I'm trying so hard to learn ASL for my deaf daughter. I love watching content like this, with a native signer and someone who learned as an adult. It helps bridge the gap for me. Thanks!
Thanks for learning ASL! If you don’t already, please watch Dr. Bill Vicars (the king of ASL), his channel is called Lifeprint. There is also an online conversational practice class with “Deaf language models” that is fantastic called Signing Room. Three different levels and you pay per month can can join classes as much as you want (they have several every day!).
I guess it makes a lot of sense that when you’re familiar with a language you can understand the vocab and grammar more passively. Also, I love that you two never miss an opportunity to compliment each other! Always a good day when Sign Duo posts
Thank you for including those of us who are hearing but use ASL for communication. I'm autistic and nonverbal so ASL is important for me, even though it's rare that I get to communicate with others. I appreciate the inclusivity very much thank you.
@@frostbittenartsI also use ASL to communicate with my nonverbal children, I keep hoping to meet more people who have larger vocabulary so I can improve
@@frostbittenarts aww thanks for that comment 💕 sign language has been a help to my son, and we have gained a whole community though getting involved in Deaf events.
Hey Ryan and Ellen. It took me years to realize that when I was watching my wife sign that I had to concentrate NOT to turn away when the kids would make a noise. Early on, once I would turn away Danielle would sign the "you missed the train" deaf idiom sign once I turned back to her. Even now when I sign to the deaf guys who work at Costco I find myself looking into the eyes but when they fingerspell I find myself making the letter sound in my mind rather than spelling the word. It's exactly like typing on a keyboard. If you are a good typer you sound out the word as you type. If you spell the words out it takes a very long time. God bless you guys.
I’m leaning sign and have been trying to spell out the letters signed to me and having trouble. I will try this trick of sounding it out instead. Thanks
👋! Eye contact important in Deaf Community because you see their expression , tones and eyes body language all that important to make sure you understand. Ellen you improving lots through years. Keep up Good work. Thanks you so much . Namaste 🙏
This video felt extra lovey dovey today! And I love it. It makes me so happy to be witness to such a sweet couple. I’ve been watching for so long now and it’s amazing to see you guys overcome so much together! Thanks for letting us into your lives
Such a fascinating topic! I learned a few basic signs in French to help communicate with my son when he was a baby (food, toilet, bird, etc). The idea of needing eye contact to communicate really spoke to me. Making sure both parties are available and present in the conversation. In sign language, it's essential. But it's also important for verbal communication, even though it can easily be overlooked.
Ellen, you not awkward, you are just curious and learning. That’s what I noticed your expression in your previous videos. AAAWWW I can see love in the air in between both you guys! 👍🏻👍🏻 Have an awesome day! Cheers! ☕️☕️
Question: The other day, my partner came home a little frazzled because people had been talking to him all day, plus he'd been in a lot of meetings, so it had been a very noisy day and he just needed a bit of silence for a while so he could relax. Do deaf people experience something similar if they've been signing with people a lot?
Very cool, both your communication and teaching me more about being a good ally to my deaf/HoH friends and community. I am curious how one deals with any shyness, as I struggle with eye contact occasionally for this reason. Also I remember that Ellen said she only voices while signing during videos, so most conversations would be more quiet and visual. Since you are partners and probably spend more time with each other than other people, I am curious if Ellen ever finds voice conversations loud and jarring after getting used to signing more? I feel like there's a peace/serenity with visual languages that voice conversations don't have. For context, I have loud roommates and also just really like quiet, so may be projecting here and apologies if so.
That was my comment that you responded to. I'm just seeing it now 🤦♂️ I'm guilty of not having my notifications turned on since I am trying to break my youtube addiction 😅. What an honor to have you guys find it to be a worthwhile topic. At 9:04 Ryan asks Ellen if you think you would be able to hold a signing conversation with someone else using your peripheral vision, does this mean that Ryan is the only deaf person that you know or that you've ever signed with? You guys are the best, after Java of course😉
hey! thanks for the question you had, and we are glad to answer 😁 Ellen has met and chatted with deaf people before, but we don't have many friends in our circle that are deaf, and that we hangout with on a regular basis.
