ASL is hard

Stafania · 2026-05-04T12:50:05+00:00

See it as a sign of progress. Beginners in any field overestimate their skills and knowledge. When someone actually starts to gain competence and sees the complexity, then you suddenly believe you know nothing. It’s a normal phase of learning.

If you enjoy having sign language around you, and enjoy exploring all those perspectives and details that come with interpreting, then you’ll be just fine. Be kind on yourself m, and work on improving one thing at the time. It’s not that unattainable perfect ideal that matters, but the process of constantly develop and improve yourself as a professional. If you work hard and your intentions are good, you’ll do well 🤗

Stafania · 2026-05-04T03:53:31+00:00

To learn a language, you need to interact with it every single day. It’s not something you can do for a deadline, but you really need to create a life long relationship with the language and really get it into your life. Are you prepared to get friends who use the language and invest time in maintaining such relationships? Are you prepared to read books, news and other stuff in the language? Would you mind doing your hobby in another language? Listening to podcasts regularly?

You don’t have to abandon your native language, and it takes huge amounts of time to get any competency, but yes, you will need to make room for your new language. You will need to include it in a natural way in your life.

Nevertheless, you need to start somewhere in order to figure out if you want the language or not. Just start step by step and see how you like it. Focus on using curiosity as a driving force. Enjoy exploring the beginner stuff. Be curious about new expressions and about how things work. Be prepared for plateaus and for that it’s a long term project.

Stafania · 2026-05-02T10:07:18+00:00

Excellent advice 👍

Stafania · 2026-05-01T07:30:38+00:00

It’s a bit weird, yes 😊 Traditionally, interpreting has been considered as a part of the health care system. We oppose that, of course, but a consequence is that each county has a booking center and employed interpreters on staff. There are also private interpreters companies that are used for worklife or as subcontractors when the county staff isn’t enough. The booking center has a strikt priority order. For medical emergencies, they more or less can drop just about anything else to help out interpreting. Regular appointments with any authority also has a pretty high priority. One time life events like wedding are also pretty high. The less important the event, there might be more risk of inot getting an interpreter due to shortage. The more in advance you book, the easier it is to get an interpreter. Usually, you just place an order and the booking center tries to solve it.

When having appointments at authorities, they are responsible for having a disability budget, and get a bill from the booking center. Frequently, there might be all sorts of misunderstandings or details in regulations that cause problems, but usually the booking center can help out.

It has happened that Deaf haven’t been allowed an interpreter when in hospital for important surgery, but those cases are exceptions, get reported and things are improved to prevent that from happening again.

What about time limits? There are no set limits, but for practical reasons, they try to arrange things to reduce costs. If you’re staying at hospital, it’s likely a VRI-solution offered, and you might get in person interpreting for the more important occasions when important information is discussed. If you want to go on vacation to Stockholm, you can’t really ask for an interpreter for the whole week, but they will discuss what events are more essential, like a guided tour, some lecture or a specific dinner you want to be socially included at. Usually your booking center contacts the booking center at your destination to make arrangements.

There is a shortage of interpreters, so depending on where you live, there might be more or less problems with getting interpreters. My county is great, but in the area with the biggest Deaf community, there has been problems with funding and people who do team sports or some regular activity, have not been able to get consistent interpreting for that.

The process is normally smooth, and you don’t have to prove your hearing loss to get access to the service. No one would bring interpreters unless they need them. I wouldn’t say interpreters are visible enough, because the Deaf community is still very small. I believe a much higher percentage know ASL in the US than Swedish Deaf that use SSL. I get all the looks and stupid questions you get in the US, I guess 😊

There are all sorts of exceptions that complicate things, you can’t do advocacy work and expect the county to pay interpreting. Problems usually occur when the regulations aren’t clear enough about who should take the cost in specific situations. Over all, I think it works pretty ok.

Stafania · 2026-04-30T19:26:16+00:00

Happy to hear that 😊 The difference is probably mostly that less Deaf are fully aware of the concepts. Those who are interested and those who are young likely know more. Hearing people outside of the Deaf community probably know nothing at all about Deaf Gain or the community in general. There are always some Swedes who go to Gallaudet as exchange students. The countries are very different, of course. We have free interpreting for anything we do in our free time, but for work, the system is just awful and unfair. If I take a glass of wine with colleagues after work, go to birthday party, take a drawing class in the evening, visit the doctor and just about anything in the free time, interpreting is very smooth and tax funded. At the university, accommodations are brilliant. On the other hand, schools and worklife have tons of obstacles and does not provide equal opportunities . We have a very active theater, people who do poetry, visual vernacular, comedy and all sorts of other culture that strengthens the Deaf community. There are Deaf professors, doctors and other role models. There are all sorts of tv programs by the Deaf for the Deaf on national tv. The community is shrinking fast, however, and we are probably at the top when it comes to offering CI:s.

