I Saw the Sign

My first introduction to Nicaraguan sign language was the same day I learned that the letter ‘T’ in ASL is actually a vulgar sign in Nicaragua, and that there are a few other differences between the manual alphabets in Nicaragua and back in the states. I was trying to spell (in sign language) my name for this eight year old girl, but when I got to the ‘T’ the look on her face told me something was wrong.

When I started my sign language classes at the school, I didn’t understand at first why my teacher wouldn’t open the door when somebody knocked. After the knocking happened four or five times, I remembered that my teacher was deaf. Duh. I guess I would have ignored the knocking also.

I’ve had a few incidences like that (when I forget that deaf people can’t hear) and I continue to talk to them as if they can. Well, sort of. Since sign language is basically an abbreviation of written and spoken language, I tend to reduce my words to just basic verbs, and in the wrong tenses. Luckily, they can’t hear my twisted Spanish, so I’m OK until an oyente comes around.

I started learning sign language by making my way through Nicaragua’s sign language dictionary, which contains about 200 pages. My teacher and some of the students helped me. After a few weeks I decided to really test my knowledge of sign language by picking a book from the library to translate. The book of choice was Curious George. With a little help, I was able to sign my way through the first adventure of Jorge el curioso and his friend, the man with the big yellow hat. Next on the list- Jorge el Curioso Monta en Bicicleta. ¡Qué emoción!