Ooo, I love hearing about your experiences on this topic! As a beginner, it's been SO hard to tear myself away from watching the hands of the person I'm signing with (maybe because I really want to pick up new signs if possible?). I'll definitely make more of an effort though! Do you guys get a lot of trick-or-treaters? How does Java handle the influx of new visitors if you do?
I wish that I understood Ryan’s signing but I have to read subtitles and when I’m reading I miss the context clues because I’m looking down at the words and miss the expressions on his face. When Ellen speaks and signs I can watch her and the signing and catch the clues. Both Ryan and Ellen have sharpened those skills to take in the signs and see each other, very huge skill.
I have learned sign language for 2 Semesters at the University of Salzburg and I love to sign! But I have no Oportunity to learn it better in Austria. So thanks a lot for your Videos althoug they are not in Astrian Sign Language! I liked it since I was a Child! It is a great Language.
It's so interesting how knowing different languages changes the skills that you have. I think that's true of every language/culture that uses that language. But yeah this was super neat
So I notice a lot of your signs are following English grammar, not necessarily the grammar I learned for the little ASL I know. Is that just for the videos or do you follow more SEE grammar generally? Or have I completely misunderstood? P.S. Thanks so much for your videos. I live in Australia now so I'm slowly picking up Auslan but I'd like to keep my ASL too. Your videos help me refresh!
Have you guys considered maybe making a 'sign of the day' or any videos teaching simple/complex signs? I feel like you two would make great teachers as you are so natural in your conversations. Communication is such an important thing. I know when I was a child, I was always taught to look others in the eye - adults and peers alike. I am hard of hearing in one ear and so I learned to look at people's mouths to see what they were saying when I was very young. I love the fact that you mention mouth morphemes being important and facial expressions. I teach in South Korea, and students here are often taught that it is disrespectful to look people in the eye. In my current school, we teach students that eye contact is important. We also teach the ones who really struggle with eye contact to look at the mouth instead, as it still appears to be looking at one's eyes. When a student is looking at the mouth instead, they can see, and mimic mouth movements more efficiently in order to produce the correct shapes to make the correct sounds in English. Not all mouths move in the same way. Not all signs are the same. Not all language conveys information in the same way. We need to be hyper aware of one another in communication, and I feel you two could convey that better than most!
That was great You both doing everything great and keep on ellen learning and She doing great sign languge pretty good with him good communication well keep on see You both again i proud both of You take care and 🤟🤟🙏🙏❤️❤️
Love your videos. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I am a hearing person, and have been learning ASL for a couple years out of interest in the language and community. I would love to find ways to immerse myself in the deaf community, but not sure where to start or how? Can you offer any advice or recommendations on this? Thank you!
Typically you could reach out to city hall for deaf events, or search on Facebook "Deaf events" and maybe something will pop up. You could also go to local community colleges that offer sign language and ask ASL professors.
Yes, you both are right. It’s way better to help hearing people get more understanding of how to communicate with Deaf people without laziness and doing anything to involve more understanding. It’s way simpler ask to Deaf people than to ask other people, you know. It’s between A place and B place only. People have a lot of opinions to find way communicating with Deaf people like using tools to find a way without saying they can’t. You know. 😊 Allowed deaf people education to hearing people to understand and watch to learn. 😊
Its interesting. Im hard of hearing (happened suddenly when i was about 18)- i didnt start learning sign until i was in my 30's. It was at that point i realized how much i used lip reading to give clues to what is being said when i couldnt fully hear. I notice when signing w Deaf, if im focused on hands and dont know the sign i will miss it.BUT if im seeing sign but looking at face i can normally figure out from lip reading.
That's super interesting. Pretty much similar to what Ellen said in the video, even though I am deaf and sign she tends to read my lips over what I am signing
Not sure when I will catch your next video or if i'll get the comment back. Yet 1 small note. Are you signing your outro differently than in the past? For instance, the duo part.... in the past there was emphasis on duo with 2 fingers... yet at least in this one, not sure of others, it seemed more like a 1 out, not 2 out.
