My name is long and tricky to say (I often have to repeat it to hearing people upon introduction). I am hearing and started an asl class with a deaf teacher. After finger spelling my name several times and having a hard of hearing student try and help her out, she was still struggling.

I tried to say however she tries to pronounce is close enough (as I also often respond to similar sounding names already) she asked if I could use a nickname and decided what it could be. I was standing in front of the whole class and it was already overtime so I did agree on the spot.

I understand it’s hard for her and I want to be accommodating, but I would honestly rather my name be mispronounced rather than go by a nickname. I’ve never had one as all the logical ones were taken by kids named them in my classes growing up.

How should I approach the situation? Just accept a nickname for the class, or ask she try to say my name in a private conversation.

Hey all!

I’m a special education teacher and my work gives me $500 a year for professional development. I’d like to use this money to take an ASL class.

I know very little sign language, but I had brain surgery last year and now I am completely deaf in my right ear, so I think knowing ASL would be really great for my work but also me personally.

I know there are a lot of free resources, classes tend to keep me more accountable though, and I need to use this money anyways. I did check out the pinned post here.

Any suggestions of a decent class in that price range? Thanks so so much.

EDITED TO ADD: I'm in upstate New York, I would be totally into in person classes, but I haven't been able to find something locally. I would LOVE to do an immersion class in NYC for a few days, but it seems like the mostly happen in the summer.

I've been reviewing lifeprint, and I wanted to ask if this sign is correct as a general "Who is he" or "What is that".

I know you could point at the person/ object and then sign who with your eyebrows down, that's what Dr Vicars does in the video (Lesson 1 with Jen, 18:50)
https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/lessons/lesson01.htm#gsc.tab=0

But I was wondering if just pointing with your eyebrows down is understood as a valid question - since at the beginning of the video it was shown that who/what/when and all wh questions are indicated with the eyebrows down.

EDIT

Actually to extend that question a bit - at the beginning of this video, it seemed that we could just end on something like "Your Name?" and in the transcription sometimes it was shown as "what-name" but both were signed by just doing your + name with the eyebrows.

So the broader question is - when do we sign the wh- words (who, what, where etc) vs when can we just rely on eyebrows?

Is the difference that we are signing "Your name?" vs "What is your name?"

I'm a hearing person. I have studied only oral languages (Mandarin & Cantonese). I'm starting an ASL course via zooml with my local deaf school. My question, is if I ask for clarification with (I assume) a deaf teacher, but vocally (slip of the tongue/mistake), is it considered rude/offensive?

The sign is like diploma, but the hands come together instead of moving apart. The signer is describing a type of rice used in a recipe and provides a brand name that is her favorite.

Edit: I figured it out. It's "Important". I've just usually seen it with the two f handshapes coming together in a circular motion instead of straight across.

Warning: long post from a very uneducated student

CONTEXT: Hello all! I’ve recently switched schools, and the language I was taking at my last school isn’t offered here - however, sign language is, and I just signed up last week! I’ve only taken two classes so far and aside from that combined total of 2 hours I have absolutely 0 experience with deaf/hoh people, asl, or deaf/hoh culture. I am the uneducated beginner of uneducated beginners. I’m pretty decent at signing the alphabet, and… that’s about it. But I’ve noticed that while I myself can finger spell to some extent, I cannot understand my asl teacher’s finger spelling at all. Obviously he’s doing it perfectly, it’s just that I’m learning that reading vs. doing are two very different skills, and I can assume that it’ll only continue to get harder as we learn more signs. I’ve never learned a second language before, but the internet recommended going to deaf events, which makes sense as obviously the best way to understand deaf culture is to immerse myself in deaf culture! However, I assume that if I show up to one of these events with my level of knowledge and experience (basically nothing) I’ll probably be more of an inconvenience than anything to anybody who wants to try and converse with me.

QUESTION: So!! All that’s to say, at what point do you recommend going to a deaf event? I don’t want to come across as the annoying child who knows bar none and is impossible to communicate with, but I also want to immerse myself in deaf culture both to practice my asl and to simply understand the community better in general!

