What's Your Sign? - Week 2

Hmm, I actually don't know my exact Zodiac Sign...I was born on a borderline date between two signs, so whenever I read horoscopes, I just read both and choose whichever one I like. Anyways, here's what's happening in my world of ASL signs.

There's a saying in my native language (Korean), which - if I were to roughly translate - says that when people make a strong determination to accomplish something, that determination usually only lasts for three days. A perfect example is on New Year's, when everyone goes to the gym for roughly three days in January and then never comes back.
That loss of determination almost happened to me this week (well, it's been more than three days but still, it was a short time period) with something I least expected myself to be frustrated with: colors.

Dr. Vicars signing "Colors" on lifeprint.com - Done by fluttering four fingers on chin

Colors
Art has been a passion for me basically since I was born. I love colors, spectrums (except in Science class), color mixing, painting, dyeing,  etc. But for some reason, I just can't seem to get a grip on this! And as I said in my previous post, I've been losing track of which words I have memorized, and now I was having trouble with memorization itself. Most signs that I had trouble with, I eventually figured out. But colors? Man, I just couldn't remember these. I think it's because most signs have something to do with the word concept, like the sign for "drinking" just looks like someone drinking out of a cup. With colors, though, you can't really turn your hand into whichever color you're trying to sign. While I was drowning in the pool of hard signs and started to get super frustrated and angry at myself and at the world because I couldn't change the color of my hand like a chameleon could, help came to my way: food and puns.

Food
Food was covered on lesson 7 at lifeprint.com, and this was a beaming light of sunshine on my dying patch of flowers. Food signs were neither harder nor easier than most other signs, but I somehow got a grip on them - super fast. I still can't sign them quickly, but these were easier signs for me somehow. It got me motivated again - although certain signs are hard, sign language overall is a beautiful form of language, and although it requires perseverance for mastery, so does any other topic.
(Maybe there's some crazy science behind food. By the way, if you want to know about actual food science, visit my friend's genius project blog on Modernist Cuisine.)

Puns
Okay, ready?
This is the sign for milk:

GIF from lifeprint.com

Now, what do you think this means if you move this sign across your face?

PAST-YOUR-EYES (PASTEURIZED) MILK!
Isn't it beautiful? (Unfortunately, I don't think there are any other signs that work as puns in English).

Different Dialects of ASL
Now, onto more serious things. My friend Jessica (who is learning Mandarin for her Genius project) was awesome and showed me this article she found about different dialects of ASL. This Washington Post article, written by Frances Stead Sellers, talks about how ASL signed by the Black community, or Black ASL, is different from the ASL that more Caucasian people tend to sign. Certain word concepts have different signs in Black ASL and ASL, and the same signs in both can have different meanings. Some differences include signed by one hand instead of two and different areas of the body the word is signed at. Research shows that Black ASL has to do a lot with Ebonics, and is similar to how segregation in American history has changed some differences in language. Signers of Black ASL are proud of their language because Black ASL is a legitimate language; it just has differences like British Sign Language and ASL does. If you want to know more, just click on the link here or the one above.

Video

I said last time that I wouldn't have videos but...here it is. I thought it was unfair to not have a video showing my progress. I tried to come up with my own sentences and use at least one word from each lesson. I'd imagine this is the kind of stuff I would sign if I ever met someone who signed ASL.
In the past, I've recorded my voice during German class to hear how I sound, and I remember hating it because I sounded terrible. Well, in this video, I'm signing super choppy and slowly, and sometimes you can't really tell what I'm signing, so I didn't really like this either. However, this gave me a chance to see what I could improve on and how to sign certain words more natively.

So I tried to follow the tips on the comic strip thatdeafguy.com...

That Deaf Guy told me to use bright light when recording sign, so I tried to follow that tip. I did not realize how dark my room was before I did. I got all my lamps to brighten the view, but it still came out pretty dark. I got an extra LED lamp, but it wouldn't stay standing on my bed, so I got my Biology textbook. My computer started to get heated up, so then I got my Social Studies textbook...sorry. This took long, as I expected. It took me about 25 attempts, and in one of the attempts, I accidentally said my name was "Aana". Nevertheless, I still think this was definitely worthwhile.