I'm an autistic person who really struggles with maintaining eye contact. My ASL teacher told me that looking elsewhere on the person's face is fine, but I still struggle to look up rather than down. I also have alexthymia and do not convey emotion or facial expressions very well (or as expected), so asking questions in ASL is a challenge for me. I must really look rude to d/Deaf folks as much as I do to allistic (non-autistic) people 😅 Is it okay to let people know I can't maintain good eye contact or emote very well when conversing in ASL? I'm hoping to get better with practice, but we'll see! P.S. - Thanks for making these videos, I really enjoy them! You two are like rays of sunshine 🌞
This may be a stupid question but How do you hear... Is it pure silence like literally nothing, or do you hear like a few mumbles of voices speaking or cars honking in the background.
Eye contact is very important. It’s kinda sad because this was more of a norm in the past with people. With the younger and more techie generation this I feel is becoming a loss with body language and eye contact. Lots of people especially the Covid generation, are falling behind with Social interaction.
most of my hearing friends have not picked up sign language. I only have a few friends who do know the alphabet and some common words in sign langugage
I’m a new subscriber and maybe I haven’t seen if you have done this question but, if you’re dead how can you not talk? , no hate !! I love y’all videos xx but I just thought if you were deaf you just couldn’t hear but talk as well, I’m probably wrong XD x
If you guys ever have a baby, I'm curious how young a baby can understand sign language. And how quickly they can learn. I think babies can learn to sign faster than talking. What do you guys think?
Signs are taught in a specific way, but most deaf people do not sign in that specific way. Deaf people sign more away from the body in the air. How do you regulate the sound levels in your house? Making a smoothie at 3 a.m is fine for Ellen to do, but not while she is sleeping.
Why do deaf people, well, at least ryan, idk abt other ppl, that they move their mouth or make certain sounds like bop or dap while they speak sign language, why is that if somebody knows?
Deaf people are far more expressive than hearing people and don't need to sign to win. _However,_ they need to watch an entire audience for guesses while acting, so playing charades doesn't really work as well as you'd think. It doesn't for me, at least.
I'm trying so hard to learn ASL for my deaf daughter. I love watching content like this, with a native signer and someone who learned as an adult. It helps bridge the gap for me. Thanks!
You can do it! You have the best motivation right there with you. :)
Thanks for learning ASL! If you don’t already, please watch Dr. Bill Vicars (the king of ASL), his channel is called Lifeprint. There is also an online conversational practice class with “Deaf language models” that is fantastic called Signing Room. Three different levels and you pay per month can can join classes as much as you want (they have several every day!).
I'm glad you are able to use our videos!! Keep it up ☺️
I guess it makes a lot of sense that when you’re familiar with a language you can understand the vocab and grammar more passively. Also, I love that you two never miss an opportunity to compliment each other! Always a good day when Sign Duo posts
Thank you for including those of us who are hearing but use ASL for communication. I'm autistic and nonverbal so ASL is important for me, even though it's rare that I get to communicate with others. I appreciate the inclusivity very much thank you.
That’s why I started learning - for my autistic son, and the Deaf community has been so welcoming to us!
@@NovasUA-camName I wish more people were like you. No one has learned ASL for me, so thank you 🤟
@@frostbittenartsI also use ASL to communicate with my nonverbal children, I keep hoping to meet more people who have larger vocabulary so I can improve
@@frostbittenarts aww thanks for that comment 💕 sign language has been a help to my son, and we have gained a whole community though getting involved in Deaf events.
Hey Ryan and Ellen. It took me years to realize that when I was watching my wife sign that I had to concentrate NOT to turn away when the kids would make a noise. Early on, once I would turn away Danielle would sign the "you missed the train" deaf idiom sign once I turned back to her. Even now when I sign to the deaf guys who work at Costco I find myself looking into the eyes but when they fingerspell I find myself making the letter sound in my mind rather than spelling the word. It's exactly like typing on a keyboard. If you are a good typer you sound out the word as you type. If you spell the words out it takes a very long time. God bless you guys.