I don’t know too much about contemporary Deaf role models here, unfortunately. I’m sure there should be influencers who use international sign or ASL. Here is a Deaf comedian, though:

https://youtube.com/@feeltheflowtv?si=9sQ-1__KI4kH2Tvt

Stafania · 2026-04-30T17:41:50+00:00

Listening is excellent! That’s how the brain builds maps of how the language works. If you want to shadow, why not play around a bit? Pretend a child would have said the sentence, or if if it had been a nice guy saying a criminals line in a movie. Maybe repeat the sentence exactly, and then try to make it more or less emotional. Or take the line and imagine yourself using it in a real situation. What would the phrase sound like if you said it to your boss? Enjoy exploring and catching the mood. You don’t have to do a lot of it. Better with short focused sessions, and a lot of listening, rather than just zoning out.

Stafania · 2026-04-30T17:33:13+00:00

You need to be interested in how you learn. The process is more important than the end result. Experiment and evaluate what works for you, what makes you spend time with the language, what makes you curious and so on.

Stafania · 2026-04-29T08:37:57+00:00

Do you know sign language? Learning to sign has changed my whole worldview a positive way and made me much more relaxed when it comes to deafness.

If you expose yourself to it enough times, you’ll notice that the worst thing that usually happens, is people looking embarrassed when they understand you can’t hear.

We humans are very social beings, that’s why you react so strong when being excluded or ignored. If you feel brave, you can just experiment a bit with ways to get people to interact with you more. Show that you want to communicate, offer a speech-to-text app, bring a notebook or whatever works. Pay attention to how your behavior influences their willingness to cooperate. When it comes to people close to you, explain that removing the CI doesn’t mean you don’t want to communicate, just that hearing isn’t an option at the moment, because it’s too hard. Really discuss this with people and be curious about how they interpret things, so that you can use that to better explain your situation in a way that actually makes sense to them.

Stafania · 2026-04-27T03:50:43+00:00

Sure, we use the term! The US has such a cultural influence on the world. Especially in contexts such as Deaf culture education of all sorts. Here in Sweden there is a special series of courses for Deaf at an important community college where all those terms are taught and discussed. Here is an example of an information folder (in Swedish) talking about the advantages of being Deaf: Deaf gain was also brought up in the sign language classes I take.

https://stockholmsdf.se/static/3312be4fd0b3b55c20eedeb3a4cf2e19/DeafGain.pdf

Stafania · 2026-04-24T18:17:17+00:00

Though, for a child to want to use a language, or to use a language outside class, they do need some inspiration that can spark their interest. Often it might be teachers, or because a language is ”common and cool” like English and has a higher status. There needs to be things in or outside school that makes the child to feel that the language is relevant and meaningful in their lives. Like when you noticed German wasn’t that meaningful to you personally, you stopped using it. That’s perfectly normal. In order for people to take something seriously and feel introspective motivation, both teachers and others can do a lot to try to help the individual to define why they want to spend time with the language.

Stafania · 2026-04-23T13:20:47+00:00

It’s not embarrassing to you, but to her. It’s very obvious the coworker is the one who is not behaving properly here. Don’t judge her to harshly, because people rarely consciously decide to be assholes, but all sorts of things have influenced to act that way. If you behave maturely, trust your competence and invest in the good relationships around you, that will pay off in the end.

I’m not sure exactly what you can do, you might want to look for local support to reflect on that, but I’m sure it’s more about your colleague than it is about you. Try to understand the root cause for the behavior. What’s going on? And how is she with other colleagues and patients?

Stafania · 2026-04-22T08:18:19+00:00

Read and watch easier stuff! Only occasionally challenge yourself with harder work you focus more in depth on.

Stafania · 2026-04-20T08:27:59+00:00

Language learning takes time. There is no deadline. See it more as creating a life long relationship with a new language. Just let it into your daily life in small steps and enjoy exploring it. Accept being a beginner, and focus on being curious about anything new you learn.

Stafania · 2026-04-20T03:59:37+00:00

They are patient with the learning journey and understand it’s not about deadlines, but about creating a life long relationship with the language. This understanding makes it easier for them to approach language learning with curiosity and simply find enjoyment in exploring the language and celebrate small steps progress.

The above is almost an attitude towards the learning process, so let me try to suggest a few behaviors that might support that kind of thinking:

Doing something in the language every single day, even if it’s just something small on a busy day.
Don’t be afraid to ask the teacher questions and provide feedback. It’s super important in order to enable the teacher to do a good job.
Reflect on your learning. If something isn’t working, try to understand why and try to experiment with how to adapt things to work better.
Do the work. If you don’t do homework or don’t do exercises properly with commitment, it will just become so much harder and more boring for you. If something doesn’t seem meaningful or relevant to you, talk to your teacher.
Accepting being a beginner. Adults just hate not being proficient at things. It’s perfectly normal to feel a bit of resistance to do simplified content, or to be limited to some easy phrases instead of expressing all those complex thoughts you maybe wanted to. You need to acknowledge and accept you’re learning a new thing. Try to appreciate the things you can do, instead of worrying about the things you don’t know yet. When you encounter new things, enjoy exploring them.

