Hey signers, welcome to Learn How to Sign. If you are trying to learn how to sign you found
the right video. Today i'm going to share 10 things that you need to know before you even
start learning ASL. I repeat, learn this first! Now before you even start learning a language,
it's good to understand the big picture of why you're wanting to learn this and what is truly
important. After you watch this video you don't have to go anywhere else because we have made
and are making tons of ASL videos. A great starting point is our series of videos called 150
Essential Signs. I'll put the link in the description to that playlist.
Be sure to like. subscribe and be notified. So let's get to the good stuff.
Number One: Why ASL ASL, American Sign Language, is a visual language used by deaf people
and their community in America. It is not universal, hence the name, American Sign Language.
And yes, it is a language, complete with grammar ASL is not English. Okay now I wish I had time to
share the story of how American Sign Language was created but this video would be about an
hour long and so i'm just going to give you the 30 second version and get straight to the good stuff.
So a hearing guy named Gallaudet and a deaf Frenchman set up the first school for the deaf in
Hartford, Connecticut where they used home signs that deaf children had been using at the time,
French Sign Language, plus deaf children from Martha's Vineyard which was an island
with a large amount of deaf people took their Martha's Vineyard Sign Language to the school
and that's how ASL was born. Guys if I went through all the details of how this was created,
it really should be made into a movie. Number Two: It's not all about the hands.
Okay yes the hands are a very important part but so is the facial expression.
Don't be afraid to express yourself whenever you're signing something and don't hold
back. Expression is so important and has so much meaning. For instance if you have the sign scared.
If I did.......that means I'm not scared. But if I did..... that shows that I'm terrified.
The facial expression is the only thing that changed and it changed the meaning completely.
Number Three: Your signing space. Whenever you're signing you need to make sure that your signs are
in a comfortable position within a box about this size. Now some signs go above the head but
typically you're going to keep it in this space. Don't sign really small and don't sign really big,
keep it in a comfortable space for your body. Number Four: Which hand do I use?
Look at which is your dominant hand and that's the hand that you're going to be using
consistently. You do not switch back and forth because that can be really confusing.
For instance, I'm right handed so whenever I'm signing a sign I use my right hand for the main
part of the sign. For instanc, the sign help. My right hand is making the main part of the sign and
my non-dominant hand is the supportive part but if you're left-handed your sign would look like
this. Know the difference whenever you are doing this and practice it consistently the same way.
Number Five: The alphabet and specifically fingerspelling. Fingerspelling is a spelling
that is used with the ASL alphabet. Now do not rely on fingerspelling when you don't know a word.
First try to act it out. But fingerspelling is used all the time for names, places, titles
so it's essential to know and you can check out our alphabet video right here.
Number Six: The Parameters of Sign. Now the Parameters of Sign is ASL lingo for a how a
sign breaks down. There are five parts to this. There's the handshape, palm orientation, location,
movement and non-manual signals. First we have handshape. Whenever you're signing something you
need to know the correct handshape that you're using. For instance. me and my.
The only thing that changes is the hand shape but the meaning is completely different then you
have palm orientation my and your. It's where the palm is facing again completely different meaning.
The next one is location you have mom and dad. Everything is the same except for the location,
mom and dad, completely different people. The next is movement. Happy
versus enjoy. Again everything is the same for the movement. And last is non-manual signals. This is
everything to do with your facial expression and body language. For instance, understand.....don't
understand showing that you know something or you don't know something. All of these
parameters of sign are so important to know that you are making the sign correctly. Number Seven:
Your first signs! We have made a first signs playlist that has 150 of them
so here are a few to get you started. HELLO MY NAME
M-E-R-E-D-I-T-H I can't wait for you guys
to start practicing. Speaking of practice.... Number Eight: Practice Daily! If you are just
getting started remember, you don't have to know it all at once. Take your time and practice.
Number Nine: Go to deaf events in your town, get involved in your local deaf church or contact
the local interpreting agency. They have tons of information about how to get connected with deaf
people in your area. And bonus tip, notice I use the word deaf. This is an accurate term to use.
Hearing impaired is actually considered rude but more on that in another lesson.
And Number 10: Resources!!!! Our youtube channel! We have tons of ASL videos already
and are releasing more all the time. And shout out to the other ASL creators. We are all a
family and everyone learns different. There are many great videos on youtube that teach ASL.
Voice-off learning is such a great method. Now we aren't doing it right now in our basic videos
but we certainly do and will be doing voice off learning as well in future videos. Check out
our website we have an ASL dictionary if you're wanting to learn a single word. It's a great place
to go to easily search or browse to find the word you're after if you're interested in baby signs
check out babysignlanguage.com. It's a great resource you might even find someone familiar.
That was a lot but congratulations, you're done! You've mastered ASL! I mean, just kidding,
there's still so much to learn and we've got you covered. Be sure to subscribe
so you can check out all of our future videos and until next time keep learning how to sign.