Anyone know Auslan (australian sign language)

[Stopthatsnake]

I'd just thought id see if there was anyone on here who knows Auslan... I'm considering learning it as a different language!

Any tips to picking it up?

Things i should focus on more?

Would signing while i speak help me to learn it faster?


I dont know anyone with a hearing impairment but i just thought it would be something that will expose me to different people and possibly help me (and maybe someone else) out later on in life!

 

[Defective]

i got the print out from my sister and practicing within the deaf community will help...try this site http://www.auslan.org.au i found it useful

 

[varanus]

Definitely considering Auslan for my line of work. I reckon Auslan should be included in the language classes at High school.

 

[Stopthatsnake]

Yeah i looked at that site! It will prove useful! Im going to do a course in it through these guys below! I dont have enough faith in my ability to learn by myself... i wouldnt want to be the signing equivalent of an ignorant tourist reading from a book in his native tongue

All you need to know about DEN courses...

 

[Tildy]

Im learning Makton (Is Auslan variation for disable kids) and I highly reccomend it. My main tip is to use it all u can. Practice the signs at home and then use them when you are speaking. See if you can get a friend on board cause then you can talk to each other and it will be alot easier to pick it up. I use signs all through the day with the kids and I had the 18mnth olds using about 25 signs. They have learnt more now.

 

[Stopthatsnake]

Awesome! Ill have to book a course when i get some free time!

 

[gillsy]

A friend of mine teachers Auslan in Cairns as they Aboriginal and Torrest Straight Islander people have a high level of deafness (sorry if that's not said PC)

I know a few but most of what he's taught me is rude. I know lizard and snake plus a few others.

 

[Stopthatsnake]

Im looking to learn it as a second language... I'm never going to use a foreign language for a long period of time but i feel that this may actually be useful in the future!

 

[shell477]

I am going to learn it once Ive finished my current course. I already know the alphabet (called fingerspeak) which is used is something like 10% of when a person is speaking in Auslan.

The website Lambert gave you is really useful too, go to the signbank to learn some words, and the fingerspelling practice section is really handy to keep up to speed too.

 

[Crystal..Discus]

Auslan translators are highly sought after, with jobs within the government going for around 80k+ a year. They also head hunt you.

 

[shell477]

I want to learn it because I am heading in to community work, but I love the idea of being able to stop and have a conversation with somebody who normally has to go about their business not really communicating with anyone... Imagine how much that would just make their day...

 

[Stopthatsnake]

i should find some other people who sign and hang out with them... that would probably help me progress faster

 

[shell477]

You could do some volunteer work in a deaf community or service while you learn the course, that would help...

Nothing like being thrown in the deep end to force you to learn quicker...

 

[Stopthatsnake]

Yeah i could but i dont have the time at the moment... i think ill just do the basic courses atm followed by the sign only bbq and retreat and maybe ill meet a few people who i can sign with

 

[bigi]

i employed a hearing impaired person a few years ago.
i worked closely with him and made an effort to learn as much as i could
its really easy mate, if you have someone to practice with that is, and someone to show you.
what interested me was that the hearing impaired do manufacture their own signs, so not everything they sign is in a book and he didnt even know some signs from books i learnt on my own.
i found it great fun and interesting, like talking in stealth

 

[Stopthatsnake]

Interesting... i guess it makes sense that they make up signs

 

[hotreps]

Makaton is what we use for the adults and Auslan is the one for the kids. both r pritty much the same but just remember signs vary between each state. so look it up for your state and also most people will use sign 1 in most cases were there aew 2 signs for the one word or saying. i found starting of with the alphabet is the easiest way. my daughter and i sign to each other when one cant talk to anyone and the other translates the message, we have fun with it

 

[Stopthatsnake]

Are you an interpreter Hotreps? I think that would be handy to communicate with my brothers in sign language...

Isn't Makaton a more simplified version of sign language while auslan is a language all on its own with grammatical direction?

Do correct me if im wrong... i only have what i have see on the web!

 

[killimike]

I'm an Auslan interpreter. I think it's great that people are interested in learning Auslan as a second language!

There are short community courses run one day a week for a term at different places in Sydney. There are also the proper certificates 2,3 and 4 and the diploma by the Deaf Society of NSW. I used to do a bit of teaching with them. And then there is TAFE, probably only Blacktown and North Sydney still.

It helps heaps when you are learning to get in with deafies and sign regularly. Try the deaf clubs once a month at Burwood and Parramatta. There are also some auslan student groups that pop up sporadically. Deaf churches, mostly pentecostal or catholic or JW, if you are so inclined.

IMHO, if you get using the language to communicate, that helps heaps. It's also helpful if you can decouple signing from speaking, that way it's easier to learn to sign naturally, rather than signing in english word order.

I have nothing to do w Makaton, but I think they have recently changed their name to Key Signing Australia or some such. It's a simplified system of signing the important words in simple spoken English sentences to help kids with intellectual impairment etc to understand, so the name change makes sense. They originally borrowed signs from British Sign Language, then changed over to Auslan signs.

Auslan - Signbank is a good dictionary, but as w any dictionary, it can't show you the language in action. There are some interesting clips on youtube, but there are many more in American Sign Language, but if you search for Auslan you'll find a few.

 

[LullabyLizard]

My best friend and I know the alphabet in Auslan - it comes in handy when we're not allowed to talk in school I would love to learn it as a second language