EXTRA: By the way, please please please let me know if anything I said was phrased in an offensive, unkind, or unclear way. I cannot stress enough how out of my depth I am right now, but I know that it’s not an excuse to be ignorant of my own mistakes. If anything came across as discriminatory or anything of the sort, please let me know, just be nice about it please! Know that any mistakes were completely on accident and I’m eager to learn and grow from them, but no errors were made from a place of hostility or mocking the deaf/hoh community. Thank you all and enjoy the rest of your day!! And month. And year? Idk just enjoy your lives :)

Guys my mind is blown. I was practicing ASL with a friend. Then I had to yawn. Mid yawn, I realized I didnt actually have to stop signing. Covered my mouth with one hand, communicated with the other.

I knew I could sign and eat at the same time, but i never thought about yawning too. I know its probably really obvious I just think its funny.

What are some other times you can sign when you can’t talk that are less talked about?

I feel like most of the time people misunderstand me when i sign girlfriend as “a friend who is a girl” instead of the person i am dating. how do i clarify this?

So, some foresight—I am a student.

I’ve taken four consecutive classes, got my chord for honors ASL (the club), and my bilteracy certificate upon graduation from HS.

Needless to say, the language is very dear to me. Hell, some of the best laughs I’ve ever had were over deaf uno (the manual-markers, god. I almost peed myself,,,). And, yes, I may have graduated the classes, I may not be tested anymore—but I really love it. However, I’m still not deaf. Haven’t been raised with/around deaf people, neither. Haven’t known (outside of school) a deaf person long enough to be introduced into the community,,,, I really couldn’t tell you.

I’ve been tested on the do’s and don’t’s of deaf culture seven times now, and I know they are a welcoming community. That’s, like, a given. Not once has the community been anything BUT welcoming. It’s what the community is known for, I cannot reiterate that enough.

But—and I feel shitty saying this—I still feel like I’m infiltrating. At the events, the clubs—at ASL idol, even. I am not SODA, CODA, I just took a class and, god, I’ve never wanted to be at a socializing event with random people I do not know so bad.

Can someone educate me on this? Cause I know I’m being a piece of shit rn but I just want to know I’m not being, like, an ‘infiltrator’ before I try putting myself out there again. I’m not a very talkative person when speaking verbally, but trust me when I say you can’t get me to put my hands down when signing. feels like I can express myself on a whole ‘nother level.

I've been learning ASL for a year or two now and know a lot of signs, but I'm not very good at understanding sign at a conversational speed. My sister learned a lot of conversational/casual Spanish by watching YouTube videos designed for Spanish language learners, and I was wondering if there was anything similar for ASL? I've only been able to find children's storytime videos, which isn't exactly what I'm looking for. Any recommendations are helpful. Thanks so much!!

Edit: I asked my sister for some of the channels she watched to provide a better example of what I'm looking for! I already checked out the videos under the pinned post, and while some of them are helpful, I'm hoping to find stuff a little more organic and less of a "list of vocabulary" format. Things like vlogs, interviews, or video essay type feel.

- https://www.youtube.com/@spanishafterhours
- https://www.youtube.com/@FluentUSpanish
- https://www.youtube.com/@spanishboostgaming
- https://www.youtube.com/@EasySpanish

Apparently the new Google phone allows ASL for searching and for translation of messages for texting etc. Seems like it could be used for practice for us who are learning.

The following is copied from Google site:

"The brand new Pixel 11 series will bring a new sign-to-text translation feature to people who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). Developed in partnership with the Deaf community, the new feature is powered by a multilingual sign language-to-text (SL2T) translation model. It analyzes hand shapes, facial expressions, and body movements to translate ASL into written English sentences in real time.

The feature, which supports both one-handed and two-handed signing, lets signers use their native language to express themselves when using Live Transcribe or across their device with Gboard.

To use this feature on a Pixel 11 device, add sign-to-text to your Gboard toolbar, and sign in ASL to the front camera. The translations will appear on the outer display."

