Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been focusing on the following language goals:
- increase my speed of fingerspelling and comprehension of fast fingerspelling
- express more complex ideas by learning directional and spatial modifiers, as well as learning more complex syntax
- communicating with my language partner only using sign, and using fingerspelling to ask about words I don’t know
- learn vocabulary about interests and personal attributes
- learn general patterns in ASL morphology
These goals have allowed me quite a bit of breadth in communication as a beginner. Fingerspelling especially gives me agency to learn vocabulary without switching into English or Spanish. Because there are so many patterns, there’s often opposite meanings that I am able to deduce through learning one sign. If I learn boyfriend, I already know girlfriend will be the same sign from the chin. If I know driving, I know how to sign backing up by adding a spatial modifier.
This intuitive quality has also helped with my comprehension of sign. My language partner saw my dog acting hyper in the background and signed YOUR DOG PLAY with an excited gesture. The way he signed PLAY was different than I had seen before, and it perfectly matched her energetic demeanor.
Outside of meetings with my language partner, I’ve been using SLAIT and Lingvano for vocabulary building. SLAIT uses AI to detect correct signage, which has been helpful feedback. Lingvano, I feel, does a great job at teaching nuance in sign, such as facial expressions and modifiers. I’ve also been making an effort to follow Deaf creators to both watch how they sign and hear more about their experiences
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