How to say thank you in sign language. How to say your name in sign language

It all started again with the series. Although, to be completely precise, it comes from a beautiful interior. I was looking for series with interiors from Greg Grande, the same one who was the artist on .

This is how I came across the series “They were mixed up in the maternity hospital.”

It's about two girls who were mistakenly confused by doctors in the maternity hospital, and their families only found out about it when their daughters turned 16 years old. This is where the series begins, and then everything seems to be as usual: first love, conflicts with parents, arguments between the parents themselves, rivalry at school, breakups and reconciliations. Oh yes, all this in beautiful interiors.

The tricky part is that one of the main characters is deaf.

She became deaf when she was two years old and now wears hearing aids, goes to a school for the deaf and speaks sign language. And the plot is also strongly twisted around this.

I became seriously interested when I started watching interviews with actors and found out that some of the actors are actually deaf.

Actress Katie LeClair, who plays the main character, has Meniere's disease, the syndromes of which include hearing impairment and dizziness. The disease does not prevent her from working, but it helps to talk about this diagnosis in interviews and more people go to doctors to get checked.

While still at school, Katie learned sign language. Imagine, in the States you can easily choose sign language as a second language to study.

One of the episodes of the series was filmed entirely in sign language, not a single word is used in it. At the very beginning, the two main actresses appear and warn the audience that don’t worry, there’s nothing wrong with your TV, but some scenes will be filmed in complete silence.

This is so cool! Talk about people with special needs not through short commercials or speeches trying to squeeze out a tear.

I watched the series and realized that disabled people are not only the people we imagine in wheelchairs.

Oh, this is a stereotype that has firmly settled in our heads thanks to the sign on car windows and on the asphalt of parking lots.

And so I ran into a deaf company at an intersection. I remembered that at the age of eight I myself suffered a serious otitis media with the risk of losing part of my hearing. The organizers of the event, who invited me as a speaker, asked me to speak louder, since there was a participant with a hearing aid in the hall.

It felt like the Universe was desperately hinting to me: “Would you like to learn sign language?”

I entered “sign language teaching” into the search and very quickly found it in St. Petersburg sign language school "Image". The school is located on the territory pedagogical university named after Herzen, which means that at least twice a week I find myself in the very center of the city.

The university campus, which I need to completely cross - from the entrance with a strict security guard to building 20, our teacher Denis Aleksandrovich - “So, you’ll already learn these gestures at home yourself, now there’s no time to waste on this” (in fact, he’s very cool!) - all this brings me back to nostalgia for my student past.

Training twice a week for two months. This is an express course, the usual course lasts four months. The lesson lasts one and a half hours. What you need to learn something new and not get tired. And most importantly - no sports uniform in a bag, which I hate, no changing clothes and showering in open stalls. In general, one hundred thousand five hundred times better than sports.

There are many students in the group. One of my classmates born in 2000. Imagine! I thought they were still somewhere in kindergarten, and they are already in the highest educational institutions. It's hard for me to believe this. But there are also adult students like me.

Most of my classmates were in class for the same reason as me. Interesting.

Only a few classes have passed, and I can already tell about myself, what my name is, what I do, how old I am and what year I was born. I can talk about the family and keep the conversation going: “Do you have a dog?” “No, I don’t have a dog, I have a cat.”

It's funny, but incredibly exciting.

Some interesting things about sign language

Sign language is different in different countries, in our country it is Russian Sign Language (RSL). For some reason, this is terribly disappointing for everyone, they say, they could agree on one language and they would have super-power.
Dactylology is a form of speech where each letter is expressed as a sign, but it is not a sign language. For example, you can edit the name or foreign word, for which there is no sign yet.
Deaf people read lips, so it is important for them to see not only the hands that show gestures, but also the lips that pronounce words.
Sign language has a different grammar and therefore uses a different word order. For example, question word is always placed at the end of a sentence.
Sign language is not a copy of a real language, but a full-fledged language with its own linguistic features, structure, and grammar. In sign language, the shape of the sign, its localization (the same gesture at the forehead and at the chest means different things), the nature of the movement and the non-manual component (facial expressions, turning the body, head) are important.

What I like most about my studies is that, perhaps for the first time, I am trying not to be an excellent student.

There is no need to write anything down in class - I took the notebook out of my bag after the first meeting. Yes, there is homework, but I don’t always do it. No grades or tests. I remember well what is taught in class and that’s enough for me.

