Signing For Dummies (3 page)

Fun & Games activities:
These visual games can help you practice Sign and are a good way to have fun while checking your progress.

The English sentences that are changed into American Sign Language (ASL) are not to be taken as word-for-word translations. In fact, many Signs have no English equivalents. Throughout this book, you find English equivalents that are close in meaning to Sign, but not exactly the same.

Foolish Assumptions

We hate to assume anything about anyone, but when writing this book, we had to make a few foolish assumptions about you. Here they are (we hope we were right):

You have little or no experience in this type of communication, but you have a genuine interest.

You don’t expect to become fluent in Sign after going through this book. You just want some basic vocabulary, and you want to see what particular signs look like by themselves and in simple sentences.

You aren’t interested in memorizing grammar rules; you just want to communicate. (In case you do happen to be interested in ASL grammar, Chapter 2 is dedicated to that topic, and other rules and concepts are sprinkled throughout the book.)

You want to know a few signs in order to be able to communicate with Deaf friends, family members, and acquaintances.

How This Book Is Organized

This book is divided by topic into parts, then further divided into chapters. The following sections let you know what kind of information you can find in each part.

Part I: Signing On to Sign

This part lets you see by illustration and demonstration what fingerspelling looks and feels like. It explains how to use the basic hand shapes, facial expressions, and body language of Sign. Some rules are included, so that you can see how objects and action work together. You can make simple sentences with these basics.

Part II: ASL in Action

In this part, you get to add vocabulary to your basic sentence structure. You also find ways to ask short questions, and after reading this section, you’ll be able to practice your signing out and about the town.

Part III: Signing On the Go

This part gives you Signs to help you get around easier. From giving and getting directions to different modes of transportation, you expand what you already know about Sign.

Part IV: Looking into Deaf Life

Come to this part for the Deaf perspective on life. Give your hands a rest and read how Deaf people function in a world that can hear.

Part V: The Part of Tens

Here you can find some great ideas to help you sign even better and faster. This part helps you get past any reluctance that you may feel and helps you feel more confident about signing in front of other people.

Part VI: Appendixes

This book has two appendixes. Appendix A gives you all the answers to the Fun & Games questions. Appendix B gives you detailed instructions for playing and using the CD that accompanies with this book.

Icons Used in This Book

To help you find certain types of information more easily, we’ve included several icons in this book. You find them on the left-hand side of the page, sprinkled throughout:

This icon highlights tips and tricks that can make signing easier.

This icon points out interesting and important information that you don’t want to forget.

To avoid making a blunder or offending a Deaf friend, pay attention to what these paragraphs have to say.

For those grammar buffs out there, this icon points out useful ASL grammar rules and concepts.

This icon draws your attention to pieces of information about the culture of the Deaf community.