I’m leaning sign and have been trying to spell out the letters signed to me and having trouble. I will try this trick of sounding it out instead. Thanks
@@heatherpfeil2939 You're welcome. Any trick that will help us learn. Take care.
👋! Eye contact important in Deaf Community because you see their expression , tones and eyes body language all that important to make sure you understand. Ellen you improving lots through years. Keep up Good work. Thanks you so much . Namaste 🙏
Thanks for sharing! :)
This video felt extra lovey dovey today! And I love it. It makes me so happy to be witness to such a sweet couple. I’ve been watching for so long now and it’s amazing to see you guys overcome so much together! Thanks for letting us into your lives
❤️❤️ thank you for such a kind comment ☺️ and thanks for being here with us so long!!
Such a fascinating topic!
I learned a few basic signs in French to help communicate with my son when he was a baby (food, toilet, bird, etc). The idea of needing eye contact to communicate really spoke to me. Making sure both parties are available and present in the conversation.
In sign language, it's essential. But it's also important for verbal communication, even though it can easily be overlooked.
Ellen, you not awkward, you are just curious and learning. That’s what I noticed your expression in your previous videos. AAAWWW I can see love in the air in between both you guys! 👍🏻👍🏻 Have an awesome day! Cheers! ☕️☕️
Thank you ☺️
@ You are a very welcome!
Y'all are really open with eachother and in tune together. Love seeing your videos pop up & learning more ASL. 😊
Thank you so much 🤗
Question: The other day, my partner came home a little frazzled because people had been talking to him all day, plus he'd been in a lot of meetings, so it had been a very noisy day and he just needed a bit of silence for a while so he could relax. Do deaf people experience something similar if they've been signing with people a lot?
yeah I would say I experience that too
Very cool, both your communication and teaching me more about being a good ally to my deaf/HoH friends and community. I am curious how one deals with any shyness, as I struggle with eye contact occasionally for this reason. Also I remember that Ellen said she only voices while signing during videos, so most conversations would be more quiet and visual. Since you are partners and probably spend more time with each other than other people, I am curious if Ellen ever finds voice conversations loud and jarring after getting used to signing more? I feel like there's a peace/serenity with visual languages that voice conversations don't have. For context, I have loud roommates and also just really like quiet, so may be projecting here and apologies if so.
You have a great question! Maybe she can answer it in a future video :)
So happy that you guys are back. Love you both!!!!❤❤
❤️
Another great and informative video 🤍 I can really feel the love between you two! It's beautiful to see :) Looking forward to your next upload!
Thanks so much! 😊
This was such a cute video yall of yall reminiscing. How’s Java? Yes so happy to have yall back!!!
She is doing great! There's a lot of her in the next video :)
@@SignDuoChannel awesome!
That was my comment that you responded to. I'm just seeing it now 🤦♂️ I'm guilty of not having my notifications turned on since I am trying to break my youtube addiction 😅. What an honor to have you guys find it to be a worthwhile topic. At 9:04 Ryan asks Ellen if you think you would be able to hold a signing conversation with someone else using your peripheral vision, does this mean that Ryan is the only deaf person that you know or that you've ever signed with? You guys are the best, after Java of course😉
hey! thanks for the question you had, and we are glad to answer 😁
Ellen has met and chatted with deaf people before, but we don't have many friends in our circle that are deaf, and that we hangout with on a regular basis.
Ooo, I love hearing about your experiences on this topic! As a beginner, it's been SO hard to tear myself away from watching the hands of the person I'm signing with (maybe because I really want to pick up new signs if possible?). I'll definitely make more of an effort though!
Do you guys get a lot of trick-or-treaters? How does Java handle the influx of new visitors if you do?
We don't get a lot of trick or treaters in our area. Java barks at first of course, but after a while she notices the pattern and stops barking lol
I wish that I understood Ryan’s signing but I have to read subtitles and when I’m reading I miss the context clues because I’m looking down at the words and miss the expressions on his face. When Ellen speaks and signs I can watch her and the signing and catch the clues. Both Ryan and Ellen have sharpened those skills to take in the signs and see each other, very huge skill.
