HELP? It is all here!Welcome to our Lecture Notes. Each week I will post notes from our class meetings. I have also
included links to help you remember and practice.
Unit 1 Introductions and Personal Information
Communicative content of this unit includes:**The dialogues in this unit encompass three subtopics:
First... How do we use our books?
Book Usage and Syllabus• How do you use this book? This book is meant to be used as a guide. You cannot learn ASL from using only the text book. You must show up to class everyday!
o Vocabulary is at the end of each unit. Start there. Several signs will have more than one English words that matches their concept. Be sure to memorize them both.
o Each unit has grammar. Be sure to read this over carefully before each class meeting.
o Each unit has dialogues. These are included in your DVD. Watch your unit at home several times and sign with it. These dialogues are written in ASL. ASL is not meant to be a written language so keep in mind that this is to help you understand the grammar and structure. English translations are in the back of your book to help you understand.
______q________ means eyebrows are raised
______whq______means eyebrows are lowered
If you see a hyphen between words it means that it is only one sign
o Read all of the culture notes.
o Activities will be utilized during class time as well as others that I will add that are not in your book.
o I encourage you to write in your book.
Fingerspelling help: My suggestions tend to follow a lot of the same rules that apply to teaching a child to read:
1. Practice, practice, practice...the more you work on reading other people's fingerspelling, the better you will get. Everyone's fingers are different so it is important to practice with many different partners in order to experience all the styles of hands. (Unfortunately not everyone has long easily read fingers!)
2. Don't get stuck on reading each letter as an individual letter. Instead think of it and the "shape" of the word. Watch for double letters and the beginning and ending letters. You should be able to fill in the rest with the contextual clues (much like you do with reading an unknown word in a sentence in a written passage).
3. Instead of saying each letter as you are seeing it, say each SOUND. (You are basically sounding it out.) This will help as you are trying to figure out the word. That way when you miss a letter here and there, by sounding it out you will be able to fill in the blanks.
Finger spelling, hands-down is one of the trickiest parts of the language. Don't get too frustrated. Take it slow at first. Don't be afraid to ask a deaf person to "spell it again please", they more than likely will be happy to repeat themselves.
Some of the abc’s are easier to see than others.
• Easier to identify so look for them…..B, C,D,F,H,I,J,K,L,R,U,V,W, X,Y, Z
• A bit more tricky…..a,e,g,m,n,o,p,q,s,t,
Introductions
introducing yourself to someone and exchanging information __whq_
ASL example: MY NAME M-O-N-I-C-A, NAME YOU?
ABC’s and Numbers on the front and back cover or your book (however, these are hard to learn from these pictures, please use these web sites to help you)ASL example: MY NAME M-O-N-I-C-A, NAME YOU?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDfnf96qz_4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZF7KqvhDd8&feature=channel&list=UL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_92585&feature=iv&src_vid=UfeDNoHYz90&v=teK9oqqOo6g
http://video.about.com/deafness/How-to-Sign-Numbers-in-ASL.htm
**Vocabulary in Unit 1
Vocabulary pages 8-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc0FMJ6nCd0&feature=youtu.be
· Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc0FMJ6nCd0&feature=youtu.be
· Basic signs are introduced such as pronouns, possessives, people, places, Deaf/Hearing/ Hard of Hearing, and misc.
· Basic signs are introduced such as pronouns, possessives, people, places, Deaf/Hearing/ Hard of Hearing, and misc.
Chapter 1 Vocabulary (Textbook signs)
Pronouns(index)I, me
You
He/She/It (index left or right)
We
They (higher)
You (plural) (lower)
Possessive (Ownership)(flat palm)My
Your
His/Hers/Its (left or right)
Our, ours
Their, theirs
Your, yours (plural)
Wh Question Signs(eyebrows need to be lowered)Who
Where
People
Student (learn er)(agent marker)
Teacher, professor (all knowledge in my brain goes to you!)(agent marker)
Man (gender placement higher)
Woman (gender placement lower)
Girl (originated from: bonnets girls wore with ribbon on cheek)
Boy (originated from: caps boys wore)
Mother (gender placement lower)
Father (gender placement higher)
Sister (originated from: girl same family)
Brother (originated from: boy same family)
Places California, gold (like earrings. originated from: found gold in California)
New York (New York is dirty clean it up!)
Other Vocab
Yes (must nod)
No (must shake head back and forth)
Don’t-know
Not
Deaf (originated from cannot speak or hear)
Hard-of-hearing (h handshape, start in center of body and move away)
Hearing (person), say, speaking (hearing people speak)
Hello, hi
Name (repeat movement)
Live, life (2 signs)
From
Nice, clean, pure
Meet-you (keep sign upward but may move directionally)
Help to remember how to create signs:
When Creating signs it is important to know that all signs have rules or also called parameters. Changing these slightly may create an entirely different sign.