Behind-the-scenes...When in doubt, use a textbook.

What do you guys think I should say in my next video? Talk more about myself? Narrate a short story? Show a few lines of poetic ASL I might use for my TEDTalk? If you want me to to something relating to poems, name a poem or a song that you really like. I'll try to do what works!

Comments 1 + 2

I commented on the blogs of these geniuses. Click on their names for the link:

Liliana
- I was mindBLOWN...!
Liliana
- I commented again because I love her.
Allison
- I'm a bit drawn to her art.
Allison
- I commented again because I guess I love her too.
Nicole
- Her post was definitely ON POINT.
Alycia
- Lettuce (let us) enjoy her blog.

UPDATE ON 3/1/15: The title of this post was originally just "comments" because I was confused with the timing, but I relabeled it as "Comments 1+2" to clear it out

Hands Are Movin' - Week 1

I know you lie, 'cause your hands are movin'. Tell me, do you think I sign?

Okay, enough with the puns (just in case you didn't get the reference: Lips Are Movin' by Meghan Trainor). I can't wait to start talking about more things I learned about Deaf culture and how my hands have been forming beautiful signs!

That Deaf Guy
I'm gonna start out with this amazing comic strip I found, called That Deaf Guy. This was created by Matt and Kay Diagle, and they draw a family with a Deaf dad, Deaf mom who can hear and is an ASL interpreter, and a young C.O.D.A. (Child of Deaf Adult). I suggest you start out by reading the first cartoon and going from there. You can follow Matt and Kay Diagle on Facebook. My favorite comic strip is below, and I think it explains the beauty of sign language very well.

More awesome strips on thatdeafguy.com!

Word Concepts 

I briefly talked about this in my FYI post that you absolutely should read if unfamiliar with Deaf culture and/or ASL. If not, I will find you...and I WILL (not) kill you! Seriously, just read the post. Anyways, a sign in a sign language does not represent a single word but rather a word concept, like the sign for "smart" can also mean genius, brilliant, etc. I've learned about 20 "word concepts" per lesson, and I've done five so far. I tried to get a firm grip on what I have memorized by repeating every sign, everyday until I get it right from memory at least 3 times in a row. I've stayed up really late signing because of this, but it's a) SOOOO fun b) something I should do or else it's really easy for me to forget a sign. I try not to wake up family members, but being the klutz I am, I keep hitting my desk with my elbow and my hands, which makes a really loud noise at 1:00AM.

Memorizing What I Memorized
Another problem I've been having with memorization is not the memorization itself - but keeping track of which words I have memorized. When you learn a language, it's inevitable that your friend or someone just goes, "OOH, SAY SOMETHING!" Or in my case, "OOH, SIGN SOMETHING!" It was a bit annoying when I first came to America and people asked to me say something in Korean, but now I don't mind as much. When people ask me to sign something now, I take the advantage to go on a full spiel about how Deaf culture is awesome and blah blah blah. When I actually get to signing though, a thought hits me hard: "Wait, what can I sign?" I had 100 word concepts memorized yet all I could remember off of the top of my head is stuff like "Hi," "name," or "ASL." This told me that if I were to meet a Deaf person, I wouldn't be able to start a conversation with them.

I came up with a solution...or Dr. Vicars did.

At the end of a lesson, he has a video "story," in which he introduces some facts about himself composed of the signs from that lesson and the previous ones. I skipped those because they were at the bottom of the page (I guess scrolling just isn't my thing?). Since Dr. Vicars is a native signer, I'd be practicing watching and understanding sign (similar to listening exercises for foreign languages), and at the end, I could make a story about myself that's similar to his story. I won't be posting videos here (sorry!) though, because then I'd probably be spending more time closed captioning than learning ASL.

