Korean Job Discussion Forums

[drkalbi]

Is sign language a universal langauge? I was wondering. If a deaf person from the West meet a deaf person from Korea, could they communicate with sign langauge?

[gang ah jee]

Short answer - no. Sign languages show the same kind of variation as spoken languages, though often along different lines.

I don't know much about Korean sign language (I think Tomato is your man for that) and I'm no expert on this topic, but for example, New Zealand and Australian Sign Language are varieties of British Sign Language, whereas American Sign Language is based on French Sign Language. Thus, New Zealand and US deaf people cannot communicate using sign language and have to write notes in English to each other, or they have to learn the other's language as a foreign language. One of the professors in my department is deaf - he comes from California, and apparently he signs NZSL with a strong American accent.

[tomato]

I only wish!
I study Korean sign language and teach American sign language--or pretend to--and I am forever getting the two confused.

Your message came at just the right time. I recently moved to a small town. I just got back from a trip to the Association for the Deaf in Chungju, which is the closest large city. I promised to pay them well if they would give me a Korean sign language lesson every Saturday. Rather than a monetary fee, they seemed more interested in my giving them a weekly lesson in American sign language. I am dreading the responsibilities of preparing for both lessons each week, but at least that might alleviate the problem of getting the two confused.

I once started a thread on the subject of sign language:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?p=560874#560874

If you decide to study sign language, I will help you in any way I can.

[bluelake]

What the other two said...

I took ASL when I was in the university, back in the early '80s, and even became a TA for the prof.

One of the first things taught is that sign language is not universal. Many signs are tied to the culture they come from. To give an example, the ASL sign for milk is an action like milking a cow's udders. In KSL, (IIRC) it is like cupping a breast and tweaking the nipple. Some cultures only consider breastfeeding in relation to milk; a cow might not make sense to them. You may find some signs that are similar, as some things are not culturally-oriented (like some animals).

My prof co-created a sign notation system that was really easy to use and learn from. Some deaf people even used it for writing letters to each other. I wish I could find my notation notes...

[gang ah jee]

[tomato]

In Korean sign language, the middle finger salute means "mountain."
When a student in my class makes a middle finger salute, I say with mock innocence, "Oh, so you want to talk about mountains!"
Then, to show them what I mean, I show them the page in the Korean sign language dictionary.
If the misbehavior is repeated, I read a picture book about mountains.
If the misbehavior is repeated again, I read the book again.
After a few rounds of this, the other students get tired of the picture book, so they pressure the offending student to stop.

[OiGirl]

I have found that many of the deaf Korean vendors in Itaewon know about as much ASL as the hearing vendors do English. Between ASL and Korean lipreading, I find them pretty easy to communicate with.

[OiGirl]

[tomato]

[gang ah jee]

How do you sign 'sekki'?

[tomato]

It uses the same sign as 어린이.
So I guess "puppy" and "SOB" are done the same way.

But that wasn't what I meant.
Really.

[kermo]

If you look at the Chinese character for mountain, that hand sign makes a lot more sense.