darael:
coille-dithean:
More hearing people should learn some sign language so here are some actually useful signs for us hearing people to learn.
Learning to sign is something I really want to do. For multiple reasons, which I’m going to share because you should learn too. Yes, you.
The obvious one is that it makes the lives of Deaf and HoH people easier. We can communicate directly without things like lip-reading! Wouldn’t that be great?
But it’s not only that
When you’re talking to a hearing person you can sign while speaking
And there are two ways to use that
One is to expand on meaning without having to use verbal circumlocutions - this could be particularly useful for shades of meaning, where you might say one thing while signing something that modifies it.
The other is to say something completely different. Holding two conversations at once becomes an awful lot easier when one’s in sign and the other’s out loud.
Also the Deaf and HoH communities aren’t the only disabled people to benefit. I have Asperger syndrome, which is an autistic spectrum disorder, and sometimes - not often, but sometimes - I go nonverbal. I lose the capacity to speak. Usually I can understand what people say when that happens, and I can write words or make gestures, but think how much easier it would be if I could sign to them instead.
^^^This, a thousand times this.
More reasons!
If you’re like me and every sickness ever turns into an I-can’t-speak-because-my-lungs-are-trying-to-crawl-up-my-throat situation, learn to sign so you can still communicate with people.
If you’re like me and you have sensory/perception issues and sometimes you can’t handle voices, learn to sign so that you don’t have to handle the noise.
If you’re like me and you go to a small college with at least one person who’s assaulted you and is still on campus, learn to sign so that you can tell your friend when you need to get the fuck out NOW.
If you’re like me and you hang out at your friend’s place of work and get hit on by creepy older men, learn to sign so that you can get some backup from your buddy the employee.
If you’re like me and you want to go into a service profession (I’m pre-med), learn to sign in case you ever have a Deaf/HoH/otherwise nonverbal patient.
Basically what I’m saying is learn to sign. And hit me up with any websites you know are good for learning to sign, I’m making a list.
(Source: feldfrowe, via cthulhu-with-a-fez)
