Is sign language easy to learn (for a non deaf person)?

Answer 1

Probably, although how can anyone really answer that?

It's 'need' versus 'want', I suppose... is it easier running a mile for pleasure or t' escape someone who is trying t' hurt you?

I'd like to learn sign language, there are different kinds (ASL, BSL & so on - many differing widely)...

I'd like to do some software that made learning it easier...

Report by mail any cool software you've found, if that's not too much to ask... :)

K (antiparanoid)

Answer 2

It is a language, and learning any language is hard. Some people pick it up quicker than others. I picked up on it rather quickly, but I tried teaching my mother, and she could only handle learning 3 letters a day. This was 5 months ago and she still can't even do the whole alphabet (I'm pretty sure she is at the extreme end). I've been signing for a year and a half and I am not completely fluent at it. I can hold a conversation with a Deaf person, but I can't really interpret well. Other people can interpret quite well in under a year.

If you really want to get good, you have to take a class (contrary to popular belief, you cannot learn sign language to any real degree of fluency from a book), and you MUST get involved in the Deaf community. Even if you can't take a class, if you just go to some Deaf events, you will start learning it (although a class is the fastest way to learn). I really hope you start signing, it really is a wonderful language.

Answer 3

The basics are easy to pick up, but ASL is a real language, not just visual English (except SEE, which is not that common) so to be fluent will take time.

You should be able to learn the manual alphabet in an hour or two and some basic signs as well. It's slow, but would allow you to communicate with any deaf person.

A nice chart of the manual alphabet can be found at:
http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/cedir/kidsweb/amachart.html
and you can learn more on this site:
http://deafness.about.com/cs/deafculture/a/deafculture101.htm and the rest of the About.com deafness pages

Answer 4

Yes, very easy. Go to your local library and check out a sign language book. Start with the alphabet. Practice your spelling in sign language alphabet by spelling out road signs as you sit at a stop light, or just by spelling things you see. This gets you comfortable with the alphabet. Then move on to the common words you use daily. Everytime you say a certain word also sign it. It soon becomes like second nature. Children can easily learn signs, my son could sign before he could talk. It's really quite fun! The best advice I could give is to practice it alot. Don't just talk with your voice, use your hands too.

Answer 5

yes actually, it is quite simple to learn but tough to master as with most languages.

my mum had a deaf child as a student and she learnt it in a week or so, I learnt it too but since i havent had the chance to use it in years I have no clue what is what nowdays

also there are several variations on it even within australian not to mention the hundreds more there must be in the world.

I had the same problem with japanese- I learnt it for 4 years didnt use it for the next 8 years and now all i remember is the swear word....

Answer 6

I learned fingerspelling and some basic signs very quickly. I can do a little bit of sign and I can keep up to an extent, but I would like to learn more.

Answer 7

sign language is not greater complicated to verify than the different language, nevertheless it does require tremendously good instruction manual dexterity. one element you would be able to desire to comprehend. there are a number of distinctive sign languages. the united statesa.has 2, Signed English, and American sign Language. Signed English is in simple terms indications for English words, and it follows an analogous be conscious orders as spoken English. American sign Language (ASL) replaced into progressed based on the sign language used between close by American tribes. it incredibly is a distinctive language and has distinctive grammatical regulations than English. different international places have their very own sign languages. look up close by colleges for the deaf on your section. Many grant instructions for the listening to additionally. inspite of each little thing, it incredibly is complicated for them to verify our languages, yet greater handy for us to verify theirs.

Answer 8

Yes, some of it is very easy; other parts are difficult. Like everything in life, practice makes it easier.

Answer 9

I don't know but I am looking forward on learning it too.

Answer 10

not really, just have to remember to practice it alot.