Scandinavian sign language of the deaf and dumb. Sign language of the deaf and dumb

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

In our country, Gestuno is not popular. If in Europe there are 300 sign language interpreters per hundred deaf and dumb people, then we have only 3. In 2012, amendments were made to the draft law “On Social Protection of the Disabled” regarding sign language. The language received official status, special educational institutions were created for the training and retraining of interested people, teachers, and the disabled. This had a positive effect on the percentage of those wishing to teach Zhestuno.

Local deaf and dumb communities provide special free classes that anyone can sign up for. In a few months, you will learn the basic aspects of Gestuno and, of course, try out the acquired knowledge in practice.
Educational sites - institutes and colleges, often include the subject of "sign language" in their programs. To a greater extent, this applies 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 the event that you cannot find free courses, there are specialized paid classes based on research institutes, methodological centers, specialized schools for the deaf and dumb.

The structure of learning the language of the deaf and dumb

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

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

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

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

How to learn a deaf and dumb language yourself

In addition to the methods listed above, you can learn deaf and dumb 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 sign language textbooks. Download the program to your phone and learn or repeat the information you need in your free time.
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 invest 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 analyze 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 in case of mistakes. The main advantage of videos is the variety and clear, visual explanation of the material.

How to start learning sign language on your own

Before we figure out where to start, we note the following feature:

Gestuno is confused with the dactyling of letters, i.e., the image of individual letters with hands. Dactylology differs from the gestures of the deaf and dumb 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 that in mind when you get started.

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

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

Do not forget that the most effective and quick way to learn a language is to communicate in it. So, even if you are studying alone, you still need to find yourself an interlocutor. So you can learn how to express thoughts correctly and understand what a like-minded person is thinking.

Learning Gestuno on your own is difficult, but after a while you will achieve visible results. The main thing is not to abandon training and reinforce theoretical knowledge with practice. Sign language is not more difficult than a foreign language, so gain strength, patience and soon get the desired result.

Few people have encountered the problem of communicating with deaf people. Even fewer people understand what such speech is based on. One of the misconceptions is that the sign language of the deaf and dumb was invented only by hearing people, and that it depends on ordinary speech. Actually it is not. The second misconception is that sign languages include dactyling of letters, that is, the image of letters with hands.

Dactylology shows words one letter at a time, while sign signs show them in their entirety. There are more than 2000 such gesture words in dictionaries for the deaf. Some of them are quickly remembered and easily depicted.

The concept of "sign language"

The sign language of the deaf and dumb is an independent language that arose naturally or was created artificially. It consists of a combination of gestures that are made by hands and complemented by facial expressions, body position, and lip movement. It is used most often for the purpose of communication among deaf or hard of hearing people.

How did sign languages originate?

Most of us tend to think that deaf sign language actually originated among people with hearing. They used gestures for silent communication. Be that as it may, people with a defect in speech and hearing use it.

An interesting fact is that only 1.5% of people in the world are completely deaf. The largest number of people with hearing impairments is found in Brazil, among the Urubu tribe. There is one deaf child for every 75 children born. This was the reason that all representatives of the Urubu are familiar with sign language.

At all times there was a question of how to learn the sign language of the deaf and dumb. Moreover, each region has its own. The problem of the emergence of a common language in large areas began to be considered from the middle of the 18th century. At this time, educational and educational centers for children with hearing problems began to appear in France and Germany.

The task of teachers was to teach children the written form of their native language. For explanations, the gestures used among the deaf and dumb were taken as a basis. On their basis, a gestural interpretation of French and German gradually arose. That is, gestural speech is largely artificially created. Everyone can understand and use such speech.

Teaching the language of the dumb in the past

The sign language of the deaf and dumb in each country is different. This is due to the fact that the gestures taken as a basis could be interpreted differently in different states. So, for example, teachers from France were invited to the USA to create their own school for the deaf. It was the teacher Laurent Clerc who developed this trend in America in the 18th century. But the UK did not take the ready-made language, adopting only the methods of deaf pedagogy. This is what caused the fact that American for the deaf is similar to French, and cannot have anything in common with English.

In Russia, things were even more complicated. The first school for the deaf appeared here at the very beginning of the 19th century. In Pavlovsk, the knowledge and practice of French teachers were used. And half a century later, an educational institution was opened in Moscow, which adopted the experience of German specialists. The struggle of these two schools can be traced in the country today.

Gesture speech is not verbal tracing paper. At the same time, its structure and history have not been studied by anyone for a long time. Only in the second half of the last century, scientists appeared who proved that the language for the deaf is a full-fledged linguistic system. And it has its own morphological and syntactic features.

Gesture communication

In order to understand the silent language, the gestures of which differ depending on the state, it is necessary to decide where it will be needed. In particular, Russian dactylology has 33 dactyl signs. The book by G. L. Zaitseva entitled “Sign speech. Dactylology” is suitable for studying the sign language of the deaf and dumb for Russia. Learning words will take time and will require a lot of practice.

