Hello Everyone,
So though I have not been able to post in the last few weeks, I have been hard at work with learning the words and phrases that I discussed in the last post. I have also worked on many new words and phrases as well including animal signs, food signs, and holiday signs. It can get a little confusing keeping all of the signs and meanings together in my head, especially considering that that some of them can be very similar in their production, though they have very separate/unrelated meanings. For studying I have been using a lot of videos on YouTube. One ASL teacher that I watch a lot and who helps tremendously is Bill Vicars. Most people know of him because of his video "Top 100 Signs to Know" and some of his other shorter videos, but he has many available for learners on his channel. He actually sits with his students to produce these videos and it is really helpful to see the corrections he gives them as you are learning too. I have also been using Meredith ASL which is another channel on YouTube that has videos posted for certain topics such as her video for how to talk about Holidays in ASL. I have also been watching videos posted by "The daily sign" which is a channel that I young girl around my age started detailing her journey of learning sign language. Through her videos, I learned some really neat information. First, American Sign Language is not the only form of sign language recognized in the US. There is another type known as Pidgin Signed English or PSE for short. Basically, ASL does not follow common English Syntax and does not always have words or phrases that match perfectly with the English Language. PSE follows more along with standard English and may be spoken by some deaf Americans you may meet. Even so, the vocabulary used in both PSE and ASL are rather similar and it should not create much of a disparity between understanding.
Overall, I have already learned a lot from this project and I am excited to continue. That being said, the words and phrases that I am going to work on this week are emergency medical signs that may become important in my future line of work, and signs for some popular songs. I felt like this may be a cool way for me to learn some common vocabulary that I use on a daily basis. I, of course, will also continue practicing what I have learned already as to ensure I will not forget.
Also, I have one more cool tidbit of information. ETSU will start offering an American Sign Language minor beginning in the Fall of 2018. I have been fascinated with sign language since I was a child, and since I have begun this project, have fallen even more in love with it. This being said, I have decided to declare this as my minor. I am o very excited and I cannot wait to continue my journey of learning with so many others from the ETSU campus who want to learn more about this rich and fascinating culture. I will keep everyone updated as I receive more information, and as I continue practicing throughout the week.
