r/asl

So for context: I'm a hearing ASL interpreter.

I found Harbour 's portrayal of an interpreter kind of insulting. The idea that someone who has been signing for a year would be interpreting on the news is absolutely ridiculous. In the US the standards arent the same everywhere, but you have to have some sort of degree and also be registered through the national association which means passing difficult tests. This isnt a profession you can just...jump into. To imply that you can become fluent in ASL AND develop interpreting skills in a year is...really insulting. It makes it seem like ASL is this shallow, easy to learn language. It is not. It is just as complicated to learn as any foreign language.

There is a prevailing cultural assumption that ASL is glorified miming, and interpreters are all family caregivers. We really are trying to prove our profession's legitimacy, so a story like this is aggravating.

The worst part is Harbour does sign like a 1st year student. It's cringey. I know I'm spoiled by the Russian in Heated Rivalry, but it's bad.

I can totally see how they could have approached this as he was going to school *to become* an interpreter. It would account for Harbour's poor skills. It would allow sign to be shown in a more respectful lens. It would also make Carol more sympathetic to the audience, because they would see more of her struggling to help him get through school again

Hello everyone,

I am curious. Is there any good and simple way to sign for "Checkmate" without fingerspelling?

I've found online that you essentially paint the picture and context prior to signing something like "king has fallen. he had nowhere to go". Something I can think of is drawing the check symbol in the air and following up with spelling "mate". I know some people in the community might use the # symbol, but wondering if there is a more known common way of signing this.

Hello, does anyone know of any asl events near st Pete Florida, I really want to meet more people and sign more so I can get better at asl.

I'm a born and raised Wisconsinite living out of state, and I commonly use bubbler instead of drinking fountain or water fountain. One of my friends signs and they asked if in Wisconsin they sign Bubbler instead of Drinking/Water fountain so I'd thought I'd ask here if that translates to ASL or not?

I have videos I have to write down that the sign is saying and it’s a bit of a struggle cuz my teacher is pregnant so it’s a fend for yourself cuz she can’t responded quickly

So, I’ve worked in I/DD support professionally for about a decade and picked up single signs here and there as needed with different people I support. Then, my toddler started learning “baby sign” and this is when my interest really grew and I decided I would properly learn the language and raise my 2 children (2 month old and 20 month old) to be bilingual. This give my kids all the benefits of learning a second language, and gives my signing clients the proper support and respect they deserve.

I started using the Lingvano app and absolutely love it. I’m close to the end of my free trail and debating if I should pay to continue using it. It’s kinda steep for my budget. Is this app worth the money? Are there other cheap or free ways to learn properly? I worry that Reddit and YouTube may not teach ASL as accurately as a structured app like this.

A religious group northwest of NW DC has a small Deaf community that relies on their CODAs for interpreters.

They want to make their events and lectures more accessible, but lack the budget.

Since they and Gallaudet are both on the Red line:

• Are there student programs at Gallaudet that need practicum hours?
• Are there any DMV-based grants that help small non-profits with ASL costs?
• Does anyone know of local agencies or freelancers who do pro-bono or "community rate" work?

The current level of inclusion is good, but it has the potential to do more and make these and other families feel even more included.

Any leads or tips would be greatly appreciated.

I’m going to preface this by saying I am hearing, but have been in college ASL classes for a couple of years now. Deaf professors. I am not fluent, but conversational.

Okay. So. We all know the 6-7 hand movements that have been going around for months.

I was talking to someone (hearing) and they asked me what that gesture could mean in ASL. I said it looks like either “maybe“ or someone making inappropriate gestures (ie: f0ndling someone’s b@lls or bre@sts). They didn’t believe me.

Again I am not fluent, but I could have SWORN I saw a video online of a deaf person claiming 6-7 looks like that inappropriate imagery. and now I’m look all over the internet and can’t find the dang video. (There is no way I’m asking this question to my professor.)

Am I actually crazy? Did I fabricate that? why would I make that up?!

Please help!

Hi... hearing ASL learner here, completed through ASL 7. Question about receptive fingerspelling and gaze management.

[This is a bit of a cumbersome read... thank you for taking the time]

On fingerspell.net I can read FS correctly about 90% of the time at FAST-2 when using foveal gaze on the hand. But with peripheral gaze only, I drop to around 70%... partly because I have low vision and struggle to distinguish closed-form letters like A, T, E, M, N, S in the periphery.

Here's the problem. During normal signing I keep foveal gaze on the signer's face and process the hands peripherally... that works fine. But when they fingerspell, I face a dilemma:

If I stay foveal on the face, I struggle to read the FS because my peripheral vision can't reliably distinguish closed letters.

If I switch to foveal gaze on the hand, I can read more accurately... but the switch itself causes me to miss letters mid-word.

So the issue is twofold: 1) my peripheral vision struggles with closed letters before the switch, and 2) the transition to foveal costs me letters during the switch.

Improving word shape and context recognition is my primary focus... but being able to actually see as much of the word as possible still matters.

Is there a technique for making that foveal switch faster and cleaner... or a way to train peripheral recognition of closed letters specifically?

Any advice appreciated.

Title: Looking for feedback from ASL community on accessibility project

Hey Everyone,

I hope this is the correct place to post this.

I want to build an accessibility demo for the OpenAI x Handshake challenge. The focus is on ASL in streaming/media and how human signing delivers meaning that AI alone cannot.

Before going too far with the build, I wanted to pause and get input from people who actually understand this space.

A few things I’d really appreciate feedback on:

• What are the biggest pain points with ASL accessibility in streaming or video content today?

• Does translating English to ASL gloss to signed video even feel like the right approach, or does that miss the mark?

• What makes something feel “natural” vs robotic in ASL delivery?

• If someone wanted to collaborate with a signer on a small project, what’s the best way to do that respectfully?

Please add any pain points or valuable feedback.

I would love to work with a real signer (not AI-generated signing), so I want to make sure I approach that the right way as well.

If anyone is open to sharing thoughts, I truly appreciate it. If you happen to be open to collaborating, please let me know.

Thank You All 🤗

Hello!!

I’m am a hearing person who is writing a character for a story who is non-speaking, and uses American sign language to communicate. I wanted to check if it would be appropriate for me to have them have sign names for other characters in the story they are very close with, and also just generally check in on if anyone has advice on writing a character who uses ASL! I’m torn between not wanting to be disrespectful on accident or exploring something where it’s not my place to, and also including diversity in my story.

Thanks!

Would anyone be willing to hand draw for me the simplest version of good enough, worthy, important?