Old ASL signs vs New signs

The sign for 'danger' on signing savvy looks like the sign for 'sh*t' myself. Maybe it's just me lol
 
JessHercules said:
I have seen a wonderful video of George Veditz signing during the late 1800's. Veditz was the very first National Association of the Deaf (NAD) president. There were some signs I didn't understand, and some I did. One thing I noticed was the lack of initialization, as opposed to today's ASL signs.
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Is this video anywhere on the internet? I'd love to see it! :)
 
Hutt5asl said:
Is this video anywhere on the internet? I'd love to see it! :)
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It is from 1913 and is called The Preservation of Sign Language. I don't think it is on the internet.

You can buy it on Amazon, but it costs $65.
 
I believe that's the video wherein George Veditz quipped: "Our beautiful sign language is the noblest gift God has given to deaf people.".
 
Juli-terp-to-be said:
The sign for 'danger' on signing savvy looks like the sign for 'sh*t' myself. Maybe it's just me lol
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I looked it up on there and :laugh2: when I saw it. I just learned that naughty sign too! LOL

But what's all this about 2 hand C for car? I'm taking ASL 2 this spring semester. We learned just fingerspell it out and noun-verb combos like CAR-DRIVE. My teacher, who is deaf, doesn't like the "steering wheel" sign for car. Truck and van if I remmy right was fingerspelled too. Wow, need to brush up again on signing. This is the only reason I don't like breaks! I'll be sure to ask my teacher about old vs new signs. Definitely interests me.
 
But what's all this about 2 hand C for car? I'm taking ASL 2 this spring semester. We learned just fingerspell it out and noun-verb combos like CAR-DRIVE. My teacher, who is deaf, doesn't like the "steering wheel" sign for car. Truck and van if I remmy right was fingerspelled too.
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The two handed C-handshape for car is the new sign - its from SEE. If you are in an ASL class, I don't think your instructor would be using it. Most deafies I know, know that sign but never use it. They use the old sign which looks like the steering wheel. The sign for van is fingerspelled - but in SEE, it's again like car, but V-handshapes are used. And there are a lot of regional signs for truck. The sign we use here looks like the sign for country, but it uses a Y-handshape. Another part of the country uses the sign for grass or hay for truck. I've seen a few other regional variations for truck.

Another sign which varies greatly by region is the sign for birthday. The old sign we use here is a combination of "birth" and "day". Have seen several variations including one which you touch your chin and then your chest with your middle finger. The first time I saw that one was when I was at a deaf function. Someone from out-of-state used it and nobody know what it was. Another regional sign I've seen for birthday was a tug on the ear - sort of like Carol Burnett would do at the end of her TV-show.
 
Daft said:
The two handed C-handshape for car is the new sign - its from SEE. If you are in an ASL class, I don't think your instructor would be using it. Most deafies I know, know that sign but never use it. They use the old sign which looks like the steering wheel. The sign for van is fingerspelled - but in SEE, it's again like car, but V-handshapes are used. And there are a lot of regional signs for truck. The sign we use here looks like the sign for country, but it uses a Y-handshape. Another part of the country uses the sign for grass or hay for truck. I've seen a few other regional variations for truck.

Another sign which varies greatly by region is the sign for birthday. The old sign we use here is a combination of "birth" and "day". Have seen several variations including one which you touch your chin and then your chest with your middle finger. The first time I saw that one was when I was at a deaf function. Someone from out-of-state used it and nobody know what it was. Another regional sign I've seen for birthday was a tug on the ear - sort of like Carol Burnett would do at the end of her TV-show.
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Ah :ty: yes here where I am, we use the chin to chest with middle finger but I know one of my friends was really confused when he got a "Happy Birthday" using the tug on the ear like what's that to mean? and that was from Pennsylvania.

From SEE? Oh boy, I better NOT asking my teacher about that one! She loves ONLY ASL and is pretty adamant about it! :)
 
I have never seen the two handed C-handshape for car. It doesn't even seem to be a car shape to me.
 
Juli-terp-to-be said:
I have never seen the two handed C-handshape for car. It doesn't even seem to be a car shape to me.
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I am from the same state as Daft, and I have not seen that sign for car either.

Everyone I know uses the steering wheel.

The two C hands, makes me think of "chat."
 
I've seen it used by "mainstreamed" signers.

In terms of description, it's like using the two C-hands as classifiers to make a steering column. They start out touching, then slide apart.
 
Reba said:
I've seen it used by "mainstreamed" signers.

In terms of description, it's like using the two C-hands as classifiers to make a steering column. They start out touching, then slide apart.
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Interesting. My daughter uses some of those from SEE that she picked up in school from deaf friends.

I am always confused by them. ( and many times by other things in life also )
 
The only people around here who use the C-handshape people are the ones using SEE. The ASLers understand it, but think its too "SEE" and the old sign is more visually descriptive.
 
souggy said:
Wow. A lot of Deafies use that. That's so odd you haven't seen it. :shock:
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It seems to be young ones who got exposed to SEE in school, from what I am gathering.

Julie is learning just now.
 
Bottesini said:
I am from the same state as Daft, and I have not seen that sign for car either.

Everyone I know uses the steering wheel.

The two C hands, makes me think of "chat."
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That was what I thought when it was described. It could be easily misunderstood.

I was told by my ASL Prof that SEE was being phased out due to confusion and misunderstanding. :dunno: makes sense to me that SEE would be phased out.
 
Bottesini said:
It seems to be young ones who got exposed to SEE in school, from what I am gathering.

Julie is learning just now.
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TY Botts.

When I have seen deaf people use the sign for car it has been the steering wheel type of sign. I primarily taught myself out of books that only had ASL signs in them, till I was able to take formal ASL classes, where all of my teachers were deaf ASL users.
 
So far the Deaf folks I've met pretty much use ASL or PSE. Well, once a friend of mine casually tried to terp for me at a dinner and I was so confused by so many of her SEE signs. It took me awhile to apply the "letter-initialization-deletion" rule to figure out what she was signing half the time. :giggle:
 
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