Pidgin Sign English
This is something I learned on lifeprint.com this week. ASL is a language with language strucutre and grammar rules on its own and distinct from English. ASL and English are not supposed to be done simultaneously; that's improper and would end up looking like a train wreck. Signed Exact English (SEE) is sort of a combination of the two; using English grammar rules and sentence structure, one uses signs to exactly sign English word-by-word. SEE can have positive effects when used to babies, but it's not an actual language and is frequently looked down upon by the Deaf community, as it is not "true" ASL. Pidgin Signed English (PSE) is a combination of ASL and SEE, and this is not an actual language either. PSE forms a bridge between the Hearing world and the Deaf world in a manner and is frequently used by interpreters, but this is not a real language either.

Facial Expressions
This is another vital element of ASL I learned this week. Since ASL is a visual language, you have to do everything that you'd normally do with noise, visually. When you talk while you're angry, your voice tends to start to get louder and when you talk while you're sad, you voice tends to get choked up or quiet and slow. With ASL, you use your facial expressions to express emotion. When signing angry, make an angry face and when signing sad, make a sad face. This seems funny to Hearing people at first, but this is perfectly normal in the Deaf community. Facial expressions also apply when asking questions. When asking a "wh-" question like "What is your name?" or "Where do you go to going?" that requires an answer that's not yes or no, then the eyebrows have to be "furrowed down." When asking a "yes/no" question, then raise the eyebrows up.

Wow, I'm really enjoying this project! I was never into Deaf culture when I was little; I've enjoyed books and stories with Deaf people but something must have taken over me because I now have almost a burning passion for ASL and Deaf culture. I hope my blog is inspiring you at least a little bit to further understand Deaf culture.

Resources:
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/yesnofacial%20expression.htm
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/whfacialexpression.htm
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/contactsigning.htm

FYI - Basic ASL Knowledge

I realized that there are some vital information about sign language and ASL that some of you may not know. If you're a complete newbie on this topic of Deaf culture, you should probably read this post before going any further with my blog.

First of all, you might have noticed that sometimes I write deaf with a lowercase "d" and sometimes I write Deaf with an uppercase "D." Lowercase deaf has to do with the medical condition, and uppercase Deaf has to do with the culture. People who are born deaf - so they can't hear - often move to an area with more people who can't hear so that they can attend Deaf schools and interact with more people who are like them. This group of people is the Deaf community. There are many people who cannot hear but live in an environment without other people who cannot hear, so these deaf people are a part of the Hearing community, which consists mostly of people who can hear.
People who can hear are called hearing individuals, and most hearing individuals are a part of the Hearing community and do not frequently interact with deaf people. People who can hear with close family members or friends who are deaf are part of the Deaf community.
Summary: It doesn't matter if you can hear or not, if you often interact with deaf people, you are Deaf, and if you don't often interact with deaf people, you are Hearing.

Second, ASL is a legitimate language, and it's not meant to be signed simultaneously with spoken English. ASL has complex structure just like any other language and has its own rules and expression. People didn't just go, "Hey, let's make a funny hand movement for every single word in the dictionary" when they came up with ASL. Sign language does not have an exact "word" to go along with a sign; a sign can mean multiple things as a word concept, for example genius/brilliant/smart. For my brain project in this class, I researched the benefits of lerning sing language, and I basically came to the conclusion that it's more awesome than most spoken languages. But that's another conversation.

Lastly, this is a topic that many of you are going to read and say, "What?!" But it's something really important in the Deaf community that can't be stressed enough:
Deafness is not a disability.
Deafness is not a disability.
DEAFNESS IS NOT A DISABILITY.

Yes, technically deaf people do not have the "ability" to hear, so they are legally recognized as "disabled." However, people of the Deaf community do not think of themselves as disabled or handicapped. Politically correct term for deaf people are "hearing impaired," but the Deaf community just recognize themselves as "Deaf." It was at first hard for me to grasp this concept as well, but if you think about it in a certain way, it makes sense.

