I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again but it is absolutely an example of civilizational inadequacy that only deaf people know ASL
“oh we shouldn’t teach children this language, it will only come in handy if they [checks notes] ever have to talk in a situation where it’s noisy or they need to be quiet”
My mom learned it because she figured she’ll go deaf when she gets old
My family went holiday SCUBA diving once, and a couple of Deaf guys were in the group. I was really little and I spent most of the briefing overcome with the realization that while the rest of us were going to have regulators in our mouths and be underwater fairly soon, they were going to be able to do all the same stuff and keep talking.
The only reason some form of sign language is not a standard skill is ableism, as far as I can tell.
For anyone interested in learning, Bill Vicars has full lessons of ASL on youtube that were used in my college level classes.
https://www.youtube.com/user/billvicars
and here’s the link to the website he puts in his videos:
https://www.lifeprint.com/
Update: you guys this is an amazing resource for learning asl. Bill Vicars is an incredible teacher. His videos are of him teaching a student in a classroom, using the learned vocabulary to have conversations.
Not only is the conversation format immersive and helpful for learning the grammar, but the students make common mistakes which he corrects, mistakes I wouldn’t have otherwise know I was making.
He also emphasizes learning ASL in the way it’s actually used by the Deaf community and not the rigid structure that some ASL teachers impose in their classrooms
His lesson plans include learning about the Deaf community, which is an important aspect of learning ASL. Knowing how to communicate in ASL without the knowledge of the culture behind it leaves out a lot of nuances and explanations for the way ASL is.
Lastly, his lessons are just a lot of fun to watch. He is patient, entertaining, and funny. This good natured enthusiasm is contagious and learning feels like a privilege and not a chore
And it’s all FREE. Seriously. If you’ve ever wanted to learn ASL
@official-linguistics-post
This post came along at the absolute best time.
Last week at my volunteer work we had a DoorDash driver who was hard of hearing. My ASL is limited to about a dozen words, and all of them come from “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong (because once upon a time we did actually teach some ASL in schools, and then fucking Shrub got elected), but I managed to tell her I liked her shirt.
The program leader immediately deferred to me and asked if I could explain directions. Between my extremely limited vocabulary, a little bit of pantomime, and text notes, we got it together, and the driver was thrilled I knew any sign at all, but I was embarrassed by how little of her language I actually knew, and I decided I needed to find some ASL classes, because I’ve seen her car before and I suspect we’ll meet doing this job again.
Literally five days ago. Well done, Tumblr, I’ll be using this.
Literally five
days ago. Well done, Tumblr,
I’ll be using this.
Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.