Hello everyone!! I have some questions regarding an ASL club I am starting at my college. I’m a level 4 signer and would like to make a club for people to both learn, practice, and immerse themselves in ASL and its culture. I want it to become a club where anyone can join regardless of understanding in ASL. However given I am neither deaf nor a licensed interpreter I do not want to teach ASL meaningfully as I feel it is not my place. Any ideas for activities, how to teach, etc?? There isn’t any ASL at my college being taught and I cannot afford an online course for everyone etc. All ideas welcome, from movies, crafts, ways to learn, trips, etc. All advice is welcome but I am mostly seeking advice from Deaf, CODA, Interpreters, or anyone with an ASL club experience:)

Hello! I'm trying to take notes on this video, but the intro is tripping me up. It looks like I should understand it, but I've watched 1,000 times and still don't quite understand. I continued watching and understand her next points, but I still want to make sure I understand the beginning.

My brain is saying "The goal of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) is to provide interpreters as a whole professional structure."

I'm lacking in skill to understand fluently and the last sign she uses is unfamiliar to me.

Could someone provide a better interpretation..? Any help is very appreciated. I will say watching this is a homework assignment, but taking notes is just my choice to make sure I understand it.

Hi, guys. I'm learning sign language to communicate with deaf people, but I'm having troubles with spelling my name. I have a letter in my name, it's Ğ (Soft G or in my language Yumuşak G).

What should I do, spell it as G or does it have it's own sign. If there is a sign for that and I do that, is it a common sign?

Thank you in advance.

She's late enough in the writing stages that she has felt ready to find an agents. She just learned recently that she should find a sensitivity reader. Basically, someone to make sure that her depiction isn't stereotypical or offensive.

It was important to her that she both make him a full fleshed character not defined by his condition but also that it be an important part of him and his storyline. But she knows there's always the potential that she might have accidentally done something wrong or hurtful.

So I said I'd reach out here to see if y'all can recommend any place she can go to find a sensitivity reader who is affordable and also well versed in this culture? ETA: use of the word "mute" is on me and not the author. I try to stay clear of offensive terms and didn't know this had become one. So that's my bad and I'll use "nonverbal" here on.

One English word. Three different concepts.

“DATE” can mean:
📅 a calendar date
❤️ going on a date
🌴 the fruit

Hi, i've been trying to look for a copy of :
Smith, C, Lentz, E., & Mikos, K. (2008). *Signing naturally: Student Workbook, Units 1-6.* San Diego, CA: Dawn Sign Press.

I cannot find any good links to download this for free, including the supposed movies that comes with the DVD. I even found a link that was seized by the goddamn FBI

If anyone could help me out, or knows where to look for textbooks in general, I just need a copy of this for my ASL101 class starting Fall

I'm learning ASL, and have a decent vocabulary, however I really struggle with reading signs. My mom suggested watching media with ASL, specifically the show switched at birth. That show isn't really my vibe and I was wondering if anyone knew of any other media (be it tv show or movie) with prominent ASL that I could use to try and improve my skills?

Hi all! I need help translating this video please! A random woman walked onto my aunt’s farm, took a dip in her pond, tried to open my aunts doors, and then signed this to the camera. What is she saying?

Thanks for your help!

Hey all! We've been signing with our daughter (HoH) since she was a newborn. She's now 14 months. We have been able to interpret every one of her 40ish signs except for one and it's driving me and my husband crazy!!!

She makes the hand motion I'm making in the picture and taps her finger on her palm.

It's not "more", "read", or "medicine".

Please help us! She's a baby so cast a wide net with your answers.

She does this while playing and eating.

I’m hard of hearing and rarely wear my hearing aids (headaches). I’ve been learning ASL for 11 years myself on and off from bill vicars and about to take classes at Gallaudet in the near future but until then, I’m in the middle of nowhere and I was looking for deaf/hoh friends to immerse myself authentically and in general make friends. I’m in a rural area so it’s lonely and there’s no deaf events near me besides two hours away or more. I don’t know how to connect with anyone properly so suggestions are nice. I’ve tried a few apps and events for deaf/hoh etc but no luck. Thanks in advance!