I think this article by Dr. Vicars says it better than I ever could, but I know some of you aren't gonna click on that link. Please be a good human being and read the article.
(Here it is again: http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/disability-deafness.htm)
Here's some of the meat.
"Let's put it this way: 'Being Deaf isn't about having a disability. It is about navigating through life with your eyes and hands.'
Or how about this: 'Deafness doesn't have to be a disability. The knowledge, habits, and approaches to life used by members of the culturally Deaf community allow a person to live without needing to hear. Thus the ability or lack of ability to hear can be made to not matter.'...[Deaf people] have simply found an alternate path on this journey through life. A path wherein we (Deaf) are not broken versions of you – needing to be fixed so we can become more like you. Rather we are fine versions of 'us'" (lifeprint.com).
People of the Hearing community who are deaf often do perceive themselves as disabled because they were raised in an environment that told them they were. However, that has to end. Just because people who are Deaf are taking a different route through life does not mean they are disabled. This does not mean that they're disrespecting disabled people either. They just want everyone to know that they love the fact they're deaf and view it as an important part of who they are. Deafness is a difference, not a disability.

I think very passionately about this for someone without connections to Deaf people, but this is simply something that more people must know.

Sources: http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/disability-deafness.htm

Could I be a Genius? - Week 0

A famous theory explained by Malcolm Gladwell is the "10,000-hour rule." It basically says that the key to success is to invest 10,000 hours, and most geniuses in the world who succeed in their field has, in fact, invested 10,000 hours into their works.

The teachers in my Enrichment class has assigned us a Genius Hour project, and we were told to explore and learn almost anything we want. To be honest, I was aware of this project ahead of time, and I already knew exactly what I was gonna learn: Sign language.

Over the summer, I came across a site where a college student going by the pen name "Lila" drew cartoons about her daily life and the many struggles she goes through everyday. Although Lila does not communicate through sign language but rather auditory-verbal communication where she lipreads and tries to imitate sound, I still developed a profound interest in deafness and deaf people. For the same class, I studied the effect of learning sign language on the brains of hearing individuals, which only deepened my love for this topic.

When the teachers gave my class the signal to go ahead with the Genius project, I went straight ahead to look for resources. The best one I found was a site called ASL University (lifeprint.com), and the sign language teacher was Dr. Bill Vicars.

Dr. Vicars signing "genius/smart/intelligent/clever"
(Photo from lifeprint.com)

Dr. Vicars is a Deaf professor who teaches deaf studies and American Sign Language (ASL), the most common form of sign language used in the United States. ASL University is beautiful in many ways: it's online and accessible anywhere I have internet connection; it currently has 45 full lessons that include a list of words and common phrases that use those words; throughout the lessons, it teaches certain aspects of sign language, different types of of sign language, elements of Deaf culture, and a quiz at the end. It was laid out as a semester-long course, so the lessons were already organized for me.

Another site I found was handspeak.com. This website doesn't have set lessons like ASLU, but it does have a dictionary where I can look up certain words. The perk about this website is that it lists almost every cool thing you can do with sign language! Signwriting, culture, literature...anything you can or could not have imagined!
Out of everything, the most appealing to me was ASL poetry. Although I'm not an awesome writer, I still loved it whenever we got to write poetry in class. Rhyming with words was a challenge for me every time; now I have to rhyme with my hands? That sounds so hard, yet so awesome!

Here is my timeline plan for now:
Week 1: Lessons 1-5 on lifeprint.com
Week 2: Lessons 6-10 on lifeprint.com
Week 3: Lessons 11-15 on lifeprint.com, watch ASL poetry on handspeak.com, and start to get ideas for my own ASL poem
Week 4: Lessons 16-20 on lifeprint.com, watch ASL poetry on handspeak.com, and start writing my own ASL poem
Week 5: Final touches on ASL poem and begin finalizing TED Talk

I hope to challenge my visual skills, which I use frequently to make art, a big hobby of mine. I also hope to improve my motor skills, and I probably have the worst motor skills in the tri-state area.
Deaf people live in an entirely different world from hearing people that I - or anyone else who can hear - will never understand. Through this project, I want to detach from the large crowd that frequently misunderstands and unintentionally almost neglects deaf people.