Starting intensive BSL classes today

Speedy Hawk said:
Lol, it would be funny if you sign wrong one to deaf people! I assume you use toilet sign on side of your chest? Can easily get confused two, toilet only use middle finger on side of chest and woman all fingers.
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And I learned another new sign today - 'live' - that's similar to 'toilet'. Imagine getting those confused! "Where do you toilet?" :giggle:
 
How about "I live in the women's toilet" for a good BSL phrase to sign?

(Let's hope you never encounter it, though!) :giggle:
 
AJWSmith said:
And I learned another new sign today - 'live' - that's similar to 'toilet'. Imagine getting those confused! "Where do you toilet?" :giggle:
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Live, toilet and address is same sign. Lol. Toilet and address do have more than one sign.
 
Speedy Hawk said:
Live, toilet and address is same sign. Lol. Toilet and address do have more than one sign.
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The BSL teacher told us that an upwards movement = 'live' while a downwards movement = 'toilet'. The handshape is the same.
 
AJWSmith said:
The BSL teacher told us that an upwards movement = 'live' while a downwards movement = 'toilet'. The handshape is the same.
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Interesting. Most Deaf and interpreters I know and me move up and down for live and toliet. Usually toliet move up and down faster and live moves bit slower.

I also know some few Deaf and some interpreters uses different sign for toilet usually for north use it down in south.

Edit: I always like know small or big difference in sign that Deaf uses cos it interesting.
 
Speedy Hawk said:
Interesting. Most Deaf and interpreters I know and me move up and down for live and toliet. Usually toliet move up and down faster and live moves bit slower.
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I'm beginning to find out that there's a lot of variation in BSL. When looking at BSL clips on the internet I often see different signs for the same word. 'Homework' is an example I can think of. It's a fascinating contrast to English with its focus on learning the correct (and only) way to spell a particular word.
 
AJWSmith said:
I'm beginning to find out that there's a lot of variation in BSL. When looking at BSL clips on the internet I often see different signs for the same word. 'Homework' is an example I can think of. It's a fascinating contrast to English with its focus on learning the correct (and only) way to spell a particular word.
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Yep there are loads of variation. I see some different signs for same meaning from BSL Corpus Project » Data Only people understand BSL can watch and understand videos (no captions). It record regionals signs might be use.

Homework defo got loads of signs. When I was at school, I signed homework as "home" and "work" sign together. When I went to college and uni I signed homework as "home" and "write".

Which homework sign you taught to use?
 
Speedy Hawk said:
Yep there are loads of variation. I see some different signs for same meaning from BSL Corpus Project » Data Only people understand BSL can watch and understand videos (no captions). It record regionals signs might be use.

Homework defo got loads of signs. When I was at school, I signed homework as "home" and "work" sign together. When I went to college and uni I signed homework as "home" and "write".

Which homework sign you taught to use?
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Taught two yesterday: One was "home" then "work" (chopping action). Second was a bridge sign (action of going over a humpbacked bridge) and "work". I assume the bridge represented "going home".

I've also seen two signs for "home". In BSL class we're taught to use the first two fingers on both hands and outline a house starting with the double fingers touching at the apex of the roof. On the internet I see people putting their arms and flat whole hands in the shape of a roof, but not tracing an outline.
 
Best of luck, and enjoy it!

I don't use BSL, but I learnt a little while in school. I really should try and find a course nearby so I can get back into it. It is surprisingly fun and doesn't have the barriers of spoken language - listening and speaking.
 
ap said:
Best of luck, and enjoy it!

I don't use BSL, but I learnt a little while in school. I really should try and find a course nearby so I can get back into it. It is surprisingly fun and doesn't have the barriers of spoken language - listening and speaking.
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Thanks ap :ty:

I really am enjoying it. We've done 12hrs of classes plus homework time now. I'm finding it slightly easier than I expected to. I think it's because it is totally visual and kinetic (you don't even need to write, never mind listen & speak). As I've spent my whole life lipreading, which requires intense visual concentration for long periods of time, I find it relatively easy to concentrate on the signs and memorise them and see the subtle differences. The hardest part is when I'm signing and I have to make the dramatic facial expressions. I'm a typical repressed Englishman who grew up keeping a poker face so not to reveal the emotions inside me. It makes me feel a bit silly and vulnerable making, what feels to me, very exaggerated facial movements.

P.S. Typing this has bought back a random memory of the Spitting Image puppet of Roger Moore (James Bond actor) who was only capable of slightly moving one eyebrow to express the full range of human emotions. But if it was so emotional that Roger Moore was about to explode, he'd slightly move TWO eyebrows. GASP! SHOCK!!!:eek3:
 
Fantastic, AJW. Great to hear that it is finally happening! :)
 
AJWSmith said:
Thanks ap :ty:

I really am enjoying it. We've done 12hrs of classes plus homework time now. I'm finding it slightly easier than I expected to. I think it's because it is totally visual and kinetic (you don't even need to write, never mind listen & speak). As I've spent my whole life lipreading, which requires intense visual concentration for long periods of time, I find it relatively easy to concentrate on the signs and memorise them and see the subtle differences. The hardest part is when I'm signing and I have to make the dramatic facial expressions. I'm a typical repressed Englishman who grew up keeping a poker face so not to reveal the emotions inside me. It makes me feel a bit silly and vulnerable making, what feels to me, very exaggerated facial movements.

P.S. Typing this has bought back a random memory of the Spitting Image puppet of Roger Moore (James Bond actor) who was only capable of slightly moving one eyebrow to express the full range of human emotions. But if it was so emotional that Roger Moore was about to explode, he'd slightly move TWO eyebrows. GASP! SHOCK!!!:eek3:
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That is great news AJW! I'm a little bit in awe as I think I would find a 3 hour class in sign exhausting. The few times I've gone to an ASL meetup group for only an hour, hour and a half I found that was really as long a time as I could handle.

I can relate to what you said about facial expressions. In ASL asking some type of questions requires "furling the eyebrows" which feels like frowning to me. I really don't like that facial expression. I'm getting use to it ... but I still don't like it.

How is your wife finding the signing class? As a hearing person she is probably not use to paying so much attention to visual cues, I would imagine it is more of a change for her.
 
Hello, maybe you could give me some tips AJW, BSL still doesnt come naturally to me and I wouldn't say im fluent and I have been exposed to BSL since a very early age. Although I don't use it much. Just wanted to add, that I understand BSL more than signing it myself
 
Lissa said:
Hello, maybe you could give me some tips AJW, BSL still doesnt come naturally to me and I wouldn't say im fluent and I have been exposed to BSL since a very early age. Although I don't use it much. Just wanted to add, that I understand BSL more than signing it myself
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Hello Lissa:wave:. I don't think I'm in a position to give you tips as I only started four weeks ago. I suspect your BSL is far better than mine atm. But I think I am lucky in that my wife is learning it with me so we can practice together and remind each other what the signs are. We find it confusing that there are different signs for the same word. If I was doing it on my own, I think I'll be struggling much more. Do you have friends/family that use BSL?

One tip given to me that I find helpful is to practice facial expressions in front of a mirror. I think I'm expressing something very vividly, but when I look in a mirror my face hardly moves!
 
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