Classifiers, A Vital Part of ASL

Hello again!

Classifiers are not easy to learn, but it's very easy to visualize. ASL is a visual language and once we use classifiers, we're helping others to understand each other better. Classifiers are not an unique element in ASL, it is also used in English as well. For instance, in English they are also known as "category-words" and they're used to specify something. An example would be when we think of the word vehicle, we use sedans, trucks, SUVs, and so on to help them comprehend which vehicle we're talking about. In ASL, classifiers help us to understand the representation of an object. Classifiers tell us how big that object it, how soft it is, the movement, the shape and many more. It is sorta of like an adjective...

So, when we introduce that concept to the missionaries in the MTC learning ASL, they look at us like we're totally stupid. True, it is a completely different concept of expressing in ASL itself, but that helps our communication skills get wayyyyyyy better! Come to think of it, if we learn a language, we can't ignore the importance of classifiers because they describe something. If we don't learn classifiers, we can't really expect the audience to understand 100% of what we're saying. Here's an example of how we use classifiers in ASL. In this video, the man signing is very well known ASL Linguist, Ben Bahan.


The Ball - Click here for more blooper videos

Here's an example - "I got into a vehicle and then we went to 120 mph" How BORING is that? Imagine a book written like that... We'll all be dead. Here's a better example - "I got into a Ferrari Testarossa then we sped up so fast that we hit 120 mph!" Much better, eh? CLASSIFIERS! CLASSIFIERS! CLASSIFIERS! CLASSIFIERS! When you watched Ben Bahan, wasn't his story very fascinating? It was because he was very descriptive and specific. We emphasize the importance of this vital concept of ASL by having the missionaries present a "blue box" presentation every saturday night. "Blue box"? It's named after the ancient gospel art kit where we show the pictures to the children or people to teach lessons. Right now, we have a re-vamped art kit that weighs about 20 pounds less :D. Anyway, back to the point, they all get to pick a picture and use classifiers, ONLY classifiers, to describe the story and its principle behind it. This definitely helps them improve their visual reception skills along with their own ASL expressive skills as well.

To be honest, when I was introduced to that "blue box" idea, I thought it of as trash and a total waste of time. With that attitude, the teachers forced me to do it. I did it then... wow... I realized that I do use classifiers a LOT. For the people who are learning ASL, you may be shy but if you get extroverted with signing to people and utilizing classifiers into your signing, your skills will go "BOOM". I testify that once we commit ourselves to learning classifiers and its importance within the ASL, our conversational and expressive skills will skyrocket. Again, it's not easy, so is everything else in life except being Deaf. Okay... maybe being Deaf has its struggles too, haha.

Without classifiers, ASL will not be fascinating and it'll be very monotonous. Today's generation do not enjoy black and white TVs of the past, and right now we're enjoying the 1080p HDTVs along with HDR photography. I think it's the same with ASL. The language has come a long way and the classifiers today are becoming so creative, and here's a funny video of how the language can be used to describe extreme things.



The missionaries in the MTC are doing well with this concept but a lot of them are still shy with using it. It is a different way of expressing yourself and that requires getting out of our own comfort zone to master this concept. We have one sister who's very talented with this concept and her ASL skills are very good because she's not shy. For all of the shy people out there, come out of your shells and try it! It's just like experimenting with something to see if it's good or not... (ALMA 32!)

I hope you all enjoyed this! Later!

Austin

What are the benefits of knowing and using ASL?

Hola!

President's Day weekend are always the best. I had time to relax and watch some movies over the weekend, and also watch the Olympics! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

Sadly, the missionaries weren't able to celebrate President's Day, haha. In the past week, I've seen a significant improvement with their language but their motivation level isn't so good right now. They're tired of doing the same thing over and over. I strongly believe it's the MTC food and the schedule that they're not so accustomed to. We, as teachers, strive to come up with a variety of ideas of how to teach them in a fun way. Don't all teachers do that? If you do have an idea that will be effective for us to use, let us know!

Last Friday, some missionaries had their first experience teaching an investigator (someone who's interested in the church) in ASL. A lot of them felt really awkward at first, but most of them did really well! I was very proud of them. They still need lots more practice but their understanding of utilizing the "immersion" method definitely is recognized. From a teacher's viewpoint, we can tell which missionary really wants to learn the language and which ones do not want to immerse with the deaf community. We're trying to help those missionaries get better and break their comfort zone with ASL and use it with everyone!

Now, I will tell you about the benefits of knowing ASL. Just as any other language we learn, we benefit the ability to interpret between two languages. With ASL, interpreters make a lot of money and that's one benefit. Another benefit would be that you'll be able to speak with Deaf people around you and build friendships with them. Don't we all hate it when we want to speak to that person, but we can't because that person speaks a different language? I can understand that feeling, and that's why we should learn a new language for that benefit and blessing.



