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Esme nha Maire · 06-13-2019, 10:02 PM

I first got interested in sign language in my twenties, partly out of a general curiosity about languages in general, and partly because something (I can't recall what precisely now) had made me aware of how few hearing people could communicate well with deaf people, and I determined to see if I could learn some sign language, just as I could manage at least a few basics in a few other languages.

I enrolled for lessons, and learnt the distinctions between fingerspell, signed English and BSL (British Sign Language). I went to the local deaf club, which was a startling experience, being the one who had the difficulty communicating! It was interesting seeing how conversations flowed around me, how people gained each others attention and dealt with interjections. I started watching a program called "See Hear" and via that encountered signed poetry, which, me dabbling in poetry, was amazing to me, a whole new way of expressing poetry with gesture as well as signs... beautiful!

I worked as a mainframe computer operator back then, with the machines in a noisy air-conditioned room that we'd have to go into to change tapes and occasionally use the terminals in there too. Neither I nor my colleague Carol could make ourselves heard over the noise from more than a few feet away, so I suggested one day that maybe we could use a little sign language to help for when we needed to communicate when at opposite ends of the machine room, instead of running back and forth. She was up for it, and limited and basic as our use of signs in that job was, it workedand helped a lot.

I wanted to see if I could get to interpreter level, but sadly my life took a huge unexpected sharp turn, and I never got beyond fingerpell and the very limited vocabularly I'd learnt. Finding recently that the hearing in my right ear is starting to decline nudged me to remembering about BSL and I bought a BSL-English basic vocab book. I doubt I'll ever get fluent in BSL unless I get to interact much with native signers again (maybe when I retire?), but well, one day it may come in useful, I just enjoy learning anyway, and it's a beautiful language!

I have to say though that ASL looks very different - I couldnt understand a thing said in ASL in videos linked above!

06-13-2019, 10:02 PM	#175
Esme nha Maire Member How Do You Identify?: Tomboyish eccentric antique femme Preferred Pronoun?: She/her Relationship Status: single Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: UK Posts: 642 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 2,196 Thanked 2,089 Times in 541 Posts Rep Power: 19310768	I first got interested in sign language in my twenties, partly out of a general curiosity about languages in general, and partly because something (I can't recall what precisely now) had made me aware of how few hearing people could communicate well with deaf people, and I determined to see if I could learn some sign language, just as I could manage at least a few basics in a few other languages. I enrolled for lessons, and learnt the distinctions between fingerspell, signed English and BSL (British Sign Language). I went to the local deaf club, which was a startling experience, being the one who had the difficulty communicating! It was interesting seeing how conversations flowed around me, how people gained each others attention and dealt with interjections. I started watching a program called "See Hear" and via that encountered signed poetry, which, me dabbling in poetry, was amazing to me, a whole new way of expressing poetry with gesture as well as signs... beautiful! I worked as a mainframe computer operator back then, with the machines in a noisy air-conditioned room that we'd have to go into to change tapes and occasionally use the terminals in there too. Neither I nor my colleague Carol could make ourselves heard over the noise from more than a few feet away, so I suggested one day that maybe we could use a little sign language to help for when we needed to communicate when at opposite ends of the machine room, instead of running back and forth. She was up for it, and limited and basic as our use of signs in that job was, it workedand helped a lot. I wanted to see if I could get to interpreter level, but sadly my life took a huge unexpected sharp turn, and I never got beyond fingerpell and the very limited vocabularly I'd learnt. Finding recently that the hearing in my right ear is starting to decline nudged me to remembering about BSL and I bought a BSL-English basic vocab book. I doubt I'll ever get fluent in BSL unless I get to interact much with native signers again (maybe when I retire?), but well, one day it may come in useful, I just enjoy learning anyway, and it's a beautiful language! I have to say though that ASL looks very different - I couldnt understand a thing said in ASL in videos linked above! __________________