In past centuries there was no written form of what mankind spoke and signed, but that is no longer the case. Today, various written forms exist for the different spoken languages in the world, just as sign Writing exists for ASL. Understanding Sign Writing and the use of writing in learning a new language are among the highlights of this article.
Why You need to Write in the New Language that You Are Learning
You have to be willing to participate in as many language learning activities as possible to speed up the learning process when learning a new language. One of these activities is writing in the new language you are learning, and here are some reasons why:
- Writing helps you think. The more you write words, phrases, and sentences in the new language, the more your mind is engaged in the learning process and the more you think about what you are learning.
- As you write in the new language, you become more aware of the grammatical rules that govern the language. Learning such rules by constantly writing will be of benefit to you as you speak the language.
- Writing in the new language serves as a reference for you while you learn. When in doubt about what to say as you communicate with others in the new language, you can always refer back to what you wrote.
- The ability to read and speak a foreign language may not always be sufficient for persons looking for professions in that language. Their writing fluency is usually a requirement that is considered.
It may seem like a slow process, but writing frequently in a language you are learning helps you put what you have learned through reading and listening into practice. This is why writing compositions, essays, and articles is covered in the English language curriculum for kids in schools. It allows them to refine what they learn.
WHAT IS ASL SignWriting?
The writing system that involves using visual symbols to show hand movements and other gestures in American Sign Language (ASL) is known as signWriting. Just as the English alphabets in themselves are of no value except when combined to form words and sentences, that is how the visual symbols used in signWriting are only valuable when combined.
Importance of SignWriting?
As normal writing generally improves the way a language is spoken, signWriting is a useful tool for enhancing communication among the deaf and hard of hearing. A vital part of Deaf education, therefore, is signWriting. This is majorly because some of these people struggle to fluently read in the common language that is being used by their hearing counterparts. Below are other reasons why the signWriting cause is championed:
- SignWriting is a good avenue to preserve the rich history of Deaf communities. It gives ASL and other sign languages a voice in the mainstream hearing society that deals majorly with spoken languages.
- SignWriting enables deaf families whose first language is ASL the chance to read and write in their native tongue.
Literacy is typically defined as the ability to read and write. For those who are hard of hearing and deaf; their ability to signWrite indicates that they are literate. Nobody ever claimed that being literate requires being able to read and write in English.
- Different sign languages are signWritten differently, so signWriting gives a way to compare different sign languages.
Some Tips for Learning a New Language Through Writing
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Translate As Many Words as You Can
In writing in a new language that you are learning, write down as many words as you can in the new language. Keep in mind that you are only writing down individual words, not phrases or sentences. However, it would be preferable if you wrote the words as you came across them instead of trying to write them down in alphabetical order. This is not a dictionary, it is only a collection that will spice up your language learning.
Write Shorter Phrases and Sentences As You Advance.
Now that you may have a large list of beneficial words, continue your language learning by writing brief phrases and sentences in the order in which you find yourself using them.
Utilize A Dictionary
Today, practically all languages have their dictionaries. The same is true with ASL. In learning a new language, you should not rely solely on using the dictionary. Instead, as you write, consult it after you must have completed some writing activities on your own. You will appreciate finding the mistakes you must have made while writing if you do it this way.
Introduce the Language Punctuation
Well-written sentences in a different language are those that can be read by someone fluent in that language. This is typically true for spoken language, thus learning to use different types of punctuation in your sentences is a solid indication of a good learning process when learning a new language through writing. For ASL, most of the punctuation applied is usually embedded in facial expressions.
Write With Others
Don’t work alone. Allow people to see and read what you have written while you do the same for them. Considering that there are many benefits to learning in groups, writing with people who are learning the same new language as you can be a great source of inspiration for you to keep learning the language correctly.
Conclusion
As you utilize several techniques to help you learn ASL, you must remember to be patient with yourself because the journey toward becoming proficient in ASL is not an easy one. Writing a language as one of the techniques for new language learning is usually as mentioned earlier seen as being a slow unproductive process, but a proper examination of its advantages makes it undeniably effective in the long run. Various online materials are available to help you with questions about signwriting. You will be surprised by what you will learn about writing ASL.
The SignBee Academy has various ASL learning resources to help you learn ASL.
Thumbnail Photo Credit to: Image by storyset on Freepik