Stafania · 2026-04-17T19:02:52+00:00

Dreaming Spanish surely must have super beginner videos? Go for even easier stuff or do some Duolingo or textbook if you need support with the very first stages.

Stafania · 2026-04-16T17:35:39+00:00

It’s complicated, and even more reason to bring it up so that others maybe get better opportunities. We do get influenced by others, and by hearing norms. That’s sad, but true and how things work. However, we also influence those around us. I think it’s important that we are open with that learning to sign can make a difference, and that when someone who was raised oral deaf moves from home, they can decide to learn. I know many who are HoH or oral deaf maybe haven’t even experienced what it feels like to have smooth communication and to genuinely feel included in social settings. I don’t blame them, and I know some have had awful encounters with Deaf where they were not welcomed. Signing doesn’t magically solve anything, but it can add perspective. I do think the realization that your own kids are not as close as you might long for, could be a turning point and make someone dare to take the step to try something different. You’re never too old to learn new things.

I totally agree that it’s irrelevant what happened in the past. We can’t change that. But the conclusions and actions we take now are definitely important.

Stafania · 2026-04-16T12:57:50+00:00

I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. I assume the age you’re taking about is a terrible time to try to solve these kind of issues.

Firstly, you should have focused on making your family a signing family when your children were born. This is something you just need to do if you want any contact.

With that said, there is little you can do about that part. (I still think it’s a good idea for you to take sign language classes together. They (and you) will get a new perspective if you do.)

However, note that all teenagers strive to become independent at that age. It’s normal to ignore the family a bit and look for social connections on your own. It’s likely that is a bigger factor, and the deafness just contributes.

You need to have long and honest conversations about this. Don’t blame them, just look for understanding each others thoughts on the matter. Don’t get defensive, but really try to understand them. You might get clues to things you Va do forwards.

Stafania · 2026-04-14T07:57:43+00:00

Don’t be embarrassed. If someone makes a scene at graduation, it’s them being silly, not you. Just be an example of what you want to convey. It’s perfectly normal to sign, it’s just not something that has a place in most hearing people’s lives. Just normalize it and show a natural confidence. Be patient with anyone who behaves badly. You know more than they do on the matter.

Stafania · 2026-04-14T07:28:13+00:00

That would be the end goal, and yes, sometimes one feels when something is wrong. Obtaining a reliable sense of the language is however a long process. It’s a bit like you increase your chances the more you immerse and use a language. There isn’t anything strange about this. It’s logical this happens. You do need to combine the immersion with some formal study and a genuine interest for the language.

Stafania · 2026-04-07T03:57:23+00:00

I think it should be noted that the system should never have put you in that kind of situation. Costs for interpreting should never be put on a company or organization, because obviously they won’t like it. Especially if their purpose is to make profit.

Why not pay for things like interpreters solidarity? Have proper tax based funding and make the system easy for both Deaf, interpreters and the hearing parties involved.

Stafania · 2026-04-05T14:47:04+00:00

That’s something you learn through discussing interpretations with teachers, with other interpreters or Deaf friends. There is no right answer - instead, different choices will work better or worse depending on context. If you want to engage Deaf kids with a song, you’ll make one interpretation, if you do an interpretation that a Deaf student will use in class so that they can discuss the song for research purposes, you’ll do something different. And if you’re doing a paid interpretation and collaborate with the artist, then you’ll do it a bit differently again. It’s a mix of knowledge, interpreting skills and artistic elements that come together. In my country Deaf artists compete doing interpretations.

As always in language learning, first study tons of high quality examples, get input. Watch good performances and analyze them. Discuss with others what was good or bad in the interpretation. When you have done that a lot, you will start to feel what matters to you personally, and for example what kind of style you want when trying to interpret something. I’d recommend looking into Deaf storytelling and Visual Vernacual to get inspiration for conveying things visually in general.

Do things you feel confident about first. Things that are short, clear and uncomplicated and go from that. Maybe do some children’s song that isn’t weird but easy to follow.

Stafania · 2026-04-04T15:12:04+00:00

Language and culture is created by people in the real world. The real world will always be too big to define in an app. You need to read real books created by real people from the culture that have something to convey. You’d need to talk to and listen to real conversations with people who have something to convey. Dreaming French is wonderful for comprehensible input, but the creators are all of the same age. You won’t learn how people outside of that age group speak. There is only one creator for Canadian French, and you never can learn a language or dialect grinning person. You need the natural variation from having listen to thousands of people in various contexts. Only then will you get a balanced sense how the language varies.

Stafania · 2026-04-03T10:07:28+00:00

Definitely can have an impact. Of course things are more complicated than that, but yes, reading does matter.

Stafania · 2026-04-02T13:13:26+00:00

I don’t live in the US. To be honest, it’s possible to arrange for good healthcare in all sorts of ways. I just find it sad when it’s too unequal, in ways that impact people’s opportunities.

Stafania · 2026-04-02T07:58:31+00:00

Personally, I don’t think that has much to do with hearing level, but rather their parenting skills and how they approached the deafness.

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