Joy said:
ok i have alot of questions about asl as i m just a beginner
what is pse qq
As people have posted, PSE is Pidgin Signed English, it is also known as contact sign. It is somewhere between English and ASL. PSE can be very strong English, or almost pure ASL, there is no PSE signing system. It exists because when hearies start learning ASL, or deafies who know SEE start learning ASL, they don't know the correct ASL word order. They use ASL signs, but add in extra words and/or use English word order. A beginning signer's PSE is usually a lot more English based than an advanced signer's PSE.
Joy said:
why are there different ways to sign one word qq (my friend will sign "how" by the hands-together-turning-upside-down way but i see how signed sometimes with the left and right hand in the y shape, together, and the left hand rocking forward and back but staying still)
Different people have different styles. Every deaf person has their own way of signing, just as every hearing person has their own way of speaking. No one is exactly alike; although family members tend to speak similarly. Yes, it is true, sometimes there is more than one sign for the same word; (don't ask me how many signs there are for computer, starbucks, and McDonalds, whew) but there are also so many English words that mean the exact same thing. Why do English speakers need to use a thesaurus so much?
Sometimes different words are used for formality. "How come?' vs. "Why?" In ASL you see this with the sign "join." There are levels of formality in both languages.
To show you an example though of how much English uses different words with the same meaning:
synonyms for happy:
blessed, blest, blissful, blithe, can't complain, captivated, cheerful, chipper, chirpy, content, contented, convivial, delighted, ecstatic, elated, exultant, flying high, gay, glad, gleeful, gratified, hopped up, intoxicated, jolly, joyful, joyous, jubilant, laughing, light, lively, looking good, merry, mirthful,
overjoyed, peaceful, peppy, perky, playful, pleasant, pleased, satisfied, sparkling, sunny, thrilled, tickled, tickled pink, up, upbeat
synonyms for grumpy:
bad-tempered, bearish, bitchy, cantankerous, captious, choleric, contrary, crabbed, cranky, critical, cross, crotchety, crusty, difficult, disagreeable, dissatisfied, dour, grouchy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, irascible, irritable, morose, obstinate, ornery, peevish, perverse, petulant, prickly, quarrelsome, snappish, sour, stuffy, surly, testy, vinegarish, vinegary, wrinkly
(for hundreds more check out thesaurus.com)
We English speakers have no right to complain about the synonyms in ASL, they are virtually non-existent compared to those in English. Also, sometimes there may seem to be synonyms when really they are just being conceptually accurate,
i.e.
run: run for office, go for a run, run in your tights, runny nose, etc.
there are different signs for all of these, but just so that they send across the right image, all are clear.
Joy said:
double pronouns u how u vs how u which is correct qq
Well, in my ASL classes I have learned to use the double pronoun for emphasis or for clarity. I have never seen "u how u" but I have seen " u happy u" "u bored u." ASL books generally teach to use it all the time, although I don't see deaf people use it a lot. Maybe the books just teach it that way to get out of thinking in English word order and start thinking in ASL. Hopefully someone else can answer this question better.
Joy said:
how do u indicate that what you said was a question other than facial expression q is there like a questionmark or do you sign question or what qq
You only have to use facial expression most of the time. A "moving x" where u just move the top joint of ur index finger up and down is another way to add a question, but I've only seen this done for two reasons.
It can be done for emphasis. The second way is a little more complicated. It can be done if u r surprised and/or trying to clarity something.
i.e. "daughter mine pregant"
response "pregnant qq"
comment:"I age 53"
response: "53 qq"
Hope I answered your questions, please post more, this is a great place to exchange information. BTW, if anyone sees wrong information, please correct me - I'm always willing to learn.
On a final note, JOY, I am a sign language student and I am absolutely passionate about learning ASL, I think it is such an awesome way to communicate. Almost everyone is frustrated in the beginning, but just keep on signing!