There are many languages in the world, but special place Among them is sign language. In order to communicate with deaf and mute people, the first sign language, called Amslen, was developed in the 18th century. Subsequently, closer to the 20th century, it had many branches and interpretations. In the middle of the 20th century, to standardize the language of the deaf and dumb, an international sign language was developed - Zhestuno, which is still relevant. It is mainly based on gestures that the speaker shows with his hands, with the help of facial expressions and through various turns of the body.

In our country, Zhestuno is not popular. If in European countries there are 300 sign language interpreters per hundred deaf-mute people, then we have only 3. In 2012, amendments were introduced to the bill “On Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities” regarding sign language. The language received official status, special educational institutions for training and retraining of interested people, teachers, people with disabilities. This had a positive effect on the percentage of people willing to learn Gestuno.

Local deaf communities provide special free classes that anyone can sign up for. In a few months you will learn basic aspects Tough and, of course, you will try out the acquired knowledge in practice.
Educational sites - institutes and colleges - often include the subject “sign language” in their programs. This applies to a greater extent to social and linguistic specialties. So if you are still a student or planning to become one, then you have the opportunity to get acquainted with this subject for free.
In case you can't find free courses, there are specialized paid classes at the base research institutes, methodological centers, specialized schools for the deaf and dumb.

Structure of teaching the language of the deaf and mute

Let's take a closer look at what these special courses are and what you will receive upon completion of the training.

Note that there are 3 levels of Gestuno mastery, which include the following skills:

Level 1 – basic course for beginners, which covers the basic lexical norms and practice live communication.
Level 2 is a course for those who are already familiar with the basics. It is designed for initial acquaintance with translation skills from Gestuno.
Level 3 – includes the improvement of linguistic skills and in-depth training in simultaneous and consecutive interpretation.

Training at levels lasts 3 months and consists of 44–50 academic hours. At the end of the course you will receive a special certificate indicating your level. But do not equate this piece of paper with the certificate of a sign language interpreter. To obtain such a crust you will need to pass a special commission. You can try your hand at this after level 2.

How to learn a deaf-mute language yourself

In addition to the methods listed above, you can learn deaf-mute gestures yourself using the following resources:

On the Internet you will find websites that will help you learn the language of the deaf. The most popular of them is the “City of Gestures”. You will also find a lot of useful information on social networks, in specialized groups on Zhestuno. In them you will work out both the theoretical part and the practical component with like-minded people.
Since progress does not stand still, special applications have been created for mobile devices, which are alphabets and textbooks on sign language. Download the program to your phone and free time Learn or repeat the information you need.
Books are a universal option for gaining knowledge in this area. However, this method is only suitable for those who are patient and willing to put extra effort into learning. This is due to the fact that there will be no teacher nearby who can clearly explain everything to you, and, therefore, you will need more time to understand the material.
Video lessons are a way to learn sign language, close to special courses, but with the caveat that no one will correct you if you make mistakes. The main advantage of videos is their variety and clear, visual explanation of the material.

Where to start learning sign language on your own

Before we figure out where to start, let’s note this feature:

Gesture is confused with letter fingering, that is, drawing individual letters with your hands. Dactylology differs from the gestures of the deaf and mute in that it is used to say proper names: cities, names of people, geographical names etc., or to say a word for which a special gesture has not yet been invented. So keep this in mind when you start studying.

So, having chosen one of the options for self-study, find information resources and choose those that will be understandable and interesting.

To become fluent in sign language, you must first learn the alphabet. Once you feel confident in your fingerprint skills, move on to learning nonverbal sign language. Build your lesson plan based on the difficulty levels described above. So, gradually you will be able to learn the language perfectly.

Don't forget that the most effective and fastest way to learn a language is to communicate in it. So, even if you study alone, you still need to find someone to talk to. This way you can learn to express thoughts correctly and understand what a like-minded person is thinking about.

Learning Gestuno on your own is difficult, but after a while you will achieve visible results. The main thing is not to abandon learning and reinforce theoretical knowledge with practice. Sign language is no more difficult than a foreign language, so gain strength and patience and you will soon get the desired result.

