Posted on Apr 23, 2013 by paul
The signs for male “gender” are: The “masculine” area of the face is near the forehead. There are mixed theories on the reason for this, some saying that it is because men tend to be taller than women, and others say that it starts with the sign for “boy” (resembling the brim of a baseball […]
Read MorePosted on Apr 23, 2013 by paul
90% of all deaf children are born to hearing parents? Surprisingly, this is true. The other 10% are called DOD, or Deaf of Deaf, meaning that they are the Deaf children of Deaf adults. DOD tends to be a title that is somewhat coveted in the Deaf community. It is a source of pride that […]
Read MorePosted on Mar 20, 2013 by paul
When signing a “yes” or “no” question, your eyebrows are always up? True. Also, your body is leaned forward slightly and the duration of the last sign is extended. This sounds complicated to remember, but if you take note of your body language each time you ask a “yes” or “no” question in English, you […]
Read MorePosted on Mar 20, 2013 by paul
Cochlear Implants are widely accepted by the Deaf community? This is false, but it can be a confusing issue. While people with Cochlear Implants are widely accepted in the Deaf community, the decision to implant yourself or your child is not accepted. The practice of getting an implant is rejected because of what it represents. […]
Read MorePosted on Mar 14, 2013 by paul
The term “Hearing Impaired” is offensive? “Hearing Impaired” was once considered to be the politically correct term for someone who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing, but has since fallen out of favor. The word “impaired” is being used less and less to describe people, and rightfully so as “impaired” is defined as “weakened, diminished, […]
Read MorePosted on Mar 14, 2013 by paul
American Sign Language is the same as English? Actually, ASL and English are very different. ASL has its own linguistic structure, slang, and even idioms. One of the easiest ways to show the difference between ASL and English is to look at the way a sentence is set up. In English, we use the Subject-Verb-Object-Temporal […]
Read MorePosted on Jan 31, 2013 by paul
Myth #1: American Sign Language is Universal. American Sign Language is not universal. This myth is often shared by the majority of the hearing community. American Sign Language is learned by the majority of the Deaf community in North America. In addition, there are other countries that have adopted American Sign Language as their form […]
Read MorePosted on Jan 09, 2013 by paul
Is American Sign Language universal? A common assumption about American Sign Language is that it is universal. This is, in fact, false. Just as spoken language has many variations, so does sign language. Many of the variations are members of related families of languages and many are independent of any other influences. Some of the […]
Read MorePosted on Dec 13, 2012 by paul
What is it like to “hear” a hand? You have to be deaf to understand! What is it like to be a small child, In a school, in a room void of sound — With a teacher who talks and talks and talks; And then when she does come around to you, She expects you […]
Read MorePosted on Oct 26, 2012 by paul
First, we’re back! August was a bit of a vacation month with exciting things happening at ASLdeafined, which you’ll be hearing about via our upcoming newsletter and blogs. Meanwhile though, did you know that American Sign Language, just with any other language, changes over time? This can really Jargogle people, especially first time learners. But […]
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