American Sign Language - Blog Posts

Have been tasked with coming up with my asl name and I should not have been handed this kind of power.

Knowing myself, I'll probably end up giving myself a name that could very well be tumblr username.

And yes, I am taking suggestions

“I’ll give you a signal.”

This anime is so cozy, please go check it out

Spent an entire week binging them with some apple cinnamon tea in the morning 🤤☕️

Hi, I’m Wynter, I’m Deaf and fluent in ASL (American Sign Language). I get a lot of people telling me they want to learn to sign, but not knowing exactly where to start. So, I am here to provide that!

Let’s start off with some basics, though. ASL does NOT follow English grammar (Signed Exact English/SEE does, but it is not ASL), it only uses English words and a lot of the communication with singing is done via facial expression and body language. Basically, it goes in the order of time > topic > comment. For example, “ I am going to pet dogs next week” would be “next week dogs me pet”, but there are quite a few variants and every person who signs will have a different way of doing this. Sort of how people who speak English in different parts of America have an accent and different ways to sign things. The most important thing to note about ASL is that *American* Sign Language is not universal. Most languages have their own form of SL and a lot of the word signs/alphabets are not at all the same. Another note, learning SEE may seem easier at first, but it can actually make the transition to ASL grammar that much more difficult. An example of differing signs is BSL (British Sign Language) vs ASL. 

This is the BSL finger alphabet:

And this is the American one:

So while there is a small bit of crossover, it is very, very different! Don’t get me wrong, a lot of times signers will understand each other at least a little bit, but it does need to be noted that signs can differ by language, country, region, and sometimes person. 

Now, onto what you came for…

Alphabet:

ASL Alphabet 

ASL ABC’S (NON-CC VIDEO)

The ASL Alphabet

Deaf Culture:

*Note: if you are going to be attending Deaf events, please make sure you familiarise yourself with our culture!

American Deaf Culture

What is Deaf Culture? 

The Importance of Deaf Culture 

Deaf Culture vs Hearing Culture (NON-CC VIDEO)

Finger spelling:

American Sign Language Finger Spelling 

Sign Word List for Finger Spelling 

Learn ASL: The Finger Spelling Alphabet for Beginners (CC VIDEO)

ASL Finger Spelling Word Printer (gives you the finger spelling equivalent to what you type)!

Finger Spelling Practice

Sign Language Translator

Grammar: 

ASL Grammar 

The Basic Structure 

Learn ASL Grammar (CC VIDEO)

Learn:

*Note: The best way to learn is through Deaf people/other signers!

Lifeprint 

SignLanguage101 

The ASL App 

100 First Signs (Lifeprint)

Misc:

A Day Through a Deaf Person’s Eyes (CC VIDEO)

Deaftube 

What Questions Annoy Deaf People? (CC VIDEO)

Things Not to Say to a Deaf Person (CC VIDEO)

Why I Don’t Sound Deaf (CC VIDEO)

13 Things my Hearing Friends Should Know (CC VIDEO)

National Association of the Deaf

If you want a safe place to learn sign language (including ASL), I have created a Discord called Sign Language Learners! Come join and learn with other learners, Deaf/HoH people, and those curious kids who just want to know how the Deaf communicate.

How are you learning ASL? My local colleges don't offer any classes :(

That's a great question lmao! I'm currently on a break from active review and new vocabulary. But I have resources I can offer you.

Here’s emmastudies’ resource post

Here’s someone you can follow on instagram: Nyle DiMarco

Rochelle Barlow has a lot of resources. I caution this one, just because I’m genuinely wary of people who sell their method as being above all methods. She has some good points--language learning should be fun--but it also does take work and practice. You can just make those things a little less painful.

My old ass post about ASL still have a lot of resources I use, and the top one I recommend is ASL University. That’s where I got the majority of my basic vocab.

I am fortunate that we have Deaf Studies at this university, but it doesn’t have to be the only way. I would try to find a study buddy to hold you accountable--I’ve found, especially in the pandemic, it’s sooo hard and sooo isolating to endeavor with this kind of stuff alone.

Please let me know if you need more resources/help! 

Here’s a video of me from this morning when I went nonverbal, I’m using ASL (American sign language) to the best of my ability to talk about why you should learn sign. It’s a great tool for nonverbal, neurodivergent, HOH, deaf, and other individuals to communicate. If you can decipher what I’m saying congrats, I know it’s not super neat or grammatically correct, I’m still learning.

(NV stands for nonverbal)