Questions and debates about blindness:

Hear Again said:
nika,

i'm afraid that doesn't make any sense to me. why does the db manual letter b look like an asl letter o?
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Because the DB Manual Alphabet that dreama is referring to is based on BSL, which uses different handshapes for the letters. The letter "B" just happens to be like signing an O handshape (slightly flattened) on the passive palm.
 
Aw, dreama. That's too bad! <sad> Maybe you can get him to learn more? After all this is about communicating with his own daughter.
 
Nika said:
Because the DB Manual Alphabet that dreama is referring to is based on BSL, which uses different handshapes for the letters. The letter "B" just happens to be like signing an O handshape (slightly flattened) on the passive palm.
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learning bsl would really confuse me.
 
Hear Again said:
nika,

that doesn't make any sense to me.
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Backing up. There is the Deafblind Manual Alphabet that is based on ASL, which just uses the one-handed ASL alphabet with tactile instead of visual reception.

There is another Deafblind Manual Alphabet based on the British Sign Language Manual Alphabet. The BSL Manual Alphabet is two handed, so they sign the letters with two hands. However for the Deafblind Manual, some of the letters are modified to make them clearer for tactile reception.

dreama was talking about how the B and the W are modified. In BSL, the letter B is signed much like the ASL sign MORE but with double ASL O handshapes. In other words it's two pinching hands touching at the fingertips. When one person is signing, both hands are active in BSL. However for the Deafblind alphabet, since the receiver's hand is passive, the signer just signs the pinching hand into the receiver's palm. The W in BSL is signed with interlocking fingers, both hands active. But it is modified for the Deafblind Manual as a hand curled around the palm on the index finger side of the passive hand (much like the ASL sign for DOLLAR).

Does that make sense? I don't mean to confuse you.
 
so in bsl one hand is always passive (which is the hand that a letter is signed into) while the other hand signs any given letter of the alphabet?

sorry if i don't understand. i'm not thinking clearly right now.
 
Hear Again said:
so in bsl one hand is always passive (which is the hand that a letter is signed into) while the other hand signs any given letter of the alphabet?

sorry if i don't understand. i'm not thinking clearly right now.
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In deafblind manual one hand is passive yes. BSL and Deafblind manual are slightly differant.
 
Nika said:
Aw, dreama. That's too bad! <sad> Maybe you can get him to learn more? After all this is about communicating with his own daughter.
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Well at least he communicates. My brother just writes block captital letters on my hand.
 
Hear Again said:
when youasay pasive, what do yophh mean? is th hane flat out facring you or not?
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Yes. By passive hand I mean that it is just open flat and not articulating anything (like in the ASL B hanshape). By active I mean the hand is coming into contact with the passive hand and articulating a certain shape on a specific place of the passive hand.

And yes, the receiver's hand is passive in the DB Manual. For example, in an tactile terp/Deafblind person interaction, the interpreter would be using his/her hand to form the letter on the Deafblind person's hand.

In the BSL alphabet, some of the letters require both hands to be active. Some of the BSL letters are modified so that one hand is active and one is passive.

No worries, Hear Again. I have no problems explaining. <smile>
 
Do you know the signs for FRESHMAN, SOPHOMORE, and JUNIOR? You're touching one pointing finger to the fingertips of the other hand, which is in a 5 handshape.

You just signed the DB Manual Alphabet letters E, I, and O.

The other letters work much the same way except that there are different handshapes signed onto the flat palm.
 
i'm so confused it still doesn't make sense even though i know how to sign the words you mentioned
 
Now just imagine that you're extending your palm into the B handshape and your intervenor is forming the letters on your hand. That's how it works. Instead of forming what are one-handed letters onto your hand, you and the intervenor are co-forming the slightly modified two-handed letters of the BSL alphabet.
 
Any more blindness questions? I'm ready to answer any curiosities you may have.
 
Nika said:
Now just imagine that you're extending your palm into the B handshape and your intervenor is forming the letters on your hand. That's how it works. Instead of forming what are one-handed letters onto your hand, you and the intervenor are co-forming the slightly modified two-handed letters of the BSL alphabet.
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i guess what i don't understand is why someone couldn't place their hands over the signer's to know what is being signed instead of using a passive hand.
 
society's_child said:
Do you ever come across people who are a little too eager to help you?
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All the time. One of the reasons I hate asking for help should I need it is because people don't know when to just leave me alone again. Some people go into this Good Samaritan Mode where they are determined to help the "poor blind person" and usually end up doing things they imagine would be helpful but are usually just annoying to me. Examples are insisting on helping me across the street when I don't need it (I can hear the traffic patterns) and telling me the bathrooms are "over there" (what does "over there" mean? Left? Right? Straight ahead?). I know these folks are well-intentioned and only want to be helpful, and I appreciate their intentions. They just don't always execute their intentions very well.
 
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