Learn Sign Language - A Beginner"s Guide to American Sign Language
Wanting to learn sign language is fast becoming very popular, and not only for the deaf, even though they are still the ones who predominately use it.
It seems these days' new moms (to teach signing to their babies), schools and even linguist's want to learn it.
The most popular signing language (with estimates of nearly 2 million people) is American Sign Language (ASL) which currently has nearly 1300 different signs to learn and over 10,000 different combinations (making that ACTUAL number of ASL signs difficult to know for certain).
While it is beyond the scope of this article to teach you all 1300, let's learn a few basic signs that you can start using right away.
Hello To greet someone and say hello using ASL hold your hand up, palm outwards, to your forehead like a salute although not quite as rigid, and then wave your hand outward so your palm is facing forward just a few inches from your forehead.
Welcome To go one step further you can welcome them.
With your palm facing inwards touch your forehead and then move your hand down in an arc towards the middle of your chest, like you are welcoming someone towards you.
Happy to meet you Now lets say tell them that we are happy to meet them.
First you do the sign for happy which is touching your chest with closed fingers using both hands and moving your hands in a circular motion like you are stirring up emotions of joy, then add the sign for meet which you hold both index fingers out in front of you about a foot apart, pointed up, palms facing each other.
Then you bring them together like two people meeting.
Finally point at them to say 'you'.
So there you have it.
A simple greeting in ASL.
Of course if you want to learn sign language properly there are many more combinations to learn but that should get you started.
It seems these days' new moms (to teach signing to their babies), schools and even linguist's want to learn it.
The most popular signing language (with estimates of nearly 2 million people) is American Sign Language (ASL) which currently has nearly 1300 different signs to learn and over 10,000 different combinations (making that ACTUAL number of ASL signs difficult to know for certain).
While it is beyond the scope of this article to teach you all 1300, let's learn a few basic signs that you can start using right away.
Hello To greet someone and say hello using ASL hold your hand up, palm outwards, to your forehead like a salute although not quite as rigid, and then wave your hand outward so your palm is facing forward just a few inches from your forehead.
Welcome To go one step further you can welcome them.
With your palm facing inwards touch your forehead and then move your hand down in an arc towards the middle of your chest, like you are welcoming someone towards you.
Happy to meet you Now lets say tell them that we are happy to meet them.
First you do the sign for happy which is touching your chest with closed fingers using both hands and moving your hands in a circular motion like you are stirring up emotions of joy, then add the sign for meet which you hold both index fingers out in front of you about a foot apart, pointed up, palms facing each other.
Then you bring them together like two people meeting.
Finally point at them to say 'you'.
So there you have it.
A simple greeting in ASL.
Of course if you want to learn sign language properly there are many more combinations to learn but that should get you started.
