Confused...

ContessaC

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Okay...I know someone will probably get offended by this post. For that I am sorry but...I am confused. I've been reading posts on AllDeaf for a few weeks and I find that a lot of them are very difficult to read/understand. Like their are words missing, or incorrectly conjugated (past, present, future)

Does anyone else have this problem?

:confused:
 
Welcome to the deaf ASL world.

If you can figure out my statement above, then it explains itself. If not, you need to take a few deaf culture classes from college or pick up a book on that.
 
I had the same problem. You don't have to read a book or something one of us can just tell you. ASL is not English, it has a completely different grammar system. That's why it sounds like broken English, because it isn't their first language.

I was learning ASL, been slacking hard on my lessons, and I'm almost scared of trying to use it. The grammar is so different I feel like I'm speaking backwards, I can repeat the lessons fine but coming up with my own sentences, omg Ima flub that hard. I took 3 years of French and could understand my teacher just fine but trying to speak it my self there would be long uhhhhhs in the middle of the sentence. At first I was a little puzzled, I figured, okay these guys went through school and I'm sure read books and everything so they read English okay, but I think when it comes to writing English they run into the same problem I ran into trying to speak French, so they just write more similairly to how they'd sign it, because it's just more natural for them. And I hope that made sense and wasn't too insulting because that I don't mean it in a bad way. :D
 
Okay...I know someone will probably get offended by this post. For that I am sorry but...I am confused. I've been reading posts on AllDeaf for a few weeks and I find that a lot of them are very difficult to read/understand. Like their are words missing, or incorrectly conjugated (past, present, future)

Does anyone else have this problem?

:confused:

Yeah, I do as well. I see it this way; For some of those growing up learning ASL, English is learned as a second language.

Imagine growing up as a child learning to speak in German and learning English as a second language for writing. Lots more to learn that the average person.

I figured it's best to just accept everyone for who they are.
 
THANK YOU ALL!!!

For some reason I never thought of ASL in terms of how it would effect written language. I speak 2 languages (English & Spanish) fortunately both are latin based so they follow similar rules of grammer.
 
Okay...I know someone will probably get offended by this post. For that I am sorry but...I am confused. I've been reading posts on AllDeaf for a few weeks and I find that a lot of them are very difficult to read/understand. Like their are words missing, or incorrectly conjugated (past, present, future)

Does anyone else have this problem?

:confused:

Yes, and I've given up trying to understand. It's ASL grammar used with English - it mixes about as much as Arabic and Spanish, so I just don't bother with the posts I can't make sense of.

Laura
 
Okay...I know someone will probably get offended by this post. For that I am sorry but...I am confused. I've been reading posts on AllDeaf for a few weeks and I find that a lot of them are very difficult to read/understand. Like their are words missing, or incorrectly conjugated (past, present, future)

Does anyone else have this problem?

:confused:

Like there are words missing, or ... etal.

(You might want to check your own post first before criticizing other posts.)
 
Yes, and I've given up trying to understand. It's ASL grammar used with English - it mixes about as much as Arabic and Spanish, so I just don't bother with the posts I can't make sense of.

Laura

Really? What are you doing hanging out here? :confused:
 
Okay...I know someone will probably get offended by this post. For that I am sorry but...I am confused. I've been reading posts on AllDeaf for a few weeks and I find that a lot of them are very difficult to read/understand. Like their are words missing, or incorrectly conjugated (past, present, future)

Does anyone else have this problem?

:confused:

wait till you meet a hearing Russian person. and then ask him/her to write something in English.

and many hearing people still have trouble with there-their-they're and your-you're. it boggles me.
 
Like there are words missing, or ... etal.

(You might want to check your own post first before criticizing other posts.)

I am not criticizing anyone. I was asking for some help in understanding if it was just me that had a difficult time.
 
and many hearing people still have trouble with there-their-they're and your-you're. it boggles me.

Though the misuse of grammer is boggling...the one that makes me cry inside is when people use the wrong form of TO/TOO/TWO

Now one that always makes me pause is using effect/affect
 
I am not criticizing anyone. I was asking for some help in understanding if it was just me that had a difficult time.

But it gets difficult understanding even you when you don't use "there" correctly.
 
Well, it is the way they write. Some people write with "ASL-structured English," which can be tricky. I cannot understand a lot of texting because of the shortcuts. I don't text.

I steer clear of playing grammar nazi, because a lot of people take shortcuts when they post in a forum. If I was going to critique the posters here, I would have no friends. Oh wait...:sadwave:
 
"When in Rome......"

That's been my motto here. There are times when I don't always understand, but I do take a stab and try my best. Also, I am finding that as my total deafness goes on longer, I find I forget words totally or my fingers don't go as fast as my mind and I end up saying something not intended.
 
Yeah, my hearing friends always asked me about that. My best explaination to them: English isn't our first language and then I explained how difference between ASL and English.
 
Yes, and I've given up trying to understand. It's ASL grammar used with English - it mixes about as much as Arabic and Spanish, so I just don't bother with the posts I can't make sense of.

Laura

That's sad because the posters are making an attempt to communicate with all of you and instead they get a rejection because they aren't fluent in English. At least they tried so that says a lot about them. Just saying.
 
Okay...I know someone will probably get offended by this post. For that I am sorry but...I am confused. I've been reading posts on AllDeaf for a few weeks and I find that a lot of them are very difficult to read/understand. Like their are words missing, or incorrectly conjugated (past, present, future)

Does anyone else have this problem?

:confused:


I really can see how you would have a problem but to solve this problem all you have to do is understand that ASL can not be written. This is why Deaf people all over the world's that a pure sign language users have to learn a second language in order to write/text in that language. Unless the Deaf person learns all the proper use of that language, when they write/text there will probably be some misunderstanding.

This is my favorite saying:

The limit of your knowledge is the limit of your language.
 
and one more thing - lot of "broken English" writing in here is not exactly written in ASL/deaf format. very few posters in here write in strong ASL/deaf format but most are not in ASL/deaf format.

I can see that they're struggling with it and I blame schools for that.
 
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