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Signing for Dummies
American Sign Language (ASL) is something we've all seen Deaf people use in restaurants, hospitals, airports, and throughout the marketplace. The communication is fascinating to watch; to see people sharing ideas by using handshapes and body language is remarkable in a world so defined by sound."Signing For Dummies" gives you a general understanding of the properties of Sign, as well as an understanding of Deaf culture. Designed to act as an introduction or a refresher, the book focuses solely on ASL. Although certainly not the only form of Sign Language, ASL is the most popular in the Deaf community within the United States.
Categorized by subject, this illustrated guide covers grammar and sentence structure, along with the tools to get you going in basic conversation by knowing how toIntroduce and greet peopleAsk questions and make small talkOrder food and chat with salespeopleHandle medical emergenciesTalk on the phoneGet around town for fun or business
Although "speaking" American Sign Language (ASL) is mostly a matter of using your fingers, hands, and arms, facial expression and body language are important and sometimes crucial for understanding Signs and their meaning. "Signing For Dummies" gets the whole body into the action as the fun-to-read resource exploresSigns that look like what they meanExpression of emotions and feelingsSigning sports and weatherCompass points conversations: Getting or giving directionsDescriptions of where it hurtsDeaf community customs, norms, and culture
Each chapter throughout the book invites you to practice specific Signs in a "Fun & Games" section. Translation guides complement the video CD-ROM, which features demonstrations by ASL Signers and actual conversations in progress - all designed to have you moving your hands, body, and face to convey meaning that reaches way beyond linguistic barriers.
Categorized by subject, this illustrated guide covers grammar and sentence structure, along with the tools to get you going in basic conversation by knowing how toIntroduce and greet peopleAsk questions and make small talkOrder food and chat with salespeopleHandle medical emergenciesTalk on the phoneGet around town for fun or business
Although "speaking" American Sign Language (ASL) is mostly a matter of using your fingers, hands, and arms, facial expression and body language are important and sometimes crucial for understanding Signs and their meaning. "Signing For Dummies" gets the whole body into the action as the fun-to-read resource exploresSigns that look like what they meanExpression of emotions and feelingsSigning sports and weatherCompass points conversations: Getting or giving directionsDescriptions of where it hurtsDeaf community customs, norms, and culture
Each chapter throughout the book invites you to practice specific Signs in a "Fun & Games" section. Translation guides complement the video CD-ROM, which features demonstrations by ASL Signers and actual conversations in progress - all designed to have you moving your hands, body, and face to convey meaning that reaches way beyond linguistic barriers.
- GenresReferenceNonfiction
358 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 2003
20 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 13, 2012
When was the last time you waved 'Hello'? Or flashed a thumb's up or the 'OK' sign? Well, guess what, you were using sign language. American Sign Language is based on several gestures in this country with which we're already familiar, like those I listed above, as well as everyday actions we take such as opening up a book or rocking a baby to sleep. Of course, the majority of signs are more complicated than that, but you get the idea.
As with all other “Dummies” books, Signing for Dummies is broken down into easy-to-understand steps. Chapters are headed with learning goals, a brief explanation of the particular subject, and illustrations of the individual signs which will be used/taught in the chapter. At the end of each chapter, under the heading “Signin' the Sign,” those signs are used in more complex sentences and expressions, allowing the user to put what s/he's learned in context. We start the book with chapters on signing basics such as the alphabet, numbers, and simple expressions, as well as learning about grammar basics, and then progress to signs grouped together by use, in such chapters as “Signing at Home” (furniture, rooms of the house, holidays, etc.), “Asking for Directions,” and “Shopping Made Easy.” In the last part of the books there are chapters about etiquette and the deaf community, the art of interpreting and finding out if you're interested/capable of using your signing skills as an interpreter, and using technology to communicate; there are also lists of tips, ten each, of ways to help you sign like a pro, how to pick up sign quickly, and the most popular deaf expressions. Included with the book is a CD-ROM which shows certain expressions and concepts (marked in the text with a PLAY symbol) acted out, allowing the viewer to sign along with the person on screen.
