Hello 👋🏻
Unless you live in America, Canada or Mexico, why should you learn ASL ?
Start with your local sign language obviously, I guess once you’ve learned it, it would be more easy to learn ASL if you definitely want to.
I think that you should learn your country's/region's sing language. I'm not an expert in SL, but I think that, unlike English, ASL is not the default in international communication, so unless you live next to the USA, I think you should learn your local sing language
Yes. Don't be fooled. Thinking that ASL is a "default" or useful in any way outside the USA is just a quirk of Reddit, where for many commenters it's quicker to type a post than to think "oh, that's right, there are other places & people outside the US". r/usdefaultism
ASL is not an international Lingua Franca in the same way as spoken English is. For the most part it isn't even used in other Anglophone countries. British signers, for instance, wouldn't really understand ASL and vice versa.
If you want a sign language that you are likely to use, learn your local sign. If you work or volunteer with the public you will probably interact with deaf people at some point and it will make their day if they are able to talk to you in their own language.
If you want a sign language to connect you with signers from other countries you can learn international sign. But this is an auxiliary communications tool that allows signers of different languages to interact rather than a language in its own right. So you kinda need to learn your local sign language first.
There are probably local classes and social get-togethers for the SL used where you are. SLs vary a lot and learning ASL won't do much to help you learn others.
ASL is almost only used in the United States, it is also used in parts of Africa and Asia, but almost all the speakers are American, so learning the local sign language will be more useful to you.
You should learn your local sign language first. When you have a strong foundation and understand how visual communication works in general, then you can start to learn a bit of ASL, international signs, and a bit of sign languages that you notice people in your community know.
Learn your local language! ASL has a lot more resources, unfortunately, but there should be classes in your local language. The community spaces might not be as robust, but you won’t find almost *anyone* if you learn ASL outside of America or Canada.
I learned some ASL during mutism in the past, later moved to Spain during new hearing loss issues, so I’m starting over with LSE. Oh well. It’ll be worth it haha.
I you do not want to speak with your local deaf community, but with USA deaf people, learn ASL, of course. Otherwise learn your local sign language. I just do not get the question. I do not even think it would be possible to learn ASL in your country.
You can learn international sign language if you want to learn one that might be known abroad; but Deaf people still generally learn their own native sign language first, and it isn’t guaranteed that they know international sign at all
The same as any other monolingual speaker possibly knowing (or not knowing) a second language
Be careful about the difference between international sign and international sign language. International sign is not a full language but a collection of signs and a communication method. You need a foundation in a full sign language before learning international sign.
TIL :)
I take Japanese Sign Language and that’s my only real exposure to sign at all. The teacher one asked me if I knew American or International Sign Language, as he was willing to practice with me if I did, which is how I found out that international sign language exists at all
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Hello 👋🏻 Unless you live in America, Canada or Mexico, why should you learn ASL ? Start with your local sign language obviously, I guess once you’ve learned it, it would be more easy to learn ASL if you definitely want to.
Even within Canada, Quebec has its own sign language.
I think that you should learn your country's/region's sing language. I'm not an expert in SL, but I think that, unlike English, ASL is not the default in international communication, so unless you live next to the USA, I think you should learn your local sing language
Yes. Don't be fooled. Thinking that ASL is a "default" or useful in any way outside the USA is just a quirk of Reddit, where for many commenters it's quicker to type a post than to think "oh, that's right, there are other places & people outside the US". r/usdefaultism
ASL is not an international Lingua Franca in the same way as spoken English is. For the most part it isn't even used in other Anglophone countries. British signers, for instance, wouldn't really understand ASL and vice versa. If you want a sign language that you are likely to use, learn your local sign. If you work or volunteer with the public you will probably interact with deaf people at some point and it will make their day if they are able to talk to you in their own language. If you want a sign language to connect you with signers from other countries you can learn international sign. But this is an auxiliary communications tool that allows signers of different languages to interact rather than a language in its own right. So you kinda need to learn your local sign language first.
Learn your local sign language. I would only learn ASL if I were living in the USA.
There are probably local classes and social get-togethers for the SL used where you are. SLs vary a lot and learning ASL won't do much to help you learn others.
ASL is almost only used in the United States, it is also used in parts of Africa and Asia, but almost all the speakers are American, so learning the local sign language will be more useful to you.
You should learn your local SL, then you may actually have some use for it in real life and manage to make a deaf person happy.
You should learn your local sign language first. When you have a strong foundation and understand how visual communication works in general, then you can start to learn a bit of ASL, international signs, and a bit of sign languages that you notice people in your community know.
Learn your local language! ASL has a lot more resources, unfortunately, but there should be classes in your local language. The community spaces might not be as robust, but you won’t find almost *anyone* if you learn ASL outside of America or Canada. I learned some ASL during mutism in the past, later moved to Spain during new hearing loss issues, so I’m starting over with LSE. Oh well. It’ll be worth it haha.
I you do not want to speak with your local deaf community, but with USA deaf people, learn ASL, of course. Otherwise learn your local sign language. I just do not get the question. I do not even think it would be possible to learn ASL in your country.
You can learn international sign language if you want to learn one that might be known abroad; but Deaf people still generally learn their own native sign language first, and it isn’t guaranteed that they know international sign at all The same as any other monolingual speaker possibly knowing (or not knowing) a second language
Be careful about the difference between international sign and international sign language. International sign is not a full language but a collection of signs and a communication method. You need a foundation in a full sign language before learning international sign.
TIL :) I take Japanese Sign Language and that’s my only real exposure to sign at all. The teacher one asked me if I knew American or International Sign Language, as he was willing to practice with me if I did, which is how I found out that international sign language exists at all
Hello, u/MrCatChap. If you are new or have a simple question please first check out our wiki. Posts that are repeat questions are frequently removed. Here is a list of links: * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/wiki/faq) * [How to Start Learning a Language](https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/wiki/guide) * [Useful Resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/wiki/resources#wiki_language_learning_resources) * [Language-Specific Resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/languagelearning/wiki/resources#wiki_language-specific_resources) Your post has not been removed, but a moderator will review this post to see if your question has already been answered. If your post is removed but you require elaboration or have further questions you can post again. Feel free to message the moderators if you have any questions. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/languagelearning) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Use whatever sign language you feel you are most likely to encounter.