Free Signing with Amy and Kelly

What's your name?

What is your name? An infant’s mother and father give a name to a person at birth. The child has no say in what they will be called. They could receive a “cool” name, for example: Tamara or Chase. Or they could just receive a Plain Jane name, as in Ted or Jill. In the Deaf community you are given a name sign, which is used to identify you in conversation when you are either present or if both signers know you and your name sign. A name sign is a sign that resembles the nickname in the hearing culture. A person could receive their name sign from the whole Deaf community that they are part of or can be renamed by different groups of people who know other people with the same name sign. How a person comes into their name sign, is unique and very close to heart for the Deaf community. They get very hurt if a hearing person gives them self a name sign. To them it is a right of passage, that you can only get after you have shown that you have immersed your self into the community. The name sign is a sign of trust within the community, once presented with it means you are welcome.

            Just like a newborn child, it is  not ok for an individual to start handing out name signs because they feel like it, there are rules for when and where to give name signs. Not every hearing person receives a name sign, and even then some deaf people do not receive name signs, either because their name is short enough to finger spell out like Ted or Jill, or they have not been presented with a name sign that has stuck with them yet.           

Who can give you a name sign? There is some controversy in some Deaf communities that only physically deaf people can give you a name sign. There is however the notion of a Bicultural person or Culturally Deaf. For example, say there is a person who has lived in the deaf community for a long time. They  ive there, their parents are deaf; the person is a teacher for the State school, they married a deaf person and have deaf child. By some standards this person can be considered “Deaf” in the fact that he or she has a standing long-term relationship with the Deaf community.

            There are two categories of name signs, Descriptive and Arbitrary signs.

Arbitrary signs are those that use a combination of a letter from the alphabet and a piece of information about their family and/or heritage. For example, Jamie has a dimple on her left check. Her name sign could include the hand sign for the letter J and it could touch her left check to represent the dimple. These signs are the most common name sign a person could run into. Descriptive signs are used to describe a physical feature or personal trait. An example that a lot of people see is if someone has long or curly hair, a name sign can be given in reference to that characteristic.

As there are more people learning ASL as a second language, there has been a new kind of name sign introduced, this new sign is a combination of both Arbitrary and descriptive signs. Kelsey loves to read. It is all she does in her free time, and the deaf children in her class have noticed.  Kelsey was presented with the name sign of a K hand shape and the sign to read, moving the K back and forth across the page to make it look as if she were reading. Now a day’s, younger kids are handing out name signs to hearing friends without regards to the rules.  Sometimes name signs can be unflattering to a hearing person. If the person has a scar or unusual physical feature, their name sign can be given involving the feature. Do not be offended if you do receive a name sign that could be considered unflattering by the hearing person. The Deaf community gave you that name because it personally relates to you, and after all you know that you have the scar/ physical feature. To the deaf person it is just another part of you. In some cases where younger kids may hand out name signs, the sign it self can have a prior meaning that a person does not want to use as your name sign.

In the Deaf community, name signs are just as unique as the hearing person’s nickname. No two deaf persons in a community have to same name sign. There are a few rules regarding the fact that if two people do meet and they have they same name sign who gets to keep the sign and who would have to be given another, just in that community. If a new person as just moved to town and has the same name sign as another deaf person in the community, the new person would be expected to give their name sign up. If  two deaf persons meet and have the same name then the older of the two or whoever was in possession of the name sign the longest would get to keep it and the other would have to be renamed. The last possible situation is if a deaf person and a hearing person had the same name sign, the hearing person would be expected to give up the name sign.   A single person can have multiple name signs throughout the community.

They could have a name sign that they go by when they are with their family, one for their close friends and one for at work. It depends on how that group of deaf persons sees the person’s personality. It is a community that is highly involved and involves a lot of respect and trust.

            Name signs can be acquired by unusual means outside of the Deaf community. Most deaf children receive their name signs by hearing adults that know ASL. Most common is the child’s mother and/or their hearing school teacher. It is because of this influence that the age of the new names signs are coming. As the years go by, a person’s name sign can be changed or modified to fit the person in the present time. If the person thinks the name sign in unflattering, they may modify it to better suit to their liking. Sometimes the name just doesn’t stick, that is in rare occasions though. Once the name sign has been presented to the class or deaf community it is hard to change.

