Accent in ASL

[Chrysanthe]

It is something you gotta think about....

I have lived everywhere in U.S. However i grew up in oralism and later learned ASL. I lived in NYC for a year. I loved living in NYC. Unforunately, I had to move for my education and I grew up in the west. For years, I hadn't gone back to NYC. I saw an old friend and he was signing too fast and was too difficult to understand. My ASL skill from NYC has become rusty. Why do almost every states have different speed of ASL? It s driving me crazy. Because I lived everywhere. When I moved to Washington, one deaf person asked me to give a presentation and I was signing too fast and most of deaf peopel couldn't understand me. Then I moved to Southwest, they were signing extremely slow. GRR. What is this!?

 

[Interpretrator]

Heh. It's just language. I grew up with two parents from Brooklyn and my mother speaks faster than anyone you can imagine. People often can't understand us when she and I have a conversation because we speak so quickly. When I was in elementary school they wanted to put me in speech therapy because I spoke too fast. My mother said "Forget it, you listen too slow." (She really did!)

Now where I live people always tell me I speak too fast, or that I have a New York accent.

You should hear people who live in rural Maine, or the deep South. When they talk it barely sounds like "regular" English. That's just part of the beauty of living in a big, diverse country. French in northern France sounds a lot different than in southern France.

Same goes for ASL, as it is a language like any other.

 

[PurrMeow]

As I read this about accent in Asl, NOdding rite- Interpretrator, as you mentioned that your mother speaks faster than anyone wonder does she speaks in english or spanish or others. My sister's (widow) hubby who was orginally from Mexico City and whenever I met him he speak so fastest. We as my family and I couldn't understand and had to warn him to slow down. LOL

I also am kinda of having hard time trying to understand few deaf ppls that I met at different places that they use to sign too fast is that normal or what? I used SEE.


PurrrMeow

 

[Interpretrator]

Interpretrator, as you mentioned that your mother speaks faster than anyone wonder does she speaks in english or spanish or others.

She speaks English. Just really really fast.

I forgot to mention that I've noticed "accent" in ASL also seems to be connected with age differences. I know one Deaf girl around age 20 who signs incredibly fast; it took me a while of knowing her before I could understand her easily. But older Deaf people I have met seem to sign much slower. (Also maybe they're just slowing down automatically because I'm hearing!)

Also similar to spoken languages.

 

[kuifje75]

Yeah I catch your drift, Bewitched. When I moved to Utah from N.J., I was not used to the slower signing speed in Utah as well as different signs used in Utah. I guess it is normal, and part of moving around. You have to get used to different "accents" wherever you move to, and their signing style. I work at a college tutoring students, and I still have to correct myself sometimes when I show the students N.J. signs! oh well...

 

[TheChoolulu]

Well, sure - as people are saying ASL is just like any other language - when you travel to different areas it will change. Speed will be different, signs will be different. I'm hearing and originally from New York, and I swear it is hard for me to understand people from the South when they talk, and I'm sure it's equally hard for them to understand me!!! So knowing that, I choose to live in the Northeast because I am comfortable here!

It is interesting though, when my students accuse me of using a sign that isn't the same one as they know. I often have to remind them that I have now learned to sign in three different states (NY, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut) therefore my language is a conglomeration of those three geographic areas. Usually, they think that's pretty cool!