ASL Learning Log

Today we're going to go through some content from Vicars.

Earlier today, I watched a couple of videos on FB Reels.

Two that stick out were both from Atomic Hands.

First Video

The Hubble Telescope

Notes:

• Conceptualizing the ideas of East Coast-West Coast America.
• Note the different sign used for 'takes pictures of' since it's a satelite (flat O)
• This signer emphasizes STILL by signing it downwards rapidly.

Vocab

• Telescope
• Space
• Galaxy

Second Video

Fingerprints

Notes:

• MATCH as in the interlocking one, used to indicate that an almost exact matchp
• Lots of ways the signer suggests ideas about grip and friction

Vocab

• Fingerprints
• Identical
• Human
• Sweat

First Lecture

I figured I would do some Vicars today. Starting off with St. Patrick's Day (ASL vocabulary), posted 9 months ago.

Notes

• Lettuce in context: Cabbage
• Beef can be fingerspelled
• Feast: lots of moku
• movement often reduces for compounds.
• International sign for ireland has a variation where it's like a harp being played
• australia old sign used to look like ireland
• kidnap/seize, signed with a full grabbing S-hand, while the V-hand can also be used for recuiting. trafficking puts this idea underground (a nondominant flat hand)
• the leprechaun sign is like big elf ears, can actually conflict with the concept of 'elf', in which case an initialized version of 'Angel' can be used.
• "Good luck" could be signed with the signed for 'lucky' but it's more idiomatic to fingespell luck with the same gusto that you would sign initialized BACK.
• March fingerspelled gets a mutated c-h, and sometimes the m is also mutated.
• Pirate is also the sign for 'raiders'
• can do rainbow one-handed by glistening the five-hand a bit.
• signing a 'pot of gold,' you should indicate that the pot is full of something (lest you imply that it's a pot made out of gold)
• Rebel is upright, resist, is more like pushing something that's directly in front of you (pushing on you, even)

Vocab

• St Patrick's Day
• Bar
• Lettuce
• Corn
• England
• Conflicts
• Ireland/Iowa
• Ireland (International)
• Potato
• Mashed Potato
• Garlic
• Bacon
• Dimwit
• Australia
• Kidnap
• Human Trafficking
• Leprechaun
• Conservative
• Liberal
• Republican
• Democrat
• Belt
• Lucky
• Honeymoon
• Mischevious
• Pirate
• Rebel
• Resist
• Fake
• Sheep
• Pie
• Snake
• Alcohol

Third Video

By MJ Grant on FB Reels, Who doesn't love to wake-up happy?

Really need to get better at one-handed signing reception. I'm very bad at it.

Notes

• Her 'emabrassed' looks a lot like LPSL kulupu- not as much up and down/at and angle as what Joanna's Embarassed on Handspeak.
• In the sentence, '#TAYLOR SWIFT SING+agent IX ME FAN ME LOVE #HER', the 'her' really sneaks up on you. Why fingerspell in this moment? Curious behind the grammatical reasons.
• One handed CHAMP...
• Unsure how the R-hand thrusted to show a promise, mouthing 'Best Friends' is glossed.
• Ok so in another sentence, MJ does 'AND #SHE SIGNING". I think the fingerspelled pronoun is a form of emphasis!
• She fingerspells upset
• Forcing yourself back to sleep
• Day dreaming/lost in thought is like VISION many times

Vocab

• Embarrassing
• Singer
• Ruminate

First Video

By Atomic Hands on FB Reels, Halloween Balloon Experiment

Notes

• Note that the signer does experiment's initialisation a claw.
• 'Some' conceptually translated as 'other'
• 'Pour' as in 'pour just a little bit' uses G for smallness
• Baking Soda is fingerspelled here
• MELON AND SPIRIT + mouthings and context = PUMPKIN AND GHOST
• Chemical reaction, signed as Chemistry + some kind of two pointers crossing as in a intersection. PO self.
• CO2 signed as CO + the hand lowers to sign 2 (PO out, not self, oddly)
• Penultimate sentence has a thing like see-good? Can't identify it