            The name sign is given in the same sort of way that American Indians receive their spirit names. In some cases the parents wait till their child has grown to be a toddler, looking at their personality and naming them accordingly. It is the same way in the deaf community. Name signs are not given until they accept that person as a part of the community. It is a rite of passage into a community based around structure and friendships.

My Journey so Far

I feel that my overall learning experience has grown in just four weeks. In honest, I wish I could have learned everything that has been covered as a first year student. It is one thing to memorize signs and to know basic conversational skills, but in ASL there is a very cultural aspect, that is hard to learn from a hearing teacher. Looking back, I have noticed how hard it was for me to learn sign language when using my voice. When I figured this out, I saw my progress take a closer step to improvement. It is easier for me to concentrate on just signing; putting all my effort into using the new skills I have learned: the use of classifiers, signing space, facial expression, the seven basic hand shapes, even a more ergonomically friendly way to sign certain letters (‘G’, ‘Q’, and ‘H’).

My favorite thing we have learned has been the HMHD (Hold-Movement-Hold-Duplication) models. Last year we were on our own for understanding the signs, the instructor would show us the sign, we would ask questions about the sign and then have to convert what we saw into understandable notes that we could refer back to later. This new model has been very helpful. It breaks the sign down to the core, from start to finish. To understand every hand-shape, position, and location of each part of the sign makes it easier to remember and understand.

Applying that understanding in signing is just the first step. You can memorize signs (or words) and still not know how to sign (or speak) the language. The next thing I have learned to understand is that all noun signs need classifiers. These classifiers are descriptive signs done with the non-dominate hand to help defend the more arbitrary sign used first, giving the sign an actual meaning. The use of classifiers is added to the sentence structure. When signing, there is a different word or better said “sign” order then used for English. As native English speakers we grow up learning sentence structure in Subject-Verb-Object order. For ASL though, the order is Object-Verb-Subject. This is important to know and essential to be able to understand other signers.

Now I have not had a lot of contact with many people who are Deaf, but when I have had the opportunity to have a conversation (more like some-what of a conversation with some signs and lots of finger spelling on my part) or just been able to observe other signers, I can tell they are very “vocal”. By vocal, I mean their use of signing space, facial expression, and over all use of body language could put an improve artist to shame. There is an art to signing, a secrete beauty that few are privy to. You can pretend to know what art is, but to really understand the art, to appreciate it, reveals the more magnificent beauty.

All of these essential components of ASL are just that- components, until used. The second part is the practical part, the application of knowledge. So far this has been demonstrated by the use of the online blog, with videos and my writings of ASL.  Along with the daily free-signing exercises, application will enhance the understanding.  Learning Sign Language has always been a goal for me, and when I learned Clackamas Community College offered ASL, I signed up immediately. I applied myself, memorizing signs; I practiced finger spelling everything, which has helped me a little this year. But I feel my knowledge is short of what is required for a two year student.

There are times when I feel lost during lectures, either I do not understand something being signed or another student asks a question and I cannot see what they signed, so it is hard for me to follow the teacher’s answer. It would be nice if the question can be repeated, so everyone can see and have a better understanding of what is being discussed. As the lecture progresses though things that are missed, become clarified. I like the fact that my teacher uses reaction cards after every activity. It is a great way to answer questions and concerns that students have.  There is also a mutual understanding for the students, that we are all alike. We all have trouble areas, things we excel in and a lot to work on.

This is progress, slow progress yes, but to be able to see it, and understand what hinders you (like speaking vs. not speaking) is what learning is, identifying your weaknesses and then learning from them to increase your knowledge.

Update

Welcome everyone!!
So this is my first time ever using a blog... Give me a day or two to get my videos all loaded and set up... I am still trying to figure out how everything works! If you have any questions/ comments/ or helpful advice I welcome any and all! I hope you all enjoy following my progress in American Sign Language.
~Kerystenn