• Signs have 5 rules that you must pay special attention to as you develop signs
o Handshape
o Location
o Movement
o Palm Orientation
o Facial Grammar
Example: MOM and DAD have all the same mechanicals expect location
This was discovered by William Stoeke, Professor at Gallaudet University. He studied ASL and proved it to be a true language with structure, grammar, syntax, etc.
He took criticism from both hearing people (ASL is not a language) and from Deaf people (why is a hearing person interfering with our way of life). However, both hearing and Deaf communities are grateful that he continued his research.
Interesting....ASL became a nationally recognized language in the 1960s - not that long ago....
**Language Analysis of Unit 1
Yes/no questions require eyebrows raised and head tilted slightly forward
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/yesnofacial%20expression.htm
Wh questions require that eyebrows are lowed and the head tilted slightly forward
Affirmative and negative sentences require nodding or shaking of head while signing YES or NO
Pronoun are signed with an index fingers while possessives use a flat palm to indicate ownership
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9ilanrNFe8&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9ilanrNFe8&feature=relmfu
Pronouns are placed at the beginning, end or beginning and end of the sentence
ASL examples: I STUDENT I, I STUDENT, STUDENT I
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/indexing.htm
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/indexing.htm
ABC’s manual alphabet (see these sites to learn and practice)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZF7KqvhDd8&feature=channel&list=UL
Numbers 1-20 (these we are learning as part of the lecture)
**Culture notes of Unit 1
Introductions
It is customary to share first and last names among Deaf people. Some people believe that this is due largely to establish kinship like relationships and to see connections in a relatively small community
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liz9iWVKauo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0wUqLPJ7tQ&feature=relmfu
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/culture1.htm
http://video.about.com/deafness/Introductions-in-ASL.htm (the script is located below, after you watch scroll down to the bottom for the translations)
**Exercises in Unit 1·
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDzQriKnCpM&feature=youtu.be
· Exercise 1A gives students the opportunity to practice spelling their names
· Exercise 1B allows students to respond
· Exercise 1C prompts students to have an open dialogue and respond
REMEMBER
I not the same as MY remember MY is a flat palm and I is indexhttp://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/culture1.htm
http://video.about.com/deafness/Introductions-in-ASL.htm (the script is located below, after you watch scroll down to the bottom for the translations)
**Exercises in Unit 1·
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDzQriKnCpM&feature=youtu.be
· Exercise 1A gives students the opportunity to practice spelling their names
· Exercise 1B allows students to respond
· Exercise 1C prompts students to have an open dialogue and respond
REMEMBER
Eyebrows down for Whq
If you don’t have facial grammar, you are not signing!
**Grammar
Page 2
Facial Grammar
WHQ - eyebrows down, lean slightly forward
-------whq?---------
NAME-YOU?
Y/N Q - eyebrows up. (when responding, eyebrows are not up)
------y/nq?---------
YOU DEAF YOU?
Page 6
It is important to remember that ASL is different from English - where there are choices in English, there are also choices in ASL for sentence structure.
Pronoun use - THESE ARE ALL THE SAME.
I STUDENT I. (most common among Deaf people)
I STUDENT.
STUDENT I.
**TIP
Placing people in during a conversation
Once you place someone in a location, you must refer back to them when describing them or signing about them. They must stay in the same place throughout the duration of the conversation/story. This is called locative space.
**CULTURAL NOTE
In the same way that there are English accents and regional variations, there are variations in ASL. Signs can change based on where you live, or even your age or ethnicity.
Similarly, just how there is slang in English, there is a more conversational ASL used with people you know. It is less formal than what you would see in the book. Sign may be shortened or modified for time and efficiency. Conversational sign is used in informal situations, but when addressing adults or Deaf people you do not know you may want to use more formal language.
Remember, eyebrows down for WHQ, eyebrows up for a Y/NQ. You must also lean forward when asking questions.
Summary
Students need to be sure that they:
o Know how sign ABC’s and vocabulary from unit one
o Fingerspell their name
o Use pronoun and pronoun copy
o Whq facial grammar and yes/no facial grammar
o Eye contact
o Use affirmative and negative facial grammar
o Know how sign ABC’s and vocabulary from unit one
o Fingerspell their name
o Use pronoun and pronoun copy
o Whq facial grammar and yes/no facial grammar
o Eye contact
o Use affirmative and negative facial grammar
