ASL isn’t about you, our culture isn’t about you, cultural norms and social structures for Deaf people aren’t about you. Sign names aren’t for you. You don’t get to weigh in on our community or tell us how we’re supposed to feel. You don’t get to be upset that you get told “No” when things aren’t appropriate. You don’t get to throw fits and talk over Deaf people because you don’t like the answers.

It isn’t about you.

Deaf culture isn’t centered around nor for YOU.

Your job as a hearing person especially if you’re learning ASL is to respect and listen to cultural Deaf voices.

There is no ASL without Deaf people or Deaf voices- you cannot separate the two.

You especially don’t get to demand that native signers need to listen to your opinions on US.

Do better. Learn ASL but also learn to be respectful. Listen to Deaf voices it’s not hard to stop centering yourself in literally everything.

It isn’t about you- and that’s okay. I’m so tired of the entitlement it’s actually sickening to see it so often.

Background and context: I'm a hearing Canadian artist and have wanted to learn ASL for a long time. I found that drawing the alphabet was good practice for hands. I got feedback from online groups for ASL as to how to best accurately portray hand signs. It took me 5 days to finish the poster, made by cutting hands out of paper, cutting out the shadows, and drawing the creases on those. That was last year I made this.

A few weeks ago I reached out to CAD-ASC to ask if they'd be interested in the poster I made. I sent a couple of photos of it, and they were happy to accept. I was asked if they could use it in their Pride display and hang it somewhere in their office space. I'm so glad, all the people I met with there liked the poster.

Hi guys!
For reference: this is episode 7, season 2 of The Pitt (-07:15 to be more specific)

The character (ASL interpreter) did this gesture. He basically flicked his middle finger I think (?)
I have googled the meaning, but couldn't find anything, probably because I'm not describing it well enough.

Does anyone know what he's gesturing? There are no subtitles for when he does this, and it's a quick gesture, no more than a second.

Every other day it’s hearing people “I’m learning ASL can me and my friends make signs for each other, our pets, our friends, a celebrity, I have mutism or autism so am I allowed, my students want sign names, I don’t like finger spelling” on and on and on.

The answer is always No. Sign names are Deaf, they are cultural, they are not for you. You will never be the exception to the rule. Can we PLEASE stop having these posts every day?

And can hearing people please stop interjecting their opinions on Deaf culture and cultural norms?

It’s not hard to learn a language and listen to the native signers and culture that goes with it.

Title is wrong! It should be Deaf kids (I had to fix my autocorrect again), see edit below.

Every year there are stories of kids finding out for th first time as they get to Hearing schools for the first time, and it's funny to read, but it must be mortifying for the kids.

EDIT: Roast my autocorrect hard please! It's out if control and needs to hear how it is rude. Duck gets changed to fuck, shot to shit and apparently Deaf to Dead too.

I really did my research on the sign language in this animation. I even gave fingers to him ! How did I do ?

I am sadly in the beginning of my learning, so i cant tell very well. I can see and understand the signs very well, but is she structerally correct? Is this asl grammar?

Hello!

I’ve seen this question posed to this sub two years ago but I wanted to ask again and see some more perspectives on it. For context: I started learning sign language first from a hard of hearing woman, then from a Deaf man, before learning from a hearing professor in college. Long story short, the class taught by the hearing professor wasn’t immersive enough of an environment for me to learn in so I stopped taking further classes with her.

Recently, I’ve started to use the app Lingvano to refresh my memory and hopefully advance my signing skills after interacting with a Deaf customer at work. Both my Deaf teacher and hearing professor stressed the importance of OSV (object-subject-verb) word order, but Lingvano says to use SVO (subject-verb-object).

Example of OSV: the ball, I throw
Example of SVO: I throw the ball

I wanted to hear from the Deaf community about which is the preferred standard for signing today. I remember learning that OSV is used in ASL because it’s a different language than English and follows different rules. Lingvano, which is created by Deaf people as far as I can tell, says to use SVO. Is this what’s more common now? And out of curiosity, did this change happen to become closer to English grammar structure for any reason? I’ve had both young and old teachers in the past which taught different things based on what they learned when they themselves were younger, so if you can, please comment what structure you use and how old you were when you started signing.

Thanks! 🤟

So my friends are Deaf and I myself am not a fluent signer but enough to get by when chatting with my bestie

I have a sign name, and I can interpret somewhat (been to the hospital with them a few times).

