Diving into sign language.
Feb. 5th, 2002 12:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unbibiumI'm glad I didn't stay home.
When I first met![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cynica at the LJ wing-ding, and found out she worked as a sign language interpreter, I told her I used to go to ASDB, and picked up a little sign language. So, eventually she invited me to the coffee house where deaf people often gather Monday nights, and offered to interpret for me. I hesitated a little, considering I already semi-regularly attended two foreign language groups at Borders Books, and my sign language knowledge was so weak, I was certain I really wouldn't accomplish much. But, I was invited personally, and I still had my old Gallaudet Survival Guide to Signing, so I figured I'd show up, memorize a few key words and sentences, and try my luck.
Fortunately, I was too busy studying that sign language book to put myself through the usual "it'll suck" script, because I had every reason to believe that Cynica would be signing away with her deaf friends and have no time to interpret for me. I wondered if my presence might be resented, even, as a visually impaired person. At the very least, though, I figured I'd get introduced to a few people, I'd sign the eight words I knew, and then they'd all get into their cliques and I'd have to skulk away; asking for a ride home wouldn't be an option, I figured. Or, I would have figured, but I didn't, because I was studying my words.
Let's see, first some stuff like "new", "learn", a few basics like "large" and "small", for some reason "lead" and "follow", some expressions like "excuse me" and "sorry", and why not build a few stock sentences? "I was invite[d]", "I like cook[ing]", "I was ASDB student six month[s]." "My name is Nick. I know eight word[s]." That was going to be my joke.
I showed up, ordered a small meal to make up for my small dinner, and went looking for some quiet, kinetic people. I eventually found them in that little nook I keep forgetting they have there, so I grabbed a table and just started eating, wondering if I should introduce myself, or if Cynica already showed up but I hadn't spotted her. Eventually, she arrived, promptly found me and said hello, and we talked amongst ourselves while I finished my meal.
Soon, a deaf man in about his thirties came to our table and started signing at her, and they started to sign at each other. I was in the dark for a little while, but then she started to phase me into the conversation. Well, the both of them did, since he was curious about the both of us. "My name is Nick. I know eight words." Cynica corrected me on "word". "I know seven words," I repeated. His name was Jeff, and he was doing cooking videos for the deaf. "I like cook!" I signed enthusiastically. And he was looking for an interpreter to help him market these videos, so he and Cynica exchanged cards, and we all talked about food for a little while. Jeff wants to be the first deaf chef. I was surprised that there wasn't one already, since there was a blind chef in Louisiana. And I learned some new signs, like some important grammatical words and words like "opposite" which I could use to describe other words if I got stuck.
Eventually, he introduced us to a deaf woman named May, who was big on raw food. And she looked pretty much like the kind of woman you'd often see at a food co-op, with that air of rugged immortality. She told us about a raw food pot luck she'd been to recently, and talked about the food there. If you've seen deaf people sign, you might notice that they often use melodramatic gestures in place of tonality, so I didn't even need Cynica's help conveying her opinions. But what she said afterwards was what appealed to me: since you don't have to heat it, it's very quick to prepare. And she also said you don't have to clean up. She also needed Cynica's services that weekend, when she was giving a lesson in cooking raw food, and she wanted me to come for it. I said I'd love to, but it turned out it was up by Thunderbird, way too far north, but she offered to give me a ride. I was pretty surprised. And I was more surprised when she described an Italian raw stir-fry. "Three opposite!" I signed.
We all continued to sign at each other, with Cynica interpreting most of the time, but I started to pick up words, letters, etc. It was about 9:45 when I started to feel a little overloaded. I took a quick walk around the coffeehouse, sat back and closed my eyes for a little while, and then woke up and signed some more. But I was tapped out; even communicating in just English, I get worn out by a lot of social interaction. And Jeff and May had left, so I said and waved goodbye and caught the bus home.
And as I was walking to the bus stop, I couldn't help but think that this was how I imagined Esperantists would be, if I ever met them. They seemed genuinely interested in getting the newbie involved. But I noticed that since sign language is visual, there wasn't the pressure to eliminate English from the experience. I was even encouraged by my book to treat sign language like a code of English at first, even though real ASL has different grammar. It was comforting to unapologetically use English as a crutch for a change. And the visual, kinetic nature of it was refreshing, as I was concerned not with coming up with proper conjugations, or pronouncing difficult consonants, but with moving my arms and hands in a comprehensible manner. Each word was like learning a short dance step, but much easier.
I think I may have made some long-term friends there tonight. And who knows, I might get sold on this raw thing, and score me a few copies of a sign language cooking video.
