In class, my group chooses American sign language as our goal language this semester. At first, I know nothing about sign language because I don’t know any deaf friend. It is hard for me to imagine that I can use sigh language to communicate with other people. However, as I start to learn sign, I find it interesting and not as difficult as I think previously.
In the beginning, we learn some useful basic sentences for daily conversation. For example, the greetings and self-introduction are two easy starting points. Also, English letters from A to Z are basic for the learners. I am going to introduce some easy signs I have learned.
- Hello
To greet others, ‘Hello’ is the easiest sign. To sign hello, you need to put your dominant hand near your forehead as if you are saluting and move the hand outward.
2. My name is…
You have to introduce your name to the people who just know you. You start from ‘My’; put dominant hand on your breast.
The next one is ‘name’; sign the letter H in ASL with two hands and put your dominant above another hand. There is no sign for ‘is’ in ASL, so just sign your name with the letters one by one in the end.
3. Nice to meet you.
This is also a useful phrase in daily life. First, your dominant hand is on top and slides across another hand; this is the word ‘Nice.’ Next, your dominant index finger is close to you and another is further; and then move your dominant hand closer to another hand as if you go to meet a person. The sign of ‘to meet you’ is a consistent sign.
4. Where are you from?
Asking some questions is useful when you get to know someone. To ask where the person is from, we point at him or her at first. Next, we sign ‘from’; your dominant index finger gets away from another index finger like picking and pulling something. The last, to sign ‘where’, you shake your dominant index finger.
Those mentioned above are just part of the useful phrases. What I want to explain is that sign language can be easy for everyone. If you are interested in learning sign language, you can try it from the basic phrases and you will find it fascinating and feel a sense of accomplishment.