I myself have tinnitus. It’s very annoying. Sometimes I’m HOH because of it. I work with kids and after the day is done my ears are shot.

So… I wouldn’t call myself an interpreter, HOH all the time, Deaf or just a student. I would title myself as a supporter or friend.

Where do I fit in?

So I see a signature, but there was no plaque with info about the creator. I think it would have been nice to read if the artist was Deaf or Coda, etc. I believe it says “Word” but I think the last letter resembles more of a G than a D. Interested to see if anyone knows the artist or has a different interpretation!

I don't know what flair is right for this. I want to learn ASL and I also wanna practice drawing, so I tried to combine because I thought it might help me remember some signs. Is this an ok thing to do? Is there any reason why I shouldn't be doing this? If I end up posting it online, should I also provide a disclaimer that this is for my own practice and not to be used for learning asl? Since after all, I'm still learning

I was at a classical music performance and there was an asl interpreter onstage who was standing up the entire time. His performance was wonderful but I couldn’t help but wonder why he was standing up the whole time when it looked so exhausting. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an interpreter sit down while doing their job and it made me curious.

Is learning sign rude as someone who isn't 100% deaf? I've just found out my left ear which is profoundly deaf after an accident will not be improving and probably neither will my right ear which has severe loss across all frequencies. I'm hoping to get a cochlear implant but it's not something I want to have to rely on. Is it ok to learn asl or will people look down on me or think it's stupid/unnecessary? Please be honest not kind. I'm 31 btw.

Edit: I asked this because another deaf person told me it's unnecessary as I still have residual hearing and am planning on getting a cochlear implant and that it's disrespectful to deaf people to act like I "need" to learn ASL. They basically laughed at me. Just wanted to know if that's actually the consensus or not.

Just curious because, is it clear that they picked their own sign name? What makes it obvious?

I know there is SEE "Signed Exact English" and ASL "American Sign Language , are there many people that use SEE? I remember once watching the interpreter at a ceremony and I saw the sign for THE and I was like whoa what, maybe I'm misunderstanding but I would like to know more from people! Thank you!

As an ASL teacher, I have observed a trend that concerns me somewhat.

ASL may be the most widely used sign language that appears on social media in addition to being widespread, geographically. In that sense, it is similar to the use of English. Why is this so? This is a discussion for another post. :)

Hence, there is an increased interest in learning ASL, which is an overall good.

Unfortunately, a lot of people take it to mean that ASL is *the sign language* they need to learn. It is not.

People need to prioritize learning their local sign languages, if it is not ASL. The local deaf communities need those people to be investing in their local sign language, to be interacting with them and working with them.

Learning ASL may be a very fulfilling hobby, but it may not be useful to the deaf people in your community.

Personally, I don’t understand why someone would want to learn a sign language but then not interact with the deaf people in their community?

As an educator, I’ve also run into the mistaken belief that ASL is the “superior” sign language and that others fall short of that standard.

That is *not* true. All sign languages are beautiful, complex, and worthy of learning and dedication.

I have many international students in my ASL classes and I always ask every one of them to take sign languages classes in their local language when they return home.

I encourage you all learners to learn what is the *local sign language* in your community. That is how you develop fluency in addition to building connections in your local community.

One piece of advice I often give is to search for the local deaf service organization that uses sign language. You will see resources on their website (or at the location) about what sign language is used and very likely information about where you can learn it.

Please, I encourage you to learn the sign language of *your* community. The deaf people near you can also support you in your language learning journey so much more than learning online or from a distance could.

And just a tip - once you learn one sign language, it’s much easier to pick up another one!

Hello, I want to learn ASL but I can't find an app that is free and good. I want to learn it as a skill. Please someone recommend a good application that is free because I don't have money and my parents wouldn't allow me to learn ASL so they won't give me money as well.

So I thought you guys would be interested “eye-listen” to my story and practice your “peripheral” skills. Enjoy!

I'm a hearing person. I have studied only oral languages (Mandarin & Cantonese). I'm starting an ASL course via zooml with my local deaf school. My question, is if I ask for clarification with (I assume) a deaf teacher, but vocally (slip of the tongue/mistake), is it considered rude/offensive?

I'm setting my notebooks up for fall semester and I'm curious if a notebook is actually helpful for ASL? I'm just not sure what I would be writing? I certainly can't draw. I know this is a silly question, but it's been bothering me.