Hello, I KNOW SIGN LANGUAGE...AAAHHHH!

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deafinitely

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I am HHAAPPYY hearing learn sign language! I AM! I AM! I AM! BBUUTT... when someone come up to me in restaurant and interrupt my lunch and say " I KNOW SIGN LANGUAGE." That....that....aaahhhh! I try talk with them...I say, "I am happy you know signs, what is your name." Then they look at me funny and not understand me. Why hearing tell me you know sign language if you can't communicate with me. What is hearing people point? Why tell me this IF IF IF they can't understand sign to them. I think....should I write on paper and go up to hearing table at restuarant and say..."Hello, I know English." Hmm. make deaf look dumb. I mean...why even say that? When hearing tell me "I know sign language" But can't communicate with the signs they know, make me feel they want attention...praise...pat on back... I mean come on....what do they want??? What are your feelings???
 
deafinitely said:
I am HHAAPPYY hearing learn sign language! I AM! I AM! I AM! BBUUTT... when someone come up to me in restaurant and interrupt my lunch and say " I KNOW SIGN LANGUAGE." That....that....aaahhhh! I try talk with them...I say, "I am happy you know signs, what is your name." Then they look at me funny and not understand me. Why hearing tell me you know sign language if you can't communicate with me. What is hearing people point? Why tell me this IF IF IF they can't understand sign to them. I think....should I write on paper and go up to hearing table at restuarant and say..."Hello, I know English." Hmm. make deaf look dumb. I mean...why even say that? When hearing tell me "I know sign language" But can't communicate with the signs they know, make me feel they want attention...praise...pat on back... I mean come on....what do they want??? What are your feelings???
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As a hearie who knows alittle bit of ASL, but can't carry on a convo to save my life, I hear you. I would never go up to a deafie and go "Hi, my name is <insert name here>, I know some signs!" That is just rude!

It makes the hearing person look dumb since they can't deliver the goods in most cases, and it could create bad feelings for the deaf person too.

I don't understand why someone would do that, either. It does seem like they are after some kind of recognition, or maybe, this is the person's way of saying they accept a deaf person? :dunno:

Hell, if I know, though. :lol:
 
MODs, can you move this thread to apporiate place? It doesn't have any pics???

Anyways back on topic- it does happen to me sometimes.... Like last tuesday at lobbyist get together, one senate staffer came up to me and said she know ASL and we chatted..... As for out eating, it doesn't happen to me too often. Maybe they are trying to keep up their ASL skills? I do know some spanish, but I don't go up to spanish-speaking people eating at table at restuants and show off that I know their language.. Its not polite.... Oh seesh, where are their manners???? If my friend come up to my table want to talk with me, or I see my friend at table and I go over to talk is different story......
 
I KNOW SIGN LANGUAGE." That....that....aaahhhh! I try talk with them...I say, "I am happy you know signs, what is your name." Then they look at me funny and not understand me. Why hearing tell me you know sign language if you can't communicate with me. What is hearing people point
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Dunno....it means they usually know fingerspelling...GOD is ASL the only language that people do this? I mean I don't go up to Spanish speakers and say "I know Spanish b/c I know only one or two basic words or phrases!
 
I was close to a similar situtation this past weekend, I was with a group of about 8 Deaf/HOH at a restaurant having dinner, and off in the corner I saw a table with 4 other Deafies, one of the guys was tryin to get the waitress to come over but she wasn't paying attention. I stopped her and told her (while signing to him) that the gentlemen at that table would like another strawberry shake. We had small talk from across the room, he thanked me for helping him, I said no problem glad to help and that was it.

But yeah I think it is extremely rude to just come up to a person and "flaunt" that you know Sign Language if you can't even back it up. What also drives me nuts is when a person says they knows sign and flips me off. ARGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
 
hm

Well I am a hearing person who knows sign language, but I am shy about talking to someone out of no where in sign unless I know them. I think its like with any language, I live in Miami where its a melting pot of different languages, and I have tried to adopt a little bit from each language. I am only fluent in English and ASL, but I have picked up different phrases in Spanish, Portugese, German, Italian, and very little dutch and French. When I meet someone and they speak in one of the other languages it seems people think it is nice if I attempt speaking a few words in their language. It could be some of the same going on, that this person thought it would be nice to show they are trying, although they do seem like a IDIOT not knowing more of how to respond. They were probably looking for attention. I hate when people do that... This girl at my graduation who took a sign class with me (who was a teachers pet) signed a song (oh say can you see.... ) and was praised for knowing sign language, but thats about all she knew.... then people like me and my friends who actually can hold a intelligent convo in asl never had the offer to sign for anything or for anybody which really made us mad. but she was looking for attention. So I guess my long drawn out point is that your probably right , that girl was stupid and wated a pat on the back and a story to tell her friends on how she "talked" with a deaf person, which is really f***ed up, but that happens..... :evil:
 
Probably just attention. Not many people think things through these days. Did she sign it or fingerspell it? H-E-L-L-O-I-K-N-O-W-S-I-G-N-L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E? I'm just getting started learning, but the first couple of phrases I was sure to teach myself are "I cannot sign for beans" and "I can fingerspell." I'm sure that conversational ASL is going to be a whole different world though. I know a few signs, but when it comes to reading, I need more practice.
 