This isn't a book to make a person fluent in ASL; rather a person will get a rudimentary grasp of the mechanics of the language, enough to allow the reader to start communicating with someone they know who is deaf or let them decide if they'd like to learn ASL in greater depth. There are a few problems I encountered with the book. Firstly, some of the more basic signs don't seem to be covered except in combination or not at all; for example, the sign for 'sun' isn't shown except in larger words such as 'sundress' or 'sunglasses', and the sign for 'moon' isn't in the book at all. Small point, but I still noticed it. Secondly, though each sign is illustrated, showing the actions the hands take, some of the movements for the more complicated signs are hard to understand; it's also hard to understand which movement to start with when beginning the sign. However, these are all minor things. What the book does well is give the reader an idea of the language, a starting point which allows a person to decide if s/he wants to continue with ASL or find something else to study.
As with all other “Dummies” books, Signing for Dummies is broken down into easy-to-understand steps. Chapters are headed with learning goals, a brief explanation of the particular subject, and illustrations of the individual signs which will be used/taught in the chapter. At the end of each chapter, under the heading “Signin' the Sign,” those signs are used in more complex sentences and expressions, allowing the user to put what s/he's learned in context. We start the book with chapters on signing basics such as the alphabet, numbers, and simple expressions, as well as learning about grammar basics, and then progress to signs grouped together by use, in such chapters as “Signing at Home” (furniture, rooms of the house, holidays, etc.), “Asking for Directions,” and “Shopping Made Easy.” In the last part of the books there are chapters about etiquette and the deaf community, the art of interpreting and finding out if you're interested/capable of using your signing skills as an interpreter, and using technology to communicate; there are also lists of tips, ten each, of ways to help you sign like a pro, how to pick up sign quickly, and the most popular deaf expressions. Included with the book is a CD-ROM which shows certain expressions and concepts (marked in the text with a PLAY symbol) acted out, allowing the viewer to sign along with the person on screen.
This isn't a book to make a person fluent in ASL; rather a person will get a rudimentary grasp of the mechanics of the language, enough to allow the reader to start communicating with someone they know who is deaf or let them decide if they'd like to learn ASL in greater depth. There are a few problems I encountered with the book. Firstly, some of the more basic signs don't seem to be covered except in combination or not at all; for example, the sign for 'sun' isn't shown except in larger words such as 'sundress' or 'sunglasses', and the sign for 'moon' isn't in the book at all. Small point, but I still noticed it. Secondly, though each sign is illustrated, showing the actions the hands take, some of the movements for the more complicated signs are hard to understand; it's also hard to understand which movement to start with when beginning the sign. However, these are all minor things. What the book does well is give the reader an idea of the language, a starting point which allows a person to decide if s/he wants to continue with ASL or find something else to study.
March 30, 2020
My granddaughter is deaf/blind & communicates through ASL (American Sign Language) so I wanted a book that could help me communicate better with her. While I taught some very rudimentary sign to all my pre-schoolers & Tykes kiddos, I certainly wouldn't call what I did communicating. This truly is like learning a foreign language &, the older you are, the harder it is. While the actual book was somewhat helpful, the DVD that comes with it did absolutely nothing for me. It was too hard to read the captions under the person explaining the vignettes & watch them signing at the same time (so fast, too) to understand anything. The people doing the "acting" also were difficult to follow & some of the signs they performed didn't resemble what was shown in the book. There were many helpful signs taught in the book like counting, finger spelling, days of the week, & basic words, but the conversations were all very social & geared toward adult conversations re:travel, work, banking, shopping, etc. & for those who could see the signing. With Bella being blind also, communication has to be by touch. I thought this would be a shortcut to learning sign &, while there were helpful items, it is not, perhaps, the best book to learn the info I need to know.