Our world is diverse. It cannot be said that there are people who are exactly alike, both externally and internally. Thus, another universe, which has its own properties, is also inhabited by those who are usually called deaf-mute people. Their perception environment differs several times from how reality is understood by a person who does not have such physical abnormalities.

But it is important to note that the sign language of the deaf and dumb has the same versatility and colorfulness as that of a healthy person. The dictionary contains more than 2,000 gestures. And gesture signs are entire words, so showing and learning some of them will not be difficult.

Nonverbal sign language

Before getting into the dictionary of sign language, it would be appropriate to note that one of the misconceptions about it is that it depends on the verbal language that we use every day (sound and written) or that it supposedly originated from the latter, and even that the language of the deaf was founded by a hearing person. Moreover, it is generally accepted incorrectly that gestures of a silent language are accepted as fingerprinting of letters. That is, letters are depicted with hands. But that's not true.

In this language, dactylology is used to pronounce place names, specific terms and proper names. It is very easy to get acquainted with its basics since there is an established alphabet. And you will be able to easily communicate with a deaf-mute person by spelling out the word using gestures. Sign language for the deaf in Russian dactylology has 33 dactyl signs.

Sign language lessons

More detailed information about the language of the deaf and mute can be found in the book by G.L. Zaitseva. "Gesture speech" Let's take a more detailed look at the most common gestures.

If you're wondering, "Do I need... healthy person, know such a language?”, the answer is simple - sometimes there is never too much knowledge, sometimes it is unclaimed. But perhaps one day, thanks to them, you will be able to help, for example, a lost deaf-mute.

When you meet a deaf person, you need to introduce yourself in a way that they can understand. This article will tell you how to say your name in American Sign Language, which is used in the United States and Canada. There is no single international sign language - deaf people in different countries are interpreted differently. For example, you can find a list of resources dedicated to Russian Sign Language.

Steps

Introduce yourself in American Sign Language

Make the "hi" gesture. Palm open, fingers together. Raise your hand to your head, pointing your thumb toward your temple, and move it slightly to the side, as if in a salute.

Another greeting option is to wave your hand slightly at head level.

Make the "my" gesture. Place your hand on your chest as if you are pledging allegiance. Lightly pat your chest a couple of times.

Make the "name" gesture. Make a fist with your hand, extend your index and middle fingers - in the American fingerprint alphabet this is how the letter U is shown. Turn them edgewise so that the index finger is on top. Using the fingers of your dominant hand, lightly tap the fingers of your other hand twice. The fingers of both hands should form an X in front of you at this moment.

Show your name using the fingerprint alphabet. Use the American fingerprint alphabet to spell out your name. Keep your hand in front of you in a stable position. Show letters at a steady pace: smoothness is more important than speed.
- If you want to show both your first and last name, leave a short pause between them.
- If your name has two identical letters in a row, open and close your hand again to repeat the letter. If the letter is not easy to repeat (for example, the M in Emma), instead move your hand slightly to the side to reveal the second of the same letters without changing the position of your fingers.
Learn to show everything together. Practice showing the entire phrase in a smooth motion: “Hi, my name _____” (“Hello, my name is _____”). The words must appear in this order.

Use body language to convey emotions. Body language and facial expressions are extremely important when communicating in American Sign Language. Just making gestures without changing your facial expression or posture is the same as speaking monotonously and without any emotion, and it will be much more difficult for people to carry on a conversation with you.
- When you show your name, try to appear friendly. Smile slightly, open your eyes a little wider. By the time you make the “my” gesture, you should tilt your head a little as a sign of understanding. Look at the person you are addressing.
Add your sign name (optional). Sign names, which will be discussed below, are usually not required when meeting people. If you are introducing yourself formally, you usually only need to show your name in fingerprint letters. If necessary, you will use the sign name later, in more informal communication. However, if you are being introduced informally, such as a close friend introducing you to their friends, you can introduce yourself as follows: "Hi, my name (sign name), (spell name), (sign name)."

Get a sign name in American Sign Language
1. Start with the fingerprint alphabet. While you don't have a sign name, you can introduce yourself by spelling your usual name. To get started, learn the signs of the fingerprint alphabet using our website or videos on the Internet. It's easy to form your name from these signs: just show it letter by letter. Practice until you can do this at a normal pace, keeping your hand in front of you and without changing its position.
  