Isn't it cool to be able to interact with a different culture other than your own? That experience teaches us that everyone's different and they all are God's children no matter who they are. This is why we all should learn ASL, because we'll be able to help the Deaf community integrate with the world much better. As we learn ASL and teach many more others to use ASL, then this nation will recognize and uplift the Deaf community much better because of recognition. If we all learn that simple principle, we can see the blessings and benefits of that. It is very similar with the Spanish community and we can see its huge impact on this country. ASL can do this as well!

I attached a funny video to conclude this post about Video Relay Service. This is where some of the interpreters work assisting the Deaf in communicating with people through the phone. I know you'll all enjoy the cute video!



Till next time!

Austin

ASL Learning Methods - "Immersion" VS "Classroom"

Hi everyone!

The missionaries at the MTC have been marvelous! Their language definitely have improved in the past three to four weeks. In comparison to the ASL classes at BYU, I would put those missionaries in ASL 202. Yes, they're that good already!

This post discusses the differences between the two methods of learning ASL. The "immersion" method means that the learner is immersed in the deaf environment completely forcing them to learn the language to communicate. The "classroom" method is commonly taught in schools teaching the signs, ASL grammar and storytelling. In the MTC, we employ both methods and we find that the "immersion" method works the best for fast learning, but it can also be very frustrating, haha.

We have one elder right now who is struggling with the language. He doesn't think he will be able to grasp the language any time in the future, so he basically doesn't care. We're now done with having an interpreter in the classroom because all of them will be teaching in ASL from now on for the remaining 6 weeks. Thus, the immersion method begins! This elder finally found the "good" in this method and enjoyed it a lot. Tonight, he was very involved with the class discussions and teaching practice. For some, the classroom method teaches us in a restricted environment where we learn ASL but we don't normally use it out of the class. The immersion method allows us to experiment with the language and grasp the concept of the person signing instead of trying to understand sign by sign (like word by word).

Here's a video and it is really funny for the deaf people to watch because it deals with playing with the language, just like we all play with words.



If you're interested to see more videos of this comedian John Maucere, go to SUPERDEAFY.

I grew up skiing and I had an instructor who taught me how to parallel ski when I was younger. I was frustrated because I couldn't go up on the top of the mountain in Aspen and ski all the way to the bottom without falling. I also wanted to look good by skiing like the pros. My instructor simply put me into the trees and that scared the heck out of me. I thought I was going to die, but through that experience, I forced myself to keep my skis parallel. After that, I realized that challenging ourselves will always make our own skills much better!

This website, LifePrint, is a great resource of finding signs online. Now the question is, will it make a person a talented signer? No, it will not. We must immerse ourselves in the signing environment and learn how to utilize it properly. Not only we learn how to express in ASL, we must learn how to understand it through reception.

This is the reason why we make the missionaries VERY frustrated at the MTC because this immersion method WORKS! We know it... We live by it, and after their two years of service, and most of them become professional interpreters. From a source, a freelancer in Seattle interpreting ASL makes $55 a hour. Whoa... That's a lot of money! Those missionaries have no idea how many opportunities this language gives them for the future!

And it could make a difference for you too!

Cheers and till next week!

Austin

Deaf Music

Hello all,

This is a short post to clarify what Deaf music looks like. This is a performing group based in Gallaudet University in Washington DC named Rathskellar. I've seen the Pirates skit, and it was stellar. Enjoy the video!

The Deaf Culture

Hello all!

I didn't quite make the deadline of posting my blog on Tuesday. It's 12:58 am Wednesday morning... That shows one aspect of the Deaf culture where we all always don't think of time. Today, I went up night skiing at Brighton with a couple of my buddies and after that, we went to Pizza Pi Pizzeria in Draper and left that place 11 pm. Boy, we as Deaf people LOVE to chat and we literally forget about the time most of the time. That's one quip of the Deaf culture and that's why this post is a little delayed because I'm deaf and I love to talk, haha.

Enough of that. Let's recap on my week from the MTC. This week the missionaries have improved a LOT in areas that we've worked on in the past two weeks such as language and teaching skills. The other problem is that they're getting lazy about the rules and such, but that'll be taken care of. I can see the missionaries having issues with accepting the Deaf culture and the Deaf missionaries dealing with the Hearing culture. When two worlds collide, things don't get pretty if one or two of them aren't humble and willing to work it out together. Missionaries often show up at the MTC with a "know it all" attitude. As we face a different culture, it is not a simple task adjusting to it, and it requires humility and patience. There are several companionships who do not appreciate the Deaf culture, YET. I had a companion on my mission who fell in love with the Deaf culture but he couldn't give up his music, and stuff like that. We all have to remember that once we appreciate the other culture, we also need to know where we are from as well. They are going to teach Deaf people and since their language is different, their culture will be different as well. This week's topic is about the Deaf culture, as you already see (not heard, wink), and I'm going to start off with a video. This video is a comedic sort where we will discuss why Deaf people are like that, and I'll explain about the differences between the Hearing and the Deaf culture.




