Sign languages anybody?

[Sizen]

Just thought I'd chime in with my own recent experiences.

I've always been intrigued by sign languages, but had never really taken the time to look into them. Recently, though, after stumbling upon a manga that deals with the subject of deafness, I decided to look into the subject. And I've gotta say, my originally romanticized preconceptions of sign language have been replaced with a deeper respect I wasn't expecting.

I've mostly read about ASL and JSL, but information on their respective grammars is scarce, mostly due to a prevailing disinterest among linguists (and the general population) stemming from the long held belief that sign languages are not "real" languages. If you're not sure what sign language really is and how it differs from spoken language (and English), the Wikipedia articles on ASL grammar and JSL are worth a read. (The latter is in Japanese.) The whole concept of non-manual signs, and how they can denote verb tense and even topicalization, blew me away when I first read about them.

I'd like to preface this next part: to be sure, I am NOT an expert in the field of Deaf culture, nor even a member of the Deaf community. I do, however, understand that the human I am is often unaware of my own unconscious biases, my lack of knowledge/experience and the latent (but not intentionally hurtful) disinterest I can have towards certain groups of people and how that can prevent me from fully understanding and appreciating their point of view.

That being said, the general feeling I get from the reading I've done is that, when learning sign language, it is essential to understand that Deaf culture differs greatly from the cultures of most other spoken languages insofar as the Deaf community is a minority that is not afforded the same opportunities and is not always treated the same as hearing people. For this reason, the decision to learn sign language and become a part of the Deaf community shouldn't be taken as lightly as deciding to pick up a spoken language like Spanish or Mandarin. Unless you're learning on your own, out of curiosity, and don't intend to participate in the Deaf community, learning about Deaf culture and hearing privilege is, in my opinion, a prerequisite to learning the language responsibly.

One of the most interesting reads I've found in the past weeks has been this article where a non-native signer recounts his experience with the Deaf community after announcing he would be accepting donations in order to continue the production of his songsigning videos.

After looking into it, I've personally decided to not learn any sign language unless I find myself in a position where I might need to learn one, but I wish you the best of luck!

[Zireael]

Also there is no such thing as a Deaf culture everywhere in the world. Here in Poland, the deaf have been campaigning (for a few years) for recognition of sign language as a language, never mind the culture! Also, the main problem is that we have Signed Polish in addition to Polish Sign Language, and the two are often confused. Very often.

I am somewhere around A2 with my Polish Sign Language - I started learning a year ago because I have some deaf friends and because it makes communication easier in loud places. I'm hard of hearing and trying to hear a guy yelling to you in traffic... well.

[Serpent]

That being said, the general feeling I get from the reading I've done is that, when learning sign language, it is essential to understand that Deaf culture differs greatly from the cultures of most other spoken languages insofar as the Deaf community is a minority that is not afforded the same opportunities and is not always treated the same as hearing people. For this reason, the decision to learn sign language and become a part of the Deaf community shouldn't be taken as lightly as deciding to pick up a spoken language like Spanish or Mandarin. Unless you're learning on your own, out of curiosity, and don't intend to participate in the Deaf community, learning about Deaf culture and hearing privilege is, in my opinion, a prerequisite to learning the language responsibly.

One of the most interesting reads I've found in the past weeks has been this article where a non-native signer recounts his experience with the Deaf community after announcing he would be accepting donations in order to continue the production of his songsigning videos.

After looking into it, I've personally decided to not learn any sign language unless I find myself in a position where I might need to learn one, but I wish you the best of luck!

What an incredible article. And thanks for your post in general!

[Star1]

The problem with the songsigning videos wasn't that he was signing, it was that he was signing badly and wanted money for it. Most Deaf people want others to learn ASL (or another sign language like BSL, Auslan, etc.) It is frustrating for them to go to a business and find no one there that can communicate with them. That is why knowing a sign language is so good for a person's résumé.