For example, here are a few descriptions of gestures and their meanings:

hands raised to the level of the chin and bent at the elbows, interconnected by the tips of the fingers, mean the word "house";
circular rotations simultaneously with two hands in the thigh area mean "hello";
the bend of the fingers of one hand, raised to the level of the chest and bent at the elbow, means "goodbye";
the right hand folded into a fist, which touches the forehead, means "thank you";
a handshake at chest level means "peace";
smooth movements with two parallel palms, looking at each other from left to right, should be understood as an apology;
touching the edge of the lips with three fingers and moving the hand to the side means "love."

To understand all the gestures, it is better to read the special literature or watch video tutorials. However, even here it is necessary to understand which language is better to learn.

Gestuno language

The problem of understanding among deaf people all over the world became very acute only in the last century. In 1951, after the emergence of the World Federation of the Deaf, it was decided to create a universal silent language, the gestures of which would be understood by the participants of all countries.

Work on this issue only came to fruition in 1973 in the form of the first dictionary of simplified sign language. Two years later, international sign speech was adopted. To create it, the languages of England, America, Italy, and Russia were used. At the same time, the ways of communication among representatives of the African and Asian continents were not taken into account at all.

This has led to the fact that in addition to the official language, there is also an informal sign language in the world.

Alphabet dactyl

Gestures can show not only words, but also individual letters. It's not exactly deaf-mute sign language. Words are composed of individual gestures-letters, which makes communication difficult, making it longer. With the help of the dactyl alphabet, this is what a similar method is called, common nouns, scientific terms, prepositions and the like are indicated.

This alphabet has its differences in different sign languages. It is quite simple to study it, since it consists, as already mentioned, of 33 dactyl signs. Each of them corresponds to the image of the corresponding letter. To understand Russian speech, you should study the corresponding dactyl alphabet.

There are many languages in the world today, but the sign language of the deaf and dumb has a special place. In the 18th century, a special deaf-and-dumb alphabet was invented for communication among themselves, which subsequently transformed from many branches and interpretations into the international Gestuno language. He and his alphabet are based on hand gestures, facial expressions and various turns of the body. Let's take a closer look at this language.

Where can you learn gestuno

Zhestuno was not popular in Russia and there were only 3 sign language interpreters per 100 deaf and dumb in Russia, while in the West there are 30 such people. Amendments to the Disability Protection Act in 2012 helped develop sign language. In addition to obtaining official status, training began in the relevant institutions for the training and retraining of interested people. As a result, the percentage of those wishing to learn gestuno has increased dramatically..

There are many ways to learn gestuno. One of them is that training is carried out in special classes. You can get the necessary knowledge in the following ways:

In deaf and dumb communities in your city, where free classes are provided for everyone. A few months will help to study the basic aspects of gestology and test the existing knowledge in a practical way.
It is not uncommon for institutes and colleges to have a sign language subject in their curricula. Most often these are the specialties of linguistics and sociology. Those who are or plan to be students can get acquainted with gestuno for free.
If you could not find free courses, then there are professional paid courses that are held on the basis of institutes, medical centers and special schools for the deaf and dumb.

Having learned about the places where gestuno is taught, let's move on to the structure of teaching the language of the deaf and dumb.

The structure of learning the language of the deaf and dumb

There are 3 levels of gestuno mastering with the following skills:

At level 1, for all beginners, the basics, the alphabet, the norms of vocabulary with practical exercises are understood;
Level 2 is suitable for those who already have basic skills and want to acquire the ability to translate from gesture to normal;
And already the 3rd level allows you to improve your skills in linguistics and study translation in depth in a synchronous and sequential form.

Each level lasts 3 months or 50 academic hours. At the end of the course you will have a special certificate confirming your level. However, it should not be regarded as evidence of the qualifications of a sign interpreter, for which you need to pass a special commission. You can try to pass it after the second course.

How to learn a deaf and dumb language yourself

In addition to the methods listed above, there is an opportunity to study gestuno with the help of a self-instruction manual. The following resources will help here:

Websites to help learn gestuno, the most popular "City of Signs". A lot of useful information can be found on social networks, where specialized Gestuno groups are located. With their help, theory and practice are worked out together with like-minded people.
Especially for mobile devices, applications with alphabets and pictures in sign language are created. It is enough to download the program and work with the necessary information in your free time.
Books are a great help in learning zhestuno, but only for those who are ready to put in extra effort in their studies and endure. After all, there will not be a teacher nearby who will give clues. This means that it will take more time to analyze the material.
A good option in this case is videos with teachers' speeches, but no one will correct you. The main advantage is that the material is diverse, understandable and clearly explained.

Each person independently chooses one way or another. But most people, due to lack of time, prefer to learn sign language on their own.

An example of a video lesson on learning sign language.

Starting self-study

There is one feature in the study of gestuno: I often confuse it with the image of individual letters with my hands. Dactylology is used for proper names, for example, cities, names of people, places, or for a word without a special gesture. This is important to consider when starting classes.