January 10, 2019
I thought that this book gave a good introduction to the world of ASL. It taught the basics like greetings, common saying, places, countries, and holidays. It gave a description of the sign movement, a picture of the sign, and an example sentence which I think all together helped the reader better understand the sign. However the book itself was a little hard to learn from simply because I couldn't clearly see some signs since it is just a picture but I'm sure if you used the disc with it it would be more helpful. In addition it was organised a bit weird in my opinion. The alphabet wasn't the first thing you learned even though I feel like knowing how to finger sign is one of the most basic things should learn how to do if you're going to speak in sign language so I found that a bit peculiar. As a whole, however, I think it was a good first step to take to learn sign language.
February 21, 2025
Definitely a very good book to help you start to learn sign language.
Putting it in practice is the best way of course but this book gives you a great jumping of point. The information is digestible and easy to understand. I really like that the words and phrases you learn are ones that you'll encounter in everyday life.
The author's humour as well makes it really enjoyable and a quick read despite the amount of pages!
Oh! It also has diagrams and "homework" to help you track your progress.
Putting it in practice is the best way of course but this book gives you a great jumping of point. The information is digestible and easy to understand. I really like that the words and phrases you learn are ones that you'll encounter in everyday life.
The author's humour as well makes it really enjoyable and a quick read despite the amount of pages!
Oh! It also has diagrams and "homework" to help you track your progress.
June 8, 2022
Helpful as are most Dummies books.
September 2, 2016
This book acts as a good introduction to ASL. It explains about the language itself, and has many good suggestions and explanations to understanding deaf culture. There are a decent amount of illustrated signs to help one learn about the basics. I liked the game exercises at the end of each chapter.
I liked that they would give an example sentence, then the words of which signs to use and the an illustrated signed sentence. I did not like that when a sentenced was being illustrated, if something was fingerspelled, they did not show the signs for each letter. So if you are reading the signed sentence and trying to guess what it means, you can't because part of the sentence is missing!
As someone who has been studying and practicing ASL for over 2 years, i didn't find this book very helpful. I already knew most of what it tried to teach. But i think it'd be good for someone who already took an ASL class.
I liked that they would give an example sentence, then the words of which signs to use and the an illustrated signed sentence. I did not like that when a sentenced was being illustrated, if something was fingerspelled, they did not show the signs for each letter. So if you are reading the signed sentence and trying to guess what it means, you can't because part of the sentence is missing!
As someone who has been studying and practicing ASL for over 2 years, i didn't find this book very helpful. I already knew most of what it tried to teach. But i think it'd be good for someone who already took an ASL class.
January 8, 2018
nonfiction - ASL
good introduction to some basic signs, but especially word order.
I read through half, then read through the first half again when it started to gel--the text tips are especially helpful (nuances are hard to capture in 2-dimensional drawings) but for best results pair with an ASL dictionary (like an online video dictionary--also good, this free online course), and practice! I didn't try the CD-ROM component, so I can't comment on that, but I liked the book well enough to pass it on to a friend.
good introduction to some basic signs, but especially word order.
I read through half, then read through the first half again when it started to gel--the text tips are especially helpful (nuances are hard to capture in 2-dimensional drawings) but for best results pair with an ASL dictionary (like an online video dictionary--also good, this free online course), and practice! I didn't try the CD-ROM component, so I can't comment on that, but I liked the book well enough to pass it on to a friend.
July 7, 2013
The book was as good as I thought it would be. It had a good chapter on Deaf culture and interpreting (although it could have been a bit more detailed on certain aspects of interpreting, perhaps). My biggest critique on the book was its consistent demonstration on signing "question mark" for questions. In my experience, you sign questions with your facial expression.
November 7, 2015
Very helpful. Most things in it seem to match other reliable sources, except for the question mark after all questions--that's done with facial expression. Some of the pictures showing the signs are horrible and unclear. It needed one standard artist for these, but the changing style makes it impossible to read some of the signs. Most are good, but some just don't show clearly.
May 18, 2010
Somewhat poorly edited. Not very clear.
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October 20, 2014If you'd like to know what I thought of this book, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to discuss it with you.
All the best,
- TB
All the best,
- TB
June 11, 2016
It looks like a useful book. But this is one of those books you have to read several times.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews