I have a friend that’s deaf, and I have to write to her on a piece of paper to talk to her. So I was wondering if anyone could show me a web site or some kind of program that could teach me how to use sign language?
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The left hand is place in the right elbow and the right hand come up.The hand that is moving represents the sun. The horizontal arm represents the surface of the earth. Thus, the movement of the hand shows the sun coming up over the horizon in the morning.
This web page will actually show you how to do them.
Good: holding one hand flat, put the fingertips (palm towards you) to your lips, then rotate the arm towards the person you’re addressing so that the flat palm is facing up.
Morning: holding one arm horizontally across your chest (to represent the horizon), bring the flattened hand (at the end of ‘good’) up past the ‘horizon’ so that the flattened hand is facing your shoulder (representing the rising sun).
Two books that were recommended to me by deaf friends are ‘The Joy of Signing’ and ‘The American Sign Language Dictionary’. I don’t know if ‘Joy…’ is still in print, but the dictionary should be.
Signing is fun, especially when you know where the signs originate. For instance, anything to do with men/boys is signed near the brow, from the habit of tipping one’s hat. Conversely, anything to do with women/girls is signed near the jaw line, from the strings of the bonnets women used to wear. Have fun!! And thanks for taking the time to communicate more easily with your friend.
I would suggest asking her to teach you some signs, ask her to communicate with you in sign as much as possbile because that’s the best way to learn sign language. In the mean time, you can use these web sites.
aslpro.com
asl.ms
remember that asl doesn’t use “to be” verbs like is are was were am be and been
it doesn’t have a specific sign for her, him, she and he, you just point for all of those.
you don’t use: and, for, to, over, under, in, …ect. you use classifier predicates. ( you can learn more about those on one of the websites listed above.) I would also reccomend practicing your fingerspelling. You may even also consider taking a sign language class in a local community college or renting some videos from the library. Use sign often, even when you’re not with her, and even if you only know a few words, because using them over and over is the best way to make sure you remember it!!! Good luck!!!
These sites are really wonderful to practice and are pretty accurate… Keep in mind though that depending on the area that you live some signs may be signed differently.. At least you have your friend who will be able to help you while you learn….Good luck and have fun while learning!
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/SITES/ASLWEB/browser.htm
http://www.aslpro.com/