First sign class!

[DeafCaroline]

Good luck! ASL is a beautiful language and I hope you can pick it up fast!

What's with this guy copying what others say???

 

[mbrek]

^^^On the spammer list.

 

[Smithtr]

Missing remove it

 

[Anij]

I'm kind of hearing but not really. I'm like 40%-60% deaf. So I'm not 100%. Like I used to wonder what it would be like if I were blind, and my momma said, "Close your eyes and you'll see," so I closed my eyes and I couldn't see anything. It was sad that blind can never see and other rainbow or stick in the mud. And deaf people can't hear any beautiful music. (100% mostly)

P.S. Look at my profile picture! It's sooooo cute!!!

P.P.S Can anyone else find me a sign name other than "book" I love to read but I would like a different one.

P.P.P.S I'm learning sign language AND IT'S HARD! I mean like I would finger spell everything, I know ABC's but it takes to long. I'm not learning a lot on the computer. Especially when I'm only 10 yrs. old.

HI
It sounds like you're very new to learning ASL and starting to meet hard of hearing (Hoh) and deaf people - is that right ??

For Name Signs, you don't choose one for yourself. A Name Sign is assigned/given to you by a person who is culturally Deaf (fluent in sign language, part of the Deaf community etc).

For example, if you have a friend who is Hoh or Deaf, or a Hoh or Deaf family member THEY may choose a Name Sign for you. Sometimes Deaf ASL teachers will give students temporary "in class Name Signs" that you only use in class/with those classmates. Teachers do this so that you can practice learning how to use Name Signs correctly, but once the class is finished you stop using that sign as your "Name Sign" unless the teacher, or other Deaf people say you should continue using it.

While many Hoh or Deaf people do have Name Signs, it's not something that you "need to have" or something that makes you "more Deaf" or "more a part of the Deaf Community" - Do you understand what I mean by that Ester?

Many Hoh or Deaf people don't have a name sign at all, we just spell our name

For example, I've been hoh/deaf from birth. I started learning a bit of ASL when I was about 6-8 years old (my parents wanted me to be oral, but I borrowed books from the library and watched TV to learn some signs) and then when I was about 17, I started taking proper ASL classes, becoming involved with the Deaf Community and making Hoh and Deaf friends.
Because my name is so short and easy to spell my Name Sign is a "stylized fingerspelling" (properly called "lexicalized fingerspelling") way of fingerspelling my name .

A few examples of names where the person would often use a "lexicalized fingerspelling" version for their Name Sign are: Jon, Emma, Sylvia, Sofia, Kim, Bill, Chris etc.

I hope this makes sense??
If you have any questions, please just ask! If you want to ask something privately, you can PM me