Hey, mina!! I hope you are all doing well!
This semester I’m taking Math, Women Studies, and American Sign Language.
And let me tell you…
ASL is so cool!!
I wanted to learn ASL for years because my friends used it like a secret language, and I wanted to be able to communicate with the deaf customers who came into the restaurant I work at. Sure, they can just write what they want on a piece of paper or their cellphone, but I wanted to connect with them and make them happy that a hearing person could sign using their language.
I won’t forget that time a family came in with a deaf son and I saw them signing to him. I wasn’t taking any classes then, and I hardly knew any words, but I signed “name” to the boy and his entire face lit up. He was so surprised and happy that I signed to him.
With that in mind, I thought it would be great to take an ASL class. I also wanted to see language and other things from a different perspective (It would add more to my writing).
So here I am a third of the way into the semester.
What do I think of the class?
I hate it.
Hahaha gotcha! I love it!! It’s such an interesting class. It’s hard getting my hands used to doing so many different symbols when all they are used to is writing with a pencil, poking at touch screens and typing on laptops. Compared to Japanese I would say ASL isn’t as challenging in terms of grammar, because for the most part, it doesn’t have the same grammar as spoken languages.
My ASL teacher is deaf and she is super nice. On the first day of class, she had two translators, but now it is her alone taking control. I’ve discovered, even if you don’t know sign language, it’s not impossible to figure out. Sign Language isn’t just hand signs, but it’s also made up of facial expressions that act as a form of grammar. If you want to say that test was soooo hard, you sign “test” and “difficult” using your face to decide the extent of that test’s difficulty. I love that hahaha it makes it so funny and expressive.
What struck me recently in the class is when we watched a video on deaf history and I realized, wow they don’t teach that in American history books. Why don’t they? The typewriter-to-phone inventions created that allowed deaf people to communicate before texts, the protest of Gallaudet University, I’d never heard of these things before this class and I’m already in college.
I think it would be wonderful if schools could teach more about the deaf community and the language itself so that both the hearing and the deaf communities can be more connected. I know exactly what the effect of learning someone’s language can have, it builds a wire to the two people that can transmit understanding and friendship.
Finally, I’d like to give you readers a surprise.
“Gasp! A surprise! Golly gee wiz I do like surprises!”
“I know, I know,” I say smugly.
Lol, but no, really.
I want to try making a poem in Sign Language. I was introduced to the idea after watching the history of deaf people and I’d like to try it out! Sooo, I don’t know when exactly it will come out, but you can expect it soon!
Thanks for reading!
Aegyo-chan out~! (Please read that in a Sailor Moon voice)
Brimming with Bats in the Belfry 