  Find out what sign names are. A sign name is a word made up specifically for you. There are no special sign names in American Sign Language: there is no sign that means "Mary" or "Alexander", so each Mary or Alexander will have its own special sign name. Therefore, read about the meaning of sign names and the basis on which they are usually given.
  
  If possible, have someone from the deaf community give you your sign name. When an adult, respected member of the community gives you a sign name, it means you have been accepted into the community. For a non-native speaker, this is a very important moment, and in many circles it comes only after many years of friendship. If this argument doesn't sound convincing enough to you, there are a number of reasons why you shouldn't invent a sign name yourself.
  - You may come up with a gesture that is too complex or a gesture that violates the rules of the language (you don't want to be called, for example, Zzkskbub?).
  - You may accidentally choose a gesture that means a rude or obscene word.
  - Someone in the community already has the same sign name.
  - Your sign name may be the same as your sign name famous person(what will your new American acquaintances think if you introduce yourself to them as Martin Luther King?).
  - And most importantly, in the culture of the deaf community it is considered unacceptable for a hearing person to come up with a sign name for themselves.
2. Create a name from your initial. Let's say you don't know anyone in the deaf community, but you're just curious about what signed names are like. Here is one common way to create such a name. Form one hand into the shape of the fingerprint letter that begins your name. Tap it a couple of times on some point on the body - usually on the forehead, cheek, chin, shoulder or chest. Another option is to move your hand between two adjacent points or move it back and forth in the "neutral space" in front of the chest, a short distance from it.
  
  Use a descriptive gesture. Sign names of this type are usually associated with some noticeable physical characteristic. For example, you can run your hand over a scar on your face or twirl your finger down from your neck to show off your long hair. Beginners often choose such names instead of arbitrary ones, as they seem more interesting. However, such a name is even more difficult to come up with on your own. Sign languages use a visual grammar that is limited by the position of the fingers, the position of the hands in space, and their movements. If you haven't studied American language deaf people on the course or did not communicate in it long time, the name you come up with may not look like a word at all.
  
  Consider a hybrid signed name. This is the third and final type of sign name: a gesture indicating a physical characteristic in which the fingers are placed together to form the first letter of your name. This type is very popular among the deaf community, although some believe that it is a modern invention coming from hearing people and does not follow the tradition of sign naming. It is possible that a person from the Deaf community will give you a hybrid name. However, if you want to come up with such a name yourself, your attempt may be regarded as even more rude and impolite than if it were a name of a different kind.

We are used to counting oral speech the only and main language of people. But besides it, there are other ways of expressing words and thoughts. People with hearing loss use sign language and facial expressions for interpersonal communication. It is intended for communication between deaf people and is called sign language. Sign speech is carried out using a visual channel for transmitting information. This type of communication is not widespread and has not yet been fully studied. In our country alone, 2 million people use Russian sign language.

In sign language, information is transferred from the speaker to the listener through movements of the hands, eyes, or body. It is perceived through the visual channel and has the following properties:

In sign language, the main focus is on the space around the person speaking. When communicating, it affects all levels of language.
Unlike spoken words, which reach the ears sequentially, the language of the deaf is presented and perceived simultaneously. This helps convey more information using a single gesture.

There is no universal sign language in the world for deaf and mute people. There are more than 100 sign languages used for communication between people with speech and hearing impairments. People using different gestures will not understand each other. Deaf people, like speaking people, can learn or forget the sign language of another country.

The use of sign language is expanding every year, making a primitive communication system a suitable area for expressing a variety of thoughts and ideas. Sign language is used in educational system, on television, video lessons. Russian sign language is used only for interpersonal communication between people.

In Europe, the language of the deaf appeared at the beginning of the 18th century. Before his advent, deaf people lived and studied in isolation from others. The first school for the deaf and dumb appeared in 1760 in France. The main task of teachers was to teach reading and writing to deaf children. To solve this problem, the old French sign language, which appeared among a group of deaf and dumb people, was used. It was slightly modified. Specially designed teaching gestures were added that were used to indicate grammar. In training, a “facial method” of transmitting information was used, when each letter was indicated by a separate hand gesture.

This training system later began to be used in Russia. In 1806, the first school for the deaf was opened in Pavlovsk. And in 1951, the World Federation of the Deaf appeared. The members of the organization decided to create a standard sign language. It was to be used for deaf professionals and public figures participating in the work of the congress.

