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Scroll down the page to see this article signed by Jen in BSL, or click here!
So, I’ve poured water over my head on Facebook, and seen everyone else do it too, coming to the conclusion that we deaf people are really quite bonkers.
(I know the water tipping thing was started by a hearing woman in New Zealand, and had nothing at all to do with deafness, but in the end, it was certainly embraced by British deaf people – and some from other countries too!)
Watching so many videos of deaf people signing their nominations and then drenching themselves was really quite amazing. For me, it showed how powerful and brilliant sign language can be.
To watch Jen signing her article in BSL, click play below!
It was especially great because it’s so easy to upload videos to the internet nowadays, but I know that lots of deaf people don’t do it because they’re not very confident about their signing skills and don’t think they’ll be “good enough”. Sigh.
The water tipping was a great leveller. It made us all equal; it stopped people being embarrassed, because no matter how they signed, well… we were all getting wet, innit.
I do find it sad that so many deaf people don’t express themselves in sign language online because they’re worried they’ll get criticised, so they make do with typing stuff in English instead… or they just don’t say anything at all.
In the same way, I’ve noticed that interpreters who have their own websites don’t usually upload BSL videos.
It’s rather strange seeing BSL/English interpreters’ sites just in English! Some interpreters get deaf people to translate their sites for them, which is nice, but quite ironic, no?
And, in case you’re wondering, I don’t think I’m a marvellous signer at all. I’ve simply been uploading videos for years, so I’ve become used to it and developed a thick skin.
After all, if my BSL is good enough to use generally, like in conversations with real people, surely it’s good enough for the internet?
I know that most deaf people prefer to see SOME signing rather than none at all, so if there’s something you want to say, why not have a go?
Even if you’re “quite SSE” or can’t sign much, it’s still worth trying, in my opinion. We deaf people can usually adapt well to each other and work out what other deaf people are saying. It’s one of our many secret skills!
It’s worth a go, honestly.
And yes, I know it’s important that we work towards high standards of BSL, too. Remember, though, I’m not talking about signing in court or health settings… this is just about Facebook!
Or why not even send a video to Limping Chicken?! Let the power of the water bucket continue…
Jen Dodds is a Contributing Editor for The Limping Chicken. When she’s not looking after chickens or children, Jen can be found translating, proofreading and editing stuff over at Team HaDo Ltd (teamhado.com). On Twitter, Jen is @deafpower.
The Limping Chicken is the UK’s deaf blogs and news website, and is the world’s most popular deaf blog.
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Natalya D
June 7, 2015
Ideas for sign vocab lookup would be great in comments.
I already have:
UCL’s BSL Sign Bank http://bslsignbank.ucl.ac.uk/
Sign BSL website and apps http://www.signbsl.com/sign/
SignStation http://www.signstation.org (most signs seem to be in signbsl now)
The Dictionary of British Sign Language / English which is notable for what words it doesn’t have (I’m keeping a list at the back) known in our household as the Bricktionary cos it’s so heavy.
What other good reliable sources of BSL online dictionaries are there that I could look English words up for BSL or check meanings?
Hartmut
June 8, 2015
If sign language has a way to be written, then writing don one’s sign comments or monologues would be easier. You can continually edit your on signing like you coul do in English. Although I am more fluent in ASL, I prefer write in English out of convenience. To videotape own signing is more of an effort, because I will see frequent restarts and self-corrections, which I cannot edit out, but to do the taping again from the start.
greg clements (@gregclementsUK)
June 8, 2015
Great post – I agree completely. Video is so powerful, it’s a wasted opportunity NOT to, especially with such a visually important skill as signing.
We’ve just started using videos to explain what we do and to share our customers’ opinions (I’m an audiologist based in Glasgow) and we’ve found that it doesn’t need to be as slick as TV, viewers actually quite like to see a little mistake or two. They’re also pretty forgiving of a camera wobble or a bit of background noise.