Anybody here sign language? I saw some people talking to each other through sign language recently and I have to say it's a pretty cool concept.

Apparently ASL (American Sign Language) is the third most popular language used in the US.

Does anybody here know it?

I know the basics (I mean very basic) but I definitely couldn't hold an intelligent conversation with someone using it, it'd look more like charades.

I hope I never lose my voice.

I know a few phrases. Hot dog, french fries, bull****, goodbye, thank you, etc.

I've put some serious thought about taking some classes but have yet to do it. Sign language has always been one of those things that I've told myself "someday......"

Me too actually. It's always been an interest of mine. Part of why I made this thread was so maybe I can get convinced into taking some classes myself.

ive tried to start this thread a few times :P
i know the whole alphabet fluently and a few key words like "more" "food" "please" "thank you" "sorry" and "car"
i have always been very interested, even since i was a kid. I use it almost everyday absent-minded-ly and i plan to take classes on it

Just click "New Thread". It's easy!

Cool. Any particular reason why you are interested in it or was it just something that grew on you?

I think it would be cool to be able to talk with deaf people. I talked to one the other day through a translator who was with him and I thought it would be a pretty valuable alternative to doing that.

Do you know what the difference between American Sign Language and just normal sign language or other sign languages is? Is there a different sign language for every language or something or is it somewhat universal?

I learned the entire alphabet and a few words growing up. Not sure why and I have forgotten just about all of it now.

I can say "**** you", "im choking", and "im hungry".

haha do you want a history of sign language? i just did a whole oral report on this, i can rattle it off the top of my head. but - i might have to start a new thread xP

my mom's sister took a course in ASL as a teen for fun. then she came home and taught my mom, who used it when my brother and i constantly got laryngitis while we were small. I picked it up right away and became very interested [[ i am a mainly kinesthetic learner ]]. my mom also uses it in her class of preschoolers. stuff like "more" and "food" and "wash" are easier to convey, for a two-year-old, with motion rather than sound.