how can we learn the sign language?
346411
Taking a class is a good start, but there is nothing like actual immersion "speaking" the language. Start with an introductory class. Then volunteer at your nearest deaf/hearing impaired school for a while.
920589
A sign language (also signed language) is a language which uses manual communication instead of sound to convey meaning - simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to express fluidly a speaker's thoughts. Sign languages commonly develop in deaf communities, which can include interpreters and friends and families of deaf people as well as people who are deaf or hard of hearing themselves. They are also used by people with speech impairments such as Aphasia.\n\nWhen people using different signed languages meet, communication is significantly easier than when people of different spoken languages meet. Sign language, in this respect, gives access to an international deaf community.\n\nHowever, contrary to popular belief, sign language is not universal. Wherever communities of deaf people exist, sign languages develop, but as with spoken languages, these vary from region to region. They are not based on the spoken language in the country of origin; in fact their complex spatial grammars are markedly different. However, various signed "modes" of spoken languages have been developed, such as Signed English and Warlpiri Sign Language. Hundreds of sign languages are in use around the world and are at the core of local Deaf cultures. Some sign languages have obtained some form of legal recognition, while others have no status at all.
172380
Try this site I found the other day.  Try making some fun sentences:\nhttp://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/aslweb/browser.htm\n\nGood luck!
75459
Sign language is a communication system using your hands to from letters, words, or express concepts.  It is used to communicate with and by people who are unable to speak or hear.  Sign language can also be used by people who need to communicate silently, like soldiers.  A certain type of "sign language" is also used by referees and umpires to communicate clearly over a long distance or over crowd noise.  Picture an umpire making a "safe" call at home plate.  That is a type of sign language.
443085
You think in your primary language, right? I'm learning sign language and sometimes I think in sign.  Its very frustrating when I'm writing things and I can't thing of the English and I want to just write the sign, but I can't.\n\nShort and simple, yes
70625
That's a great idea. Sign language should be offered as an alternative to any foreign language.
444804
Hey by the way the correct spelling is "Interested."\n\nYou already know I am deaf, so no introductions here. But anyways, I'd like to share something that is kind of interesting from a deaf perspective.\n\nI grew up speaking and lip-reading all my life going to hearing schools. Yes, I did have oral education, but only up to 6th grade. It became a part-time thing all through elementary school, then no more of that after that.\n\nI had never learnt sign language because I was always in hearing schools, and I lived too far from my old deaf classmates to be able to socialize with them on a regular basis. So I pretty much was not part of the deaf culture for most of my life growing up.\n\nI attended a community college that had a small deaf program (Ohlone College). I also played on the tennis team. There was another deaf girl on the tennis team too. She only communicated via ASL with no lipreading. I only communicated via speaking. Despite the fact that we were both deaf, we could not communicate at all!\n\nIt was so strange. I truly felt what hearing people felt sometimes when they try to communicate with a deaf person. I was taking ASL 1 at the same time, so each day I was not only learning more signs in class, I was also learning them from her. Those first six months were probably the fastest I had ever learnt a language. I didn't even have to go to class nor did I have to study it because I already knew it all! Got an easy A plus in ASL 1!\n\nThis experience taught me what it really felt like to be in hearing people's shoes with the hearing perspective on deafness. So I already know what it feels like to be on both sides of the fence. I also learnt that it is possible to really learn a new language very quickly if you really have a strong desire to communicate with someone. It just takes regular practice and dedication on a regular basis, and then before you know it, you already become fluent in it.
350887
I think he is deaf, try some sign language
308528
A great site to check words out in sign language:\n\nhttp://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm\n\nYou can look up the words in the index and they provide instructions on how to do them and are also shown how to do them through a quicktime video. Some of the words you may have to find synonyms for, as there is not a sign for every word.
900872
Learning to sign or studying American Sign Language (ASL) can be very interesting ot aanyone whether they are hearing or deaf.  \n\nSign can allow people who do not have the facility for spoken language to communicate fluently and quickly where writing or other non-verbal communication can be inconvenient.  The speach disability could be from birth, due to accident or stroke or illness, temporary or permanent.\n\nWithin the deaf community, ASL, like any other spoken language, has an impact on the culture of those who are fluent users, and ASL is evolving and changing as the "deaf culture" develops and changes with new words and ideas.  \n\nWith computers and words processig speach aids now available, keyboards are helping more people communicate without relying on knowledge of sign -- yet we all still use gestures and informal signing when trying to communicate accros language barriers.\n\nChildren in special education can sometimes use signing as a temporary form of communication until theyare able to develop speach or the ability to use a keyboard - or may rely on signing completely if they are severly disabled.\n\nSpecial education teachers and classroom aids study ASL to better teach and understand their students.