When I first met
cynica at the LJ wing-ding, and found out she worked as a sign language interpreter, I told her I used to go to ASDB, and picked up a little sign language. So, eventually she invited me to the coffee house where deaf people often gather Monday nights, and offered to interpret for me. I hesitated a little, considering I already semi-regularly attended two foreign language groups at Borders Books, and my sign language knowledge was so weak, I was certain I really wouldn't accomplish much. But, I was invited personally, and I still had my old Gallaudet Survival Guide to Signing, so I figured I'd show up, memorize a few key words and sentences, and try my luck.Fortunately, I was too busy studying that sign language book to put myself through the usual "it'll suck" script, because I had every reason to believe that Cynica would be signing away with her deaf friends and have no time to interpret for me. I wondered if my presence might be resented, even, as a visually impaired person. At the very least, though, I figured I'd get introduced to a few people, I'd sign the eight words I knew, and then they'd all get into their cliques and I'd have to skulk away; asking for a ride home wouldn't be an option, I figured. Or, I would have figured, but I didn't, because I was studying my words.
Let's see, first some stuff like "new", "learn", a few basics like "large" and "small", for some reason "lead" and "follow", some expressions like "excuse me" and "sorry", and why not build a few stock sentences? "I was invite[d]", "I like cook[ing]", "I was ASDB student six month[s]." "My name is Nick. I know eight word[s]." That was going to be my joke.
I showed up, ordered a small meal to make up for my small dinner, and went looking for some quiet, kinetic people. I eventually found them in that little nook I keep forgetting they have there, so I grabbed a table and just started eating, wondering if I should introduce myself, or if Cynica already showed up but I hadn't spotted her. Eventually, she arrived, promptly found me and said hello, and we talked amongst ourselves while I finished my meal.
Soon, a deaf man in about his thirties came to our table and started signing at her, and they started to sign at each other. I was in the dark for a little while, but then she started to phase me into the conversation. Well, the both of them did, since he was curious about the both of us. "My name is Nick. I know eight words." Cynica corrected me on "word". "I know seven words," I repeated. His name was Jeff, and he was doing cooking videos for the deaf. "I like cook!" I signed enthusiastically. And he was looking for an interpreter to help him market these videos, so he and Cynica exchanged cards, and we all talked about food for a little while. Jeff wants to be the first deaf chef. I was surprised that there wasn't one already, since there was a blind chef in Louisiana. And I learned some new signs, like some important grammatical words and words like "opposite" which I could use to describe other words if I got stuck.
Eventually, he introduced us to a deaf woman named May, who was big on raw food. And she looked pretty much like the kind of woman you'd often see at a food co-op, with that air of rugged immortality. She told us about a raw food pot luck she'd been to recently, and talked about the food there. If you've seen deaf people sign, you might notice that they often use melodramatic gestures in place of tonality, so I didn't even need Cynica's help conveying her opinions. But what she said afterwards was what appealed to me: since you don't have to heat it, it's very quick to prepare. And she also said you don't have to clean up. She also needed Cynica's services that weekend, when she was giving a lesson in cooking raw food, and she wanted me to come for it. I said I'd love to, but it turned out it was up by Thunderbird, way too far north, but she offered to give me a ride. I was pretty surprised. And I was more surprised when she described an Italian raw stir-fry. "Three opposite!" I signed.
We all continued to sign at each other, with Cynica interpreting most of the time, but I started to pick up words, letters, etc. It was about 9:45 when I started to feel a little overloaded. I took a quick walk around the coffeehouse, sat back and closed my eyes for a little while, and then woke up and signed some more. But I was tapped out; even communicating in just English, I get worn out by a lot of social interaction. And Jeff and May had left, so I said and waved goodbye and caught the bus home.
And as I was walking to the bus stop, I couldn't help but think that this was how I imagined Esperantists would be, if I ever met them. They seemed genuinely interested in getting the newbie involved. But I noticed that since sign language is visual, there wasn't the pressure to eliminate English from the experience. I was even encouraged by my book to treat sign language like a code of English at first, even though real ASL has different grammar. It was comforting to unapologetically use English as a crutch for a change. And the visual, kinetic nature of it was refreshing, as I was concerned not with coming up with proper conjugations, or pronouncing difficult consonants, but with moving my arms and hands in a comprehensible manner. Each word was like learning a short dance step, but much easier.
I think I may have made some long-term friends there tonight. And who knows, I might get sold on this raw thing, and score me a few copies of a sign language cooking video.