After choosing a specific option for self-study, you need to find information resources and choose the best ones for your level.

The first step is to learn the alphabet. Having gained confidence in the dactyl alphabet, you can switch to non-verbal sign language. Plan classes based on specific difficulty levels. Gradually you will improve your own skills in gesture.

The most effective option that allows you to learn a language is to communicate with a native speaker. Even self-study involves the search for an interlocutor. Thanks to this, you will be able to competently express your thoughts and begin to understand the thoughts of a person.

Gestuno is by no means the easiest language to learn. In addition, it is easy to confuse it with the dactyl alphabet. But after a certain time, you can achieve significant success. The main thing is not to forget about training and supplement theoretical knowledge with practice. Sign language is no more difficult than a foreign language. We wish you to gain strength and patience, because after that you will be able to get the desired result!

Video

You will find the first sign language lesson in this video.

When you meet a deaf person, you need to introduce yourself in such a way that he understands you. 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 - the deaf of different countries are explained in different ways. For example, you can find a list of resources dedicated to Russian sign language.

Steps

Introduce yourself in American Sign Language

Make the gesture "hi" ("hello"). The palm is open, fingers together. Raise your hand to your head, pointing your thumb to your temple, and slightly move it to the side, as if saluting.

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

Make a "my" gesture. Place your hand on your chest as if you were taking an oath of allegiance. Lightly pat your chest a couple of times.

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

Show your name with dactyl alphabet. Use the American Fingerprint Alphabet to spell your name. Keep your hand in front of you in a stable position. Show letters at a steady pace: fluidity is more important than speed.
- If you want to show both the first and last names, pause briefly 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 the name "Emma"), instead move your hand slightly to the side to show the second of the same letters without changing the position of the fingers.
Learn to show everything together. Practice flowing the whole phrase: "Hi, my name _____" ("Hi, my name is _____"). The words must go in that order.

Use body language to convey emotions. Body language and facial expressions are extremely important when you communicate with American Sign Language. Simply gesturing without changing facial expressions or posture is like speaking in a monotone and without the slightest emotion, and it will be much more difficult for people to carry on a conversation with you.
- When you show your name, try to look friendly. Smile a little, open your eyes a little wider. By the time you make the "my" gesture, your head should be tilted slightly in understanding. Look at the person you are talking to.
Add your sign name (optional). Sign names, which will be discussed below, are usually not required when meeting. If you are formally introducing yourself, you usually only need to show your name in the dactyl alphabet. If necessary, you will call the sign name later, in more informal communication. However, if you are being introduced informally, such as a close friend introducing you to his friends, you can introduce yourself like this: "Hi, my name (sign name), (spell name), (sign name)."

Get a sign name in American Sign Language
1. Start with the dactyl alphabet. As long as you don't have a sign name, you can introduce yourself by spelling your regular name. To get started, learn the signs of the dactyl alphabet using our website or videos on the Internet. Putting your name together from these signs is easy: just show it letter by letter. Practice until you can do it at a normal pace, keeping your hand in front of you and not changing its position.
  
  Learn what sign names are. A sign name is a word that was made especially for you. There are no special names in American Sign Language: there is no sign that would mean "Mary" or "Alexander", so each Mary or Alexander will have its own special sign name. Therefore, read about the meaning of sign names and how they are usually given.
  
  Have a sign name given to you by someone in the deaf community, if possible. When an adult, respected member of the community gives you a sign name, it means that you are accepted into their ranks. For a person who is not a 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 for yourself.
  - You can come up with a gesture that is too complicated or a gesture that violates the rules of the language (you don’t want to be called, for example, Zzxskbub?).
  - You may randomly select a gesture that means a rude or indecent word.
  - Someone in the community already has the same sign name.
  - Your sign name may match the sign name of a famous person (what would your new American acquaintances think if you introduced 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 himself.
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 sign names are like. Here is one common way to create such a name. Fold one hand in the shape of the dactyl alphabet letter that begins your name. Tap it a couple of times on a point on your body—usually your forehead, cheek, chin, shoulder, or chest. Another option is to move the hand between two adjacent points or move it back and forth in the "neutral space" in front of the chest, at a short distance from it.
  
  Use a descriptive gesture. Gesture 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. Signed languages use visual grammar, the possibilities of which are limited by the position of the fingers, the position of the hands in space and their movements. If you haven't taken American Deaf Language courses or haven't spoken it for a long time, the name you come up with may not look like a word at all.
  
  Think of a hybrid sign name. This is the third and final type of gesture names: a gesture indicating a physical characteristic in which the fingers are folded into the first letter of your name. This type is very popular in deaf community circles, although some believe that this is a modern invention that comes from hearing people and does not correspond to the tradition of naming signs. It is possible that a person from the deaf community will give you a hybrid name. However, if you choose to come up with such a name yourself, your attempt may be regarded as even more rude and impolite than if it was a name of a different kind.