549714
ASL in America\nThe history of ASL is long and rich. Much of its early development, however, remains poorly documented. One reason for this is that, like spoken languages, the early forms of signed languages are not preserved. While we can establish the time and circumstances under which education and thus formal instruction in English and various forms of signing, were brought to deaf people in the United States, we have little idea about the structure of the language which deaf people used prior to this. In spite of the paucity of information about earlier forms of signed language, we should not doubt that deaf people did communicate with each other in a natural signed language. Even before hearing people began to take an interest in their education, we can be sure that deaf people used a signed language.\n\nAmerican Sign Language (ASL) is the visual/gestural language which is the primary means of communication of deaf people in America and parts of Canada. Current estimates are that between 100,000 and 500,000 people use ASL (Padden, 1987). This includes native signers who have learned ASL as their first language from deaf parents, hearing children of deaf parents who also learned ASL as their native language, and fluent signers who have learned ASL from deaf people (Padden, 1987).
435029
Please don't believe the answers that say sign language is universal - this is a common mistake!  Every country has its own sign language (or more than one!) that have developed, sometimes over centuries, within the deaf communities.  These are all true languages - it's not just mime.  If you doubt this, try watching someone signing and guessing what they're saying - it's near impossible!\n\nLike spoken languages, there are sometimes similarities between sign languages because of their history.  For instance, there are a number of similarities between the French and American slgn languages because one of the early schools for the deaf in the US was run by a French teacher.\n\nTo get round to actually answering the question.  Yes, ASL is used in other countries, either through cultural contact or quite often missionaries spreading it.  It may have diverged from American ASL, but could still be recognisable.  Those countries I know of that use ASL to some extent (not necessarily universally) are: Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada (except Quebec), Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.  There are also a number of countries that have sign languages that started from ASL taught by missionaries, but which have now diverged.
354434
Yes, each country has their own sign language.  In America it is called ASL, and it is actually closer to French sign language than to British sign language.  And the alphabet is different in different countries, for example, the ASL sign for "t" is the same as flicking someone off in British sign language.\n\nI saw one figure that said that there are 114 known sign languages\ncheck out this site: http://faculty.valencia.cc.fl.us/arasmussen/General_Info/glossing_module_writing_unwritten.htm\n\nPoint is, no, it is not a universal language.
141211
I couldn't find anything exactly on the subject in my search, but it is very easily argued that sign language, for a deaf person is the only form of communication, and thus can be the only way a deaf person could "say" anything.  Say has been extended to anything you write (or sign you name to), absent coersion or undue influence, or police misconduct.  Since writing something isn't that far off of signing (as in sign language) something, it is very likely that a court would determine that anything you sign can be used against you as well.\n\nThis might make a good bar exam question...
651111
EDIT: Half of my answer didn't post for some reason.\n\nScientists have been studying this for years, but never have found an answer.\n\nWhen I spoke to a deaf woman about this idea, this is what she said: "When I think about what I am going to say, I think about it in sign and I sometimes sign in my sleep.  However, when I read something (because there is no written version of sign language) I think about it in English.  Concepts are created visually more often than in English."\n\nFor an actual study, when presented with a stimulus, the visual and language areas of the brain become active, whereas in a hearing person, the auditory and language areas of the brain become active.  While they are processed differently, the language area of the brain is used at all times.\n\nThe only other help I can offer is a study on Genie, a girl who was locked up and unsocialized until about the age of twelve.  While she was able to be somewhat rehabilitated and learn some basic vocabulary, she never figured out how to put complex sentences together, which was thought to show she was not capable of complex thought.  However, the data was compromised because it was thought that she may be mentally challenged.
817052
Many colleges and universities offer interpreting programs (usually 2 years). However, just getting a degree does not make you an interpreter.  You will have to become certified to work as a professional interpreter. You can become certified through the RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf). You have to go through a training program and then take the written and skills exams. \nIt is also suggested that you spend a lot of time in the Deaf community to help with learning the culture and language.
11309
I think it depends on your reason for learning sign language.  You may find some cheap classes offered through you community.  A lot of community colleges may offer sign language.  If you happen to live near a school for the deaf you probably could get classes there.  Also if you live in a large city check for Community Services for the Deaf.  Usually large cities have non-profit organizations that will offer classes to the public.