Also there is no such thing as a Deaf culture everywhere in the world. Here in Poland, the deaf have been campaigning (for a few years) for recognition of sign language as a language, never mind the culture! Also, the main problem is that we have Signed Polish in addition to Polish Sign Language, and the two are often confused. Very often.

I am somewhere around A2 with my Polish Sign Language - I started learning a year ago because I have some deaf friends and because it makes communication easier in loud places. I'm hard of hearing and trying to hear a guy yelling to you in traffic... well.

What is Polish Sign Language like? Could you link to any good videos or articles about it?

Also, is anyone here learning Auslan? I have not seen it mentioned here, but it is one of the more common sign languages of the world.

[Tomás]

Plains Indian sign language:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plains_Indian_Sign_Language

I remember it from the old cowboy movies.

[solocricket]

That being said, the general feeling I get from the reading I've done is that, when learning sign language, it is essential to understand that Deaf culture differs greatly from the cultures of most other spoken languages insofar as the Deaf community is a minority that is not afforded the same opportunities and is not always treated the same as hearing people. For this reason, the decision to learn sign language and become a part of the Deaf community shouldn't be taken as lightly as deciding to pick up a spoken language like Spanish or Mandarin. Unless you're learning on your own, out of curiosity, and don't intend to participate in the Deaf community, learning about Deaf culture and hearing privilege is, in my opinion, a prerequisite to learning the language responsibly.

One of the most interesting reads I've found in the past weeks has been this article where a non-native signer recounts his experience with the Deaf community after announcing he would be accepting donations in order to continue the production of his songsigning videos.

After looking into it, I've personally decided to not learn any sign language unless I find myself in a position where I might need to learn one, but I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I definitely have an interest in Deaf culture/hearing privilege-- both that interest and the interest in ASL kind of collided.

[Zireael]

Also there is no such thing as a Deaf culture everywhere in the world. Here in Poland, the deaf have been campaigning (for a few years) for recognition of sign language as a language, never mind the culture! Also, the main problem is that we have Signed Polish in addition to Polish Sign Language, and the two are often confused. Very often.

I am somewhere around A2 with my Polish Sign Language - I started learning a year ago because I have some deaf friends and because it makes communication easier in loud places. I'm hard of hearing and trying to hear a guy yelling to you in traffic... well.

What is Polish Sign Language like? Could you link to any good videos or articles about it?

Try this site: http://www.plm.uw.edu.pl/

It's a faculty of the University of Warsaw devoted to Polish Sign Language. They're currently working on making a new sign language dictionary - the only other one I know of was made a few years ago by the Polish Deaf Association (PZG) and is impossible to get a hold of (low numbers and all sold out).

The site has an English version.

As I said, Polish Sign Language hasn't been recognized as a language for long, so it's difficult to get quality material apart from Deaf native signers recording themselves on YT for this or that course or campaign or whatever.

[Star1]

Thanks for the link.

For those of you interested in writing sign languages, here is ASL calligraphy:

http://www.handspeak.com/write/index.php?id=calligraphy

[arthaey]

For those of you interested in writing sign languages, here is ASL calligraphy:

http://www.handspeak.com/write/index.php?id=calligraphy

I hadn't stumbled across Smyle before, thanks!

[Xelian]

I studied a semester of ASL. It is much easier than learning spoken languages in my opinion, but comes with it's own challenges. For example, I could never get the expressions correct while signing. It was too much multitasking for me I guess, and I also have heard from friends that I don't have too much expression when I'm speaking, either. Everyone will have strong points and disadvantages with communicating well in different languages, even their own, so I can't speak for anyone else. However, I believe that because signing is visual, it is easier to learn for a large amount of people. On top of this, the "grammar" or structure of how the words are signed is really simple, and physically signing is pretty simple most of the time as well.

I only had enough time to learn basic ASL, but I really loved it. ASL is a lot of fun, it is really interesting to learn about the Deaf culture, and it got me interested in other signing languages such as JSL. I do recommend you give it a try, youtube has some great videos to introduce you to and develop your signing. ^^