the language of love.

love languages. mostly quality time. but also words of affirmation. 

if you spend time with me and i feel like you actually want to, i feel loved. 

if you talk to me truthfully and as an equal, i feel loved.

28. What is your love language? | thirty things

#captionTHIS

This is a wonderful video about an issue that most people aren't even aware of.

Watch it; and if you feel so inclined, sign the petition here. It's a wonderful cause to support. As hearing people, I think we often forget about these types of issues. Everyone should be able to have complete access to all forms of online media.

update

As you may have read earlier, I can talk with my hands. I took the proficiency test and got my results back today. I fell in the Advanced Plus range. Which means that there are only two levels higher than what I scored, and I'm almost at the Superior level, but not quite.  (scoring scale and full explanations available online here.) 

Here are some highlights from the notes of my test results:

"Able to have a shared conversation with good, spontaneous elaboration for both

social and work topics."

"Very clear production of signs at a normal/near native-like rate."

"Very good use of many sign language grammatical features including use of space, use of role shifts, sign verb movement direction, repetition of sign verb movement, word order flexibility, and classifiers."

"Very good comprehension of sign language produced at a normal rate, with no repetition or rephrasing necessary." 

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the results of this test. The interpreting program that I'm trying to get into told me that they usually look for candidates who score at least in the Intermediate range, but preferably higher. I scored higher. Now I just have to wait to hear back from the interpreting program to see if they want me.

I can talk with my hands.

          A few weeks ago I drove to Spartanburg for a language skills test. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back a few years. Back in my college days at BYU, I had just completed a semester of Spanish, and hated every minute of it. I found myself on the hunt for a new foreign language to fulfill a requirement for my major. I was an English major for a reason. I wanted to read amazing books and write about them, not learn a foreign language. At this same time, my amazing friend and roommate Amber had just finished ASL 101 and highly recommended it. Willing to try anything that sounded interesting that also met the academic requirement, I signed up. Best. Decision. Ever. For some reason, ASL just made sense to me. I caught on quickly and retained everything. I dove in head first going to ASL Club, attending the local ASL  branch of my church, and spent time hanging out with Deaf people. Soon, I found myself in love with a language, a culture, and a people. Two and a half years of classes and some invaluable interpreting experience, I was set.

          Fast forward to now. I found an interpreting program that I want to do that will prepare me to become a licensed ASL interpreter. It's my dream career. I love it. I applied to the school and the program, and drove to Spartanburg to do my language skills interview test. The results of which will determine if I get accepted into the interpreting program. I should get said results in a few weeks. And if I get in, I'll be off and running in the Fall.

to the lighthouse

images found here and here.

"What is the meaning of life? A simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years. The great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark."

virginia woolf

with an 'e'

image found here.

"Anne came dancing home in the purple winter twilight 
across the snowy places."

L. M. Montgomery |  Anne of Green Gables

!

I just stumbled upon this article the other day, and since I tend to side with Fitzgerald on the exclamation mark, this article really says it all.

"The Joy of Exclamation Marks!" by Stuart Jeffries

The article had me positively laughing out loud - mostly because it is nothing but the truth.

I love this language.

As per Sum's request for more signing stories, here's more stuff about ASL.

American Sign Language and Deaf Culture FAQs

1. Isn't ASL just signed English?

No. ASL is its own language. It has its own grammar structure that is completely different from spoken English. There is something called Sign Exact English (SEE) that uses a different set of signs and maintains English grammar. ASL is completely different.

2. Don't all Deaf people sign/read lips/etc?

Not necessarily. Whether or not a Deaf person signs depends on how they were raised, and how language was taught to them. If taught through Oral ideology, they will most likely read lips and not sign. If taught through signing, they will obviously sign, and may or may not read lips based on individual speech therapy experience.

3. Why is Deaf capitalized?

It can also be written lower case. When capitalized, it refers to Deaf people who are an integral part of Deaf Culture. When lower case, it refers to people who cannot hear, but are not an active part of Deaf Culture.

4. What is the best way to learn ASL?

Take a class, if available. Learn from someone who knows it. Make friends with Deaf people. They will be your greatest source of learning conversational skills.

5. Is ASL universal?

No, it's not. American Sign Language (ASL) is used primarily in the United States and Canada. Every other country has its own sign language. e.g. French Sign Language (FSL), British Sign Language (BSL), Russian Sign Language (RSL) etc. BSL is actually completely different from ASL, although the spoken language is the same. Go to France speaking ASL, and Deaf French people will not understand you.

6. What is Deaf culture like?

It is a very complex, interesting culture comprising all deaf individuals who actively seek it out. It is strongly based in social ties, as most Deaf people did not live near other Deaf people, and long distance communication between Deaf people was much more difficult before the advent of modern technology. If you are hearing, you can never completely be integrated into Deaf culture. You can be associated with it, but only those who cannot hear are truly a part of it. It is much more involved than that brief description. I can recommend good books about it if you want to learn more.

7. When using ASL, how do you communicate sarcasm or emotions that normally come through with tone of voice?

Your tone of voice has to come through facial expressions and body language. It also depends on how you sign a certain sign/phrase. You can sign it sarcastically - mostly by indicating with your face and body language that you're joking. It is an extremely expressive language.

8. How did you learn ASL?
I learned it at college. I took classes for a few years, worked and studied really hard, and made friends with the Deaf people at my school. I was also a member of my school's ASL Club, and also occasionally attended a local Deaf branch of my church. Spending time talking to my Deaf friends was really influential in my ASL education; that's where I learned how to have conversations.

9. Is ASL difficult to learn?

It is as difficult to learn as any other foreign language. It all depends on your aptitude for remembering vocabulary and the associated signs, but mostly depends on how much time and effort you are willing to exert to learn the language and the culture. Learning about Deaf culture is just as important to learning the language as the vocabulary because it is such an integral part of the language.

10. What do you love about ASL?

I love the beauty of the language. It is so expressive, and can get across points that spoken language cannot - almost like music in that way. You can talk across crowded rooms, quiet rooms. Mostly, I love it because it's fun to learn, and it's a wonderful way to learn more about a fascinating culture and people.