A tip that others have used before: change the video speed in settings to slower so you can take your time and try and understand the signs :)
@@SignDuoChannel wow, why didn’t I think of that thank you 🙏🏼
I have learned sign language for 2 Semesters at the University of Salzburg and I love to sign! But I have no Oportunity to learn it better in Austria. So thanks a lot for your Videos althoug they are not in Astrian Sign Language! I liked it since I was a Child! It is a great Language.
It's so interesting how knowing different languages changes the skills that you have. I think that's true of every language/culture that uses that language. But yeah this was super neat
Glad you enjoyed the video, and found it interesting!
So I notice a lot of your signs are following English grammar, not necessarily the grammar I learned for the little ASL I know. Is that just for the videos or do you follow more SEE grammar generally? Or have I completely misunderstood?
P.S. Thanks so much for your videos. I live in Australia now so I'm slowly picking up Auslan but I'd like to keep my ASL too. Your videos help me refresh!
we are using PSE which is a mix of the two :)
You two are just an amazing couple the love that you guys have is that of a fairytale
Have you guys considered maybe making a 'sign of the day' or any videos teaching simple/complex signs? I feel like you two would make great teachers as you are so natural in your conversations. Communication is such an important thing. I know when I was a child, I was always taught to look others in the eye - adults and peers alike. I am hard of hearing in one ear and so I learned to look at people's mouths to see what they were saying when I was very young. I love the fact that you mention mouth morphemes being important and facial expressions. I teach in South Korea, and students here are often taught that it is disrespectful to look people in the eye. In my current school, we teach students that eye contact is important. We also teach the ones who really struggle with eye contact to look at the mouth instead, as it still appears to be looking at one's eyes. When a student is looking at the mouth instead, they can see, and mimic mouth movements more efficiently in order to produce the correct shapes to make the correct sounds in English. Not all mouths move in the same way. Not all signs are the same. Not all language conveys information in the same way. We need to be hyper aware of one another in communication, and I feel you two could convey that better than most!
That was great You both doing everything great and keep on ellen learning and She doing great sign languge pretty good with him good communication well keep on see You both again i proud both of You take care and 🤟🤟🙏🙏❤️❤️
Love your videos. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I am a hearing person, and have been learning ASL for a couple years out of interest in the language and community. I would love to find ways to immerse myself in the deaf community, but not sure where to start or how? Can you offer any advice or recommendations on this? Thank you!
Typically you could reach out to city hall for deaf events, or search on Facebook "Deaf events" and maybe something will pop up. You could also go to local community colleges that offer sign language and ask ASL professors.
I enjoy you two so much! You are the cutest couple ever!
Ever since I was little young I always like to look at another person eyes so I can understand them better anyway
😅1st thing i learned when looking into signlanguage is facial expression is EXTREEMLY important to convey meaning
Yeah it is :)
Yes, you both are right. It’s way better to help hearing people get more understanding of how to communicate with Deaf people without laziness and doing anything to involve more understanding. It’s way simpler ask to Deaf people than to ask other people, you know. It’s between A place and B place only. People have a lot of opinions to find way communicating with Deaf people like using tools to find a way without saying they can’t. You know. 😊 Allowed deaf people education to hearing people to understand and watch to learn. 😊
Its interesting. Im hard of hearing (happened suddenly when i was about 18)- i didnt start learning sign until i was in my 30's. It was at that point i realized how much i used lip reading to give clues to what is being said when i couldnt fully hear. I notice when signing w Deaf, if im focused on hands and dont know the sign i will miss it.BUT if im seeing sign but looking at face i can normally figure out from lip reading.
That's super interesting. Pretty much similar to what Ellen said in the video, even though I am deaf and sign she tends to read my lips over what I am signing
New Sign Duo! :DDD
yeah:D
Not sure when I will catch your next video or if i'll get the comment back. Yet 1 small note. Are you signing your outro differently than in the past? For instance, the duo part.... in the past there was emphasis on duo with 2 fingers... yet at least in this one, not sure of others, it seemed more like a 1 out, not 2 out.
