Learn ASL

Season 33, episode 17 of the hit animated sitcom The Simpsons entitled “The Sound of Bleeding Gums” is outstanding for its use of American Sign Language ( ASL ) (although the characters have only 4 fingers), and for its casting of Deaf actor John Autry II to be the voice of the Deaf character Monk. Autry became the first Deaf performer to voice a character on the show through this role. The ep. 17 additionally features a few other Deaf performers, like comedian Kathy Buckley and 3 youngsters, Kaylee Arellano, Ian Mayorga, and Hazel Lopez from No Limits, a nonprofit organization dedicated to deaf kids. This fact reinforces the impact of “The Sound of Bleeding Gums” as a turning point in US entertainment history for the Deaf community. Concern for Deaf People and Deaf Culture “The Sound of Bleeding Gums” installment of The Simpsons demonstrates that its creators care about dealing with real-life issues on the show, especially regarding people of different communities like the Deaf. For i...

The International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) offers a chance for individuals to maintain and also protect the linguistic identity and cultural diversity of Deaf individuals as well as other sign language users around the globe. Countries emphasized the global oneness engendered through the use of sign languages during the 2022 observance, which featured the theme “Sign Language Unites Us.” Through the celebration, Deaf organizations, governmental agencies, as well as civil institutions continued to promote and recognize national sign languages as critical to preserving their respective countries’ distinct linguistic environments.  The next sentences show the importance of International Day of Sign Languages for deaf individuals and society as a whole. Sign language is actually the only means of communication for the Deaf and those who are not able to speak. Having a special day that recognizes their distinct verbal medium is thus encouraging and helpful to such groups. The IDSL ...

  If your desire was to learn American Sign Language (ASL) in the 1800’s fewer educational organizations could offer more value than Oklahoma State University. Oklahoma State University (OSU), founded on December 25, 1890 as Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in Stillwater, OK, has evolved into one of the foremost land-grant universities in the United States, thanks to its rich traditions and progressive academic culture. In the fall of 2021, OSU made its American Sign Language (ASL) major into a bachelor’s degree program, a crucial development for students who want to study signing and possibly teach ASL in the US or around the world. The move was also a great leap forward for the D/HoH community, which has long been under-resourced by both the public and private sectors. Previously, ASL was only offered as a minor at OSU. Dr. Woodall-Greene, who was then an adjunct professor close to receiving her doctorate, applied for the position. Dr. Woodall-Greene was selected as ...

Joel Barish hosted the fourth DeafNation World Expo & Conference at the Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Aug. 1-4, 2022. About 15,000 Deaf individuals from all over the world, including Deaf celebrities just like Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Renca Dunn, and Wawa attended the event. There were fourteen sponsors and then three partners. Sponsors included OmniBridge, Deaf Bible Society, Global VRS, ZVRS, Purple, T-Mobile Accessibility, Tive, Heart Cruises, Sorenson, SComms, CSD, Convo, Nagish, and Ava.. National Black Advocates, RID, and CEASD were the collaborators. There were roughly one hundred booths and 45 shows. There were even several Deaf businesses offering t-shirts, arts, as well as other stuff. There was also a Kick-Off Party with Wawa 10th Anniversary at Chateau Rooftop. One particular participant said she was surprised by the number of people who joined the event. Another deaf participant said it was his 2nd visit to DeafNation Expo and he spotted numerou...

Kamala Harris is given an American Sign Language sign name after she got elected as president Joe Biden’s vice president.  She is an American politician and also attorney who's the 49th vice president of the United States Of America. She's the first female vp and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the 1st African American and also first Asian American vice president. The name sign was made by a team of Black and Indian Deaf women, Smita Kothari, Ebony Gooden, Kavita Pipalia, and Candace Jones, who worked with one another for a couple of weeks. This particular women’s group worked together to come up with a list of possible sign names and then sent out a public survey to the Deaf community at large to gather their votes from February 1 to 5, 2021.  The Importance of Name Sign Deaf culture consists of a number of valued traditional aspects that are major to the Deaf community, and one of them is the “name sign.” A name sign is a sign that's only ...

How cool would it be if artificial intelligence (AI) could learn American Sign Language ? Well, there's a student in India named Priyanjali Gupta who made an AI model that turned sign language into English. Gupta was a third-year engineer from India’s Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT). She made an Artificial intelligence model that was able to translate American Sign Language into English in real-time. According to an Inquirer.net article, “She invented the AI model using Tensorflow object detection API that translates hand gestures using transfer learning from a pre-trained model named ssd mobilenet.” When Gupta signed basic signs such as Hello, I Love You, Thank You, Please, Yes, and No, the AI was able to translate those to English.  But, regardless of how incredible this cutting edge invention is, a question still remains... Is learning American Sign Language from an AI a good idea? While it is amazing that individuals come up with inventions such as AIs that are able to tr...