AlexB

Hello everyone. I have a quick question. If any of you are like me, you probably spend a lot of your day thinking, "how would that be signed in ASL?" things such as "take a bath", "I can't stand that" etc. Are strictly English statements and signed in a literal word for word translation would be silly at best and confusing for sure. So what I have been doing is taking different song lyrics and changing them so that they would make sense in ASL. I then practice them that way in order to try to get my brain used to switching over from English to ASL. while there are many English terms and short statements adapted to ASL, I find it difficult still to think quickly enough to change the signs so that they make sense. Does anyone have any good practice ideas for getting your mind to do a switch over from English (hearing an English only statement) to signing it (changing that same statement to make sense in ASL) I definitely feel as if this is the most difficult part of being accurate and of course...we all want to be. Thank you so much!!!

Hi Michael. I play the piano the guitar, I am a vocalist but my true passion is playing the drums. I would say that I am at about a middle school level on guitar and piano but the drums are my passion and the instrument I would say I'm the most proficient in. My studio has two kits and my daughter (she's 10) likes to practice with me. What about you? I actually don't have any plans to do anything serious with music but I have a true love for it and simply play for my own enjoyment. Now if I could master jazz drumming. Uggg...anyway, thank you for saying that I'm fluent in sign. I would definitely not say that about myself though. It's interesting, I grew up signing. I had a cousin same age and she is deaf. Every summer I would travel up north to see her and spend the entire summer signing and then come back home to forget a lot of it and start over the next year. About 15 years ago I stopped signing and then last year my husband passed away very young and unexpected. It reminded me that I need to continue with the things that I love so I am working towards my interpreter license but had to start completely over. So...it's coming back quickly but my receptive skills are not the greatest. 😁 I'd be happy to practice though...anytime! Let me know!

Hi Michael. Don't you find it interesting that you have both a passion for music as well as a passion for ASL?not that deaf people cant enjoy music don't get me wrong. I am a multi-instrumentalist and have a studio in my home and sign as well and people are constantly asking me how that works and I say to them that I didn't realize I had to choose one. 😁

And I'm sorry that my phone defaulted to spelling your name wrong. That was unintentional.

Hi Claire! Good for you! So so brave and just...really I think that what you are doing is amazing. If you want to practice ASL I would love to do that. I really need the practice. I have not used sign for 15 years and Im just getting back into it and I want to take and then pass (of course!) The interpreter test! Please let me know if you are interested in practicing via video.