How to Learn Conversational Sign Language

By eHow Culture & Society Editor

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American Sign Language (ASL), the fourth most commonly used language in the United States, is a complex visual-spatial language that is used by the deaf community in the United States and English-speaking parts of Canada. It is the native language of many deaf people, as well as some hearing children born into deaf families.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Yellow Pages
Sign language software
Sign language videos

Step1

Learn sign language through a course taught by a deaf person, if possible. This is by far the best method for learning, and your local yellow pages can help you find a school and/or classes in your area.

Step2

Investigate colleges, community colleges and continuing education courses in your area that might offer sign language classes. Classes typically last one semester.

Step3

Recognize how sign language courses might differ. Courses may teach either American Sign Language or Signed System/Signed English, teachers may vary in level of competency, and courses are either for professional preparation (courses for credit) or general conversational preparation (non-credit courses). Cost varies depending on your area.

Step4

Determine your goals and investigate the needs of the deaf community with whom you want to communicate. If you want to converse with a wide variety of deaf people, or if you're planning to work in a profession or job involving deaf people, opt for American Sign Language.

Step5

Keep in mind that Signed English is useful for people whose primary language is English and who will be using English supported by Signed English. People who lose their hearing later in life, hard-of-hearing people, and elderly persons who want to learn sign language as a supplementary means of communication would be inclined to choose and use Signed English.

Step6

Consider sign language software or videos. There are also sign language books, but learning sign language via books is like trying to learn a foreign language by reading a dictionary.

Step7

Learn on your own if you must, using this basic sequence: learn the four parts of a sign (hand shape, signing area, hand movement, palm position), learn the manual alphabet, learn numbers and numbering patterns, learn the common hand shapes, and then learn simple words.

Tips & Warnings

When looking up courses in the yellow pages, try the following terms or phrases: deaf education, language instruction, education, language and sign language.
There are sign language games in online or "learning" toy stores, which you can use to help you practice and learn.
If you notice a course offering called "PSE" in a sign language program, it stands for Pidgin Sign English - sign language varieties that occur when ASL and English users try to interact with each other. It occurs when two people of two different languages and cultures, namely deaf and hearing people, attempt to communicate using a mixture of features and structures of each language.

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Comments

stikynoterightr said

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on 5/29/2007 Francesca Stout
Invent sign-names - Instead of laboriously finger-spelling people's names everytime, give people short inoffensive signed nicknames based on their characteristics. Mine is "dancer" (my occupation), my friend's is "long red hair", my boyfriend's is "mouse ears" (they are very small!)

You can't give someone a sign name unless you are Deaf or HOH, you have to recieve a sign name from a Deaf or HOH signer. I'm sure you know that but not every hearing person who is learning to sing does.

said

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on 11/22/2005 There is no such thing as perfectly signed English because ASL and English are two entirely distinct languages; and no language translates 'perfectly' into another.

As for sign names, hearing people show respect for deaf culture by waiting for the deaf to bestow the sign name rather than presumptuously inventing their own.

said

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on 11/22/2005 The tip mentioning "perfect sign language" is incorrect. PSE does in fact stand for Pidgin Sign English. It is a contact language between ASL and English/Signed Exact English (SEE) where ASL elements are combined with English elements.

SEE would be considered more "perfect sign English" since that is a signed code created for the purpose of representing all of English with signs.

said

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on 11/22/2005 There are two systems for sign names. There is DSN and ASN. DSN is where you have a description as a sign name like "Buckteeth" or "long, curly hair", something that is unique to them. ASN is when you use the person's initials somewhere on the body or in signing space. My sign name is SY on the shoulder (more like over the heart towards the left). You can use their first name's initials or both, whichever is preferable. Many spots for ASN initials are the temple, the chin, the cheek, forearm, the chest, etc. Generally, they are not to go below the stomach area. Also, it is best to let a deaf person give you a sign name for it to be accurate. Many times, a hearing person will give themselves a name sign that is cross between ASN and DSN and many deaf people are afraid that the hearing person's name will destroy their system.

said

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on 11/22/2005 Instead of laboriously finger-spelling people's names everytime, give people short inoffensive signed nicknames based on their characteristics. Mine is "dancer" (my occupation), my friend's is "long red hair", my boyfriend's is "mouse ears" (they are very small!)