Keith Wann describes that technology ruins the precious culture of the Deaf people. We all understand that from my story after skiing at Brighton, me and my buddies gathered and chatted all night. With the advancement of technology in the past several years, Deaf people have been able to keep in touch with people all over the country and the world. A lot of Deaf people don't have many Deaf friends who live nearby which leads to the increased reliance of communicating through technology. Yes, this is a fact and don't expect to see that everywhere because there are also Deaf people like us who definitely put down their iPhones and Blackberries for a while to chat with the Deaf people around us.

We, as a Deaf community, are a very tight knit group where we all basically know who's who. We all operate on networks of friends, like Facebook for example. That was invented waaaaaay before MySpace or Facebook even came out by the Deaf community. We all become tight knit because of our differences and struggles in the world, and we're able to recuperate with our own kind. Imagine yourself doing something really difficult such as Calculus (for the most of us!), or Art (for the rest of you!), we have to work really hard to master it. It is human nature for us to choose the most convenient way instead of the challenging one to unwind and redeem ourselves. The Deaf community does that by meeting with other Deaf people and hang out, have long conversations, go to parties, and so on...

We are not outsiders, we are still in the world, it's just that we're not trying to be a part of the world because we know it's better off being with the people with similar struggles and differences. It's the same with everyone as demonstrated by cliques in high school, groups of similar interest such as clubs and many other classifications. The Deaf community is one of them, and we're no different.

There are a lot of big and small differences between the Hearing culture and the Deaf culture. Let me explain what we mean by "Hearing" culture... We mean the people who speak and hear in general regardless of language. The "Deaf" culture is the group of people who use sign language regardless of hearing loss. Here are some examples that I've adjusted for correction (there were some mistakes) from a sweetly written article I found online.

Deaf humor

Since much of hearing humor is based on word play, the Deaf do not “get it” most of the time. Many times Deaf humor is just as “interesting” to our hearing minds. The Deaf humor mainly consists jokes about oppression, liberation, and using facial expressions along with body language. The jokes the Deaf mainly use either has a visual or cultural value within.

Deaf language

The language of the Deaf is a visual/gesture based language. Deaf have their own idiomatic expressions. American Sign Language is a recognized foreign language in many states and schools. It is based on hand shapes, movements, sign placement and location, facial expressions and their intensity as well as gestures. Hearing language depends mostly on tone, volume and the formation as well as timing of sounds. It also uses expressions and body language.

Deaf are naturally frank

They tell you what they think. Deaf people are notoriously straightforward in their conversations and expressions. If you ask their opinion (and even if you don’t), be prepared to get it! Understand, they DO NOT mean to intentionally hurt or harm with their words. The Deaf are straightforward because they don't "beat around the bush" like Hearing people do.

Deaf are visually stimulated

This is for obvious reasons. Hearing folks are visually AND aurally stimulated.

Deaf music is rhythm or beat-based

Deaf music has three elements – timing, flow and coordination. Hearing music has three elements as well – melody, harmony and rhythm.

Deaf are very cliquish

They tend to be wary of new people entering their culture. Once in, hearing people are generally well accepted as long as they maintain their respect for the culture of the Deaf.

Deaf tend to have difficultly with forgetting wrongs or offenses even after forgiveness

This is a strong difficulty to overcome. Confidence is easy to gain, but once lost, it is very difficult to regain. It is very common among the Deaf culture, just as any other culture out there in the world.

Deaf think differently

The average deaf person generally does not think in words or sentences but in visual concepts. Highly educated Deaf however, can and do think much like hearing people mainly because of their bilingual ability.

In the MTC, most of the companionships have one deaf missionary paired with a hearing missionary. That creates a lot of struggles and problems! There's one companionship which makes me laugh every time I realize that the Deaf elder is SO Deaf. He's blunt with his companion and that elder does not appreciate it. The Hearing elder likes giving hints to his Deaf companion and the Deaf companion usually don't get it. Last Saturday, they had a huge argument in the classroom. We had to take them out and speak with them. Apparently we had to teach them how to maintain balance between two completely different cultures.

For me, I grew up bilingually in a Hearing family who can sign ASL. I am very fortunate to understand the differences of both cultures when I was very young. I am able to behave properly for either culture, but there are times where I do things naturally and that might offend the Hearing people sometimes, or cause some confusion. It is essential for both sides to understand each other. There are thousands of factors causing the differences between both worlds and cultures, but once we keep an open mind about it, we can understand each other better. The Deaf culture is unique because of the amazing language, American Sign Language.

click on cartoon to see it enlarged

That's all folks!