I learned the manual alphabet so that my friends and I could talk in class without the teacher knowing… and also just for fun. Are we seeming to sorta make fun of the deaf? (I don’t, I actually respect them) And is the manual alphabet considered it’s own language, or is it just a small part of ASL? Should I take ASL next year in high school? Thanks. You are welcome to share your stories relavant to the question 🙂
.
Join the Conversation
Leave a comment
It is good you are concerned about this..shows you are very insightful for your age. ASL is highly valued by Deaf people and the Deaf community bcs it is their language. Lots of people learn the ASL alphabet out of interest and I guess use it in class like you do. Maybe Deaf pple will answer your question if it is disrespectful to be used in this way.
The manual alphabet is a part of ASL but a small part. It is used to spell very specific things like names, movie and book titles. Most of ASL is not the manual alphabet. You should definately learn ASL..just your interest now means you will be eager to learn it.
Good luck.
No, not really imho. People have their own personal reasons for wanting to learn a language and you are definitely not the first to do so for the sake of someone else not understanding. My family, friends and I do it all the time when we`d rather keep our conversations private. Learning a new language is never a bad idea, and unless you use it to offend other people or do something incredibly inappropriate, most deaf people will be glad to know that you chose to learn their language.
The manual alphabet is part of ASL, although it is not used as often as one would think. There are independent signs for most words and expressions (since spelling out every single word would take too much time), and the alphabet is usually saved for names, acronyms, etc. I definitely recommend that you take ASL in high school, especially if you`re interested in taking the manual alphabet to the next level. Being able to communicate in another language is a great skill to have.