To standardize sign language, experts from many countries, having analyzed similar gestures used by different nationalities, developed a common language for all. And in 1973, a dictionary of sign speech was published, which was prepared by the World Federation of the Deaf.

Shortly thereafter, at the VII Congress of Deafness in America, the International language Deaf event, which was used for communication between deaf people from different countries who took part in world-class events.

Linguistics of sign language

Despite the prevailing opinion about the language of the deaf as a primitive language, it has a rich vocabulary and is not at all easy to use. A linguistic study was carried out, which proved the presence in the language of elements that are present in full-fledged oral speech.

The words of gestures consist of simple components - hirems, which do not carry any semantic load. There are 3 elements that describe the structure and differences between gestures:

The position of the gesture towards the speaker's body;

The gesture can be used in a neutral space, at the same level with a part of the body without touching it.

The shape of the hand that performs the gesture;
Hand movement when performing a gesture.

The movement of the hand in space and the movement of the hand or fingers while the position of the hand remains unchanged are taken into account.

Movement of hands in space relative to the body of the speaker or each other.

Gestures are schematic in nature, invented during communication, and have a distinctive connection with the visual designation of the word. The language of the deaf has its own grammar to facilitate communication on diverse topics and is not a visual repetition of ordinary language.

Distinctive features of the structure of sign language

Specificity;

There is no generalization in the gesture, limited by the sign of the object and action. There is not a single gesture that uses the words “big” and “go.” Such words are used in various gestures that accurately convey the characteristics or movement of a person.

A gesture can represent an object. The sounds or letters that make up words, independent of the characteristics of the object, can be conveyed with a special movement of the hand. For example, to depict a house, hands show the roof, and to depict friendship, they show a handshake.

The origin of the names of things in speech is sometimes impossible to explain. The origin of gestures is easier to explain, since their history of creation and occurrence is known. But even this fades over time and becomes more sketchy.

Imagery;

Thanks to imagery, gestures are easier to remember and assimilate. It makes gestures clearer for deaf people to communicate with each other.

Syncretism;

Gestures have the property of unity in conveying words that are different in sound but have the same meaning. For example, fire, bonfire or video, filming. To designate synonyms in a gesture, additional features of the object are used. For example, the words “draw” and “frame” are shown to indicate a painting.

Amorphous;

Sign language consists of concepts, but it is not capable of expressing such forms of grammar as case, gender, tense, number, aspect. For this purpose, gestural facial speech is used, which from a small number of gestures receives ordinary combinations of words. This happens by gluing (agglutination) words in a certain order:

A person or object is a designation of action (I - sleep);
The action taking place is negation (to be able to do so);
The designation of the item is quality;
The condition of an object or person (cat – sick, slightly).

Grammatical spatiality.

Sign language conveys several phrases and words simultaneously. An expression conveyed in this way contains, in addition to gestures, also non-manual components. This is the facial expression of the speaking person, the movement of body parts, the gaze. This type of information transfer is used, like intonation in oral speech.

The language of deaf people is non-linear. Grammar is transmitted along with vocabulary, the speaker’s gesture can change during communication.

Russian sign language training

Learning sign language will take the same amount of time as any other language; special video courses will come in handy. In addition to the theoretical part, practice is required. Without it, it is impossible to master the language. Understanding deaf people is much more difficult than showing something yourself. The test speech contains words or expressions that have no translation into Russian.

You can learn sign language on your own, using video lessons or a dictionary. Using video training, you can learn to use in practice when communicating with deaf people such simple but necessary words as “thank you,” “sorry,” “love.” The word “thank you” in the language of the deaf is useful in life when meeting deaf people.

Using video lessons, it is easier to learn and remember information, understand how to correctly perform a gesture, and practice repeating movements. Studying the language of the deaf, with the help of dictionaries, lectures or video lessons, solves the following problems:

Improving speech skills through the use of sign language;
Expanding knowledge about the linguistic component of language;
Formation of knowledge about the language of the deaf as a natural form of communication between people, the presence of similar and distinctive characteristics with other languages;
Familiarization with the history of the emergence of language and stages of development;
Forming the importance of language learning and understanding the role of Russian and sign speech in the life of society.

Learning a language with special program or a video lesson contributes to the development of communication in different life conditions, during informal communication with friends, parents, unfamiliar people, or during a conversation in a formal setting.