Vocab

• Balloon
• Experiment
• Cup (Measurement)
• Vinegar
• Tablespoon
• Melon

Second Video

By Deafpoetrylovers on FB Reels, One-Word Collaborative Poetry

Notes

• Well-known signed as #well+KNOW
• Compile/Distill is conceptualized as ABBREVIATE
• Kindness conceptualized as Heart Touch + Progress?? No. It's just a two part sign.
• Never seen this version of flexible, but it does kinda look like 'weak' and the more general flexible has a baby?
• This version of 'film' also is a mix of the two variations presented on Handspeak
• 'Performance' here is also something that I've never seen before. It kinda looks like it combines several other concepts to convey a certain kind of awe? Unsure if those are eyes watching?
• Fascinating. The artist who compiles all of these signs into a narrative form opts to use more traditional forms of 'Performance' and 'Film.' She also changes the initialized VALUE to CHERISH.
• HA! I totally missed the note in the bottom that says 'You may see them using different sign languages because they come from different countries.' Well, good to know that flexible, film, and performance are likely not signed that way in ASL

Vocab

• Poetry
• Kindness
• Value
• Inspiration

Third Video

By Deaf LEAD on FB Reels, Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Notes

• Domestic Violence is abbreviated to DV
• Emotions signed here with palms oriented to each other.
• Survivor signed as LIFE+AGENT
• 0:26 has a sign that maps onto 'grow', or 'increase,' or 'build-up'. Two U hands tapped a little bit like chair, moving upwards.
• The same signer signs 'cause' as something that looks like 'EXPRESS' to me. Looks like I didn't know CAUSE before. I expected it to look something like because. Toki Pona brain.
• 'Let's break' as in 'let's break the silence' as push down, relegate.
• 24/7 signed as 24 SLASH 7. Slash is a B mimicking the slash down.

Vocab

• Anxiety
• Trauma
• Deserve

Interlude

I watched way more than three videos. The session went for about an hour, ready to take a break now.

I suppose it's time to focus.

I'm going to try to learn ASL, with the intention of being proficient enough to start interpreter school in September. So, about nine months away.

I technically meet the interpreting school's entrance requirements already. However, I don't really feel confident at all. So I'm embarking on a learning journey.

In addition to the studying I do here, I'm going to be attending a weekly 3-hour-long in-person ASL class. Perhaps this blog-within-a-blog-within-a-blog will also house notes from that class.

My Current Language Level

I used to have a bigger vocabulary, but it has since deteriorated. I used to have better signing skills, but they have since deteriorated. I used to have better reception skills, but that too has deteriorated.

I'm forced to rely on fingerspelling. I misuse some ASL signs due to the habits I've picked up in LPSL. And my reception is very, very poor, in nearly every aspect. My fingerspelling reception is also bad.

So the situation is not looking good right now and there is genuine cause for me to be urgent about regaining skills and progressing on my own.

Past, Present, Future

• I first started learning basic ASL from YouTube videos in 2017.
• I enrolled in my first classes in 2021 with the community ASL school. They were all virtual.
  • Spring 2021: ASL 101 (Teacher: CD)
  • Fall 2021: ASL 102 (Teacher: AC)
  • Winter 2022: ASL 103 (Teacher: MW)
  • Spring 2022: ASL 201 (Teacher: AM)
• Around 2021, I learned LPSL and started to teach it to the Toki Pona community.
• 2022-Present, I sought out Deaf people/events probably not more than a dozen times
• 2022-Present, I continue to sign in LPSL on a highly regular basis.
• Presently studying the language more seriously
• Winter 2026, I plan to take ASL 2
• Spring 2026, I plan to take ASL 3
• Summer 2026, I plan to participate in a week-long ASL immersion camp
• Fall 2026, I will potentially enter into the interpreting program
• Winter 2029, I will potentially graduate from the interpreting program

Areas to Focus On

• Vocabulary Building
• Reception Practice
• Courage to go to Deaf events
• Courage to practice in the ASL Discord

I'm going to reserve goal-setting for future reflection sessions. For now, I think I'm going to sit back and just see how I approach learning and integrating this blog into my learning. Most likely, this will take the form of me logging exactly what sources I watch, and exactly what I take from each source. I will set a modest time goal of 10 hours for next week to spend on ASL specifically. We'll see how that goes, and set goals a week from now!