ways to learn, like online classes or community groups. It's definitely worth giving it a try!