I had to rewatch the ending and I feel like I signed it the exact same way that I always do lol maybe I was a bit lazy with the sign though
❤❤❤
❤️
hi miss ellen and mr ryan love your channel hugs
I'm an autistic person who really struggles with maintaining eye contact. My ASL teacher told me that looking elsewhere on the person's face is fine, but I still struggle to look up rather than down. I also have alexthymia and do not convey emotion or facial expressions very well (or as expected), so asking questions in ASL is a challenge for me. I must really look rude to d/Deaf folks as much as I do to allistic (non-autistic) people 😅
Is it okay to let people know I can't maintain good eye contact or emote very well when conversing in ASL? I'm hoping to get better with practice, but we'll see!
P.S. - Thanks for making these videos, I really enjoy them! You two are like rays of sunshine 🌞
Yea if you told me that, I would totally understand. Thank you for your kind comment 😄
This may be a stupid question but How do you hear... Is it pure silence like literally nothing, or do you hear like a few mumbles of voices speaking or cars honking in the background.
It really depends on the person's hearing loss
@@SignDuoChannel oh okay thanks!
This has probably been asked hundreds of times but what sources do you recommend for learning ASL to communicate with deaf or non-verbal loved ones?
www.lifeprint.com, bill vicars on youtube
You, two are so cute together!
Eye contact is very important. It’s kinda sad because this was more of a norm in the past with people. With the younger and more techie generation this I feel is becoming a loss with body language and eye contact. Lots of people especially the Covid generation, are falling behind with Social interaction.
We've noticed this too
I learned myself ASL since I was nine years old, I think! 😊
that's awesome :)
@@SignDuoChannel thanks! 😂
Sometimes people will skip letters when fingerspelling?
Are there any hearing friends/coworkers that have picked up some signs?
most of my hearing friends have not picked up sign language. I only have a few friends who do know the alphabet and some common words in sign langugage
….and also personality.
I’m a new subscriber and maybe I haven’t seen if you have done this question but, if you’re dead how can you not talk? , no hate !! I love y’all videos xx but I just thought if you were deaf you just couldn’t hear but talk as well, I’m probably wrong XD x
Thanks for subbing and joining the Sign Fam
If you guys ever have a baby, I'm curious how young a baby can understand sign language. And how quickly they can learn. I think babies can learn to sign faster than talking. What do you guys think?
from our experience they can learn pretty quickly! but we'll see when we have kids 😄
Signs are taught in a specific way, but most deaf people do not sign in that specific way. Deaf people sign more away from the body in the air. How do you regulate the sound levels in your house? Making a smoothie at 3 a.m is fine for Ellen to do, but not while she is sleeping.
Happy Hallowe'en guys ❤❤❤
happy halloween
HI SIGN DUO I HOPE YOU BOTH GO TO THE PUMPKIN PATCHES TOGETHER AND I HOPE YOU HAVE FUN HALLOWEEN IS ALL MOST HERE LOVE DAVID😀🥰😀🥰🥰🥰🥰
Why do deaf people, well, at least ryan, idk abt other ppl, that they move their mouth or make certain sounds like bop or dap while they speak sign language, why is that if somebody knows?
Are you guys ever tempted to cheat in Charades?
Deaf people are far more expressive than hearing people and don't need to sign to win. _However,_ they need to watch an entire audience for guesses while acting, so playing charades doesn't really work as well as you'd think. It doesn't for me, at least.
I know bsl
Is it considered wrong to welcome yourself to say something? I would say being obtrusive is normal and even likable in the situation of signing. 🫰🏾🤟🏾
For me, I wouldn't mind it at all but some deaf do feel like they just wanna live their lives you know? Everybody's personality is diff lol ❤️
So happy that you guys are back. Love you both!!!!❤❤
Happy Hallowe'en guys ❤❤❤
Happy halloween :)