Are we talking about reading fingerspelling? Easiest way to read fingerspelling is sound it out, instead of reading every letter. Thats how I learned it, it does take time, but it is much better in the long run. Like if I fingerspell "Washington" You should sound it out as you see it, like "wa-shing-ton" because if you read letter by letter "w-a-s-h-i-n-g-t-o-n" , by the time I get to the last letters, you might forget the first ones, and forget what I am spelling. This is the way I was taught, and I find it the easiest. I hope you can understand what I am talking about!

Teg
 
No, I'm actually referring to learning to read signing in general. Fingerspelling is something I'm currently focussing on, but I don't want to look like one of those idiots who claims to know sign language, then all I do is fingerspell.
 
Yeah, happen to me too! I just get red in face and ready to scream.

So from now on, I sign to them whenever the person say he/ she can sign.

Whoever signs ( actually not signing but moving hands acting and pretend to sign), I would say "Oh, I am sorry. I cant understand you. Can you say that again? " Of course, they walk away then I would give a good laugh to make them feel like a FOOOL! ha ha ha ha! I enjoyed it! :laugh2:
 
im learning sign languages when i was 5 years old my mom told me that my old teacher wanted me to become sign languages teachers i said WHAT! i never knew it! oh darn it!

Sara Boyce
 
i have been approached by several hearing people saying " i know sign language, jesus loves you" gee whiz. thanks....i know i respect for their religion beliefs but no need to tell me. :roll:
 
mostly people usually comes up to me and MY MOM at resturants and tell us that they wanted to learn it so bad because they found it interesting afterwards but i didnt cared for them to fall in love with signing for first time its like they wanted to learn signs so badly then after that, i m sure they will be changing minds on taking a classes.. i wouldnt know why they want to learn if they didnt have that patient.
 
downing said:
i have been approached by several hearing people saying " i know sign language, jesus loves you" gee whiz. thanks....i know i respect for their religion beliefs but no need to tell me. :roll:
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Just smile, nod, and sign "thats nice." :boink:
 
Lemmie see....maybe I can put this into perspective.

We hearies just don't get what it means to be deaf. It's that simple.

Even those of us who interact regularly with the deaf and have long-standing friendships with deaf people are CONSTANTLY learning.

We believe, both correctly and incorrectly, that it must be lonely to be deaf. We think that because we don't encounter deaf people often that you probably don't either. This is, of course, not correct. We, as a group, don't understand that there is a deaf subculture, with its own customs, taboos, stories, urban legends, etc.

We also don't understand that learning ASL is no different than learning any other 2nd language. Just because I can be polite, say hi, ask for another beer or the bathroom in Spanish doesn't make me conversational or interesting to talk to. Hearing folks don't seem to transfer this logic over to ASL. Can't say why. I've noticed it too.

Interrupting someone's dinner is rude. PERIOD. Hearing, deaf, whatever. It's just plain rude.

Some will have the best of intentions. They see a deaf person 'alone' in a crowd of hearies who act like the deaf person doesn't exist, or isn't intelligent, and it prompts them to action. It's no different than greeting anyone else who seems 'alone in a strange crowd'. I do this. I then let the deaf person set the tone/duration of the conversation.

In short, we don't get it. We're not going to. A deaf person's life experience is radically different than that of a hearing person. We have no foundational context from which to operate. Only the few who are committed to developing an understanding of what it means to be deaf will ever get it at any meaningful/useful level.

Just one man's point of view.

brianb
 
At my new job, there is a hearing girl who can never stop talking, nor listens to the other person. It seems she has no social skills whatsoever. Her style of talking is that she cannot stay on a point, and isn't a great conversationist. Everyone at my work is tired of her and there are friends who will interrupt her on purpose in a nice way as to "save" their friends from bla bla bla bla.

Also, the girl told my interpreter that she knows sign language. How it came to her, "it came to her naturally." She was on missionary and was talking on the phone with an elder one day. Her roommate was asking her who it was, and she "unconsciously" signed "elder!" to the roommate. The roommate was puzzled and said why were you signing? You know sign language? She was like oh, I didn't know I was signing! And lo, she has a calling to learn sign language.

And she can't even sign that well at all. Kept asking me what signs for this and that were. Natural to signing? My foot! I kept signing quickly to her to prove a point to other hearing people that she cant really sign as well as she claims to.
 
Feel free to insult at will.... see if she catches on. Just be glad you don't have to listen to her.
 
Another thing about people when they ask you this ~~~ Are you death?

I would say ~~ no, I am not death! I am alive!

Were you born death? How can I be born death if I am alive!
 
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