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September 02, 2008 |
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A Note to New Friends?
FOUND by James
in Chicago, Illinois
I found this on the floor of a bar. I thought it was interesting and instantly thought of FOUND Magazine.
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Don't Tread on Me September 19, 2005 |
So How'd You Know... December 23, 2001 |
Lovesick Bus Stop... September 29, 2005 |
Money Grabbers... December 23, 2005 |
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We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
At first, I thought he was saying he was raised in Sandwich Islands, and I thought "how old is this paper towel?"
Hm. Interesting. All the deaf friends I have had who lived and worked in a primarily hearing environment carried scratch pads with them at all times, in order to get their point across. One would think that in a bar, where conversations happen a lot, your own paper would be essential if you know you can't speak.
Mind you, it would be way easier to carry on a conversation in sign language in most bars I've been in!
clearly, cool people live in sandwich, il.
There is really a place called Sandwich? Does it have subdivisions called PB&J, or Ham 'n Cheese?
this is a strange little note. I wonder if the writer of the note is deaf, or just the recipients. I think both.
Why does this seem familiar to me? Davy, did you bring this one with you on tour?
Mona, I think if the recipients were deaf, they'd probably know sign language.
The college I used to practice librarianship at considered American Sign Language a "foreign language" as far as requirements for different majors went. A lot of kids signed up for it figuring, 'hey, it's basically just Engligh, right? Must be easier than Spanish or whatever.' They didn't realize ASL has its own grammar, syntax, and all. I'm not sure if anyone ever signed up for more than the minimum 2 semesters.
How wonderful that his(/her) hearing friends chose to take sign language classes so that they could be his friends.
Basil's idea of carrying a notebook around reminds me of Beethoven when he was deaf. His 'conversation books' are a major source of biographical info!
Mona -- Sandwich is a place in Kent (England) and it was the Earl of Sandwich who ordered a slice of meat beween two pieces of bread so he wouldn't lose eating time from his gambling -- thus inventing the sandwich. But you knew that already.
So Sandwich, IL, would be named after the Kent one -- by some homesick pioneer no doubt.
Hey, I know Earl Sammich. He only knows one sign, though.
That's a strong paper towel.
Sandwich, Illinois is the home to the Sandwich Flea Market. (And it's practically just around the corner from me!)
I tried taking sign language classes a few years ago, I really liked it, but all I can really remember are the songs, like "1,2 Buckle My Shoe" and "Jesus loves me"...not really any conversational language...so unless the deaf person is asking me to buckle their shoes and shut the door, I'll have no idea what's going on...
I took a walk on the mute side for six weeks while my jaw was wired shut after surgery. The scratch board was my constant companion. It was odd how many folks wanted to write back to me thinking I couldn't hear either. Sign language would have been helpful put probably not enough to leave the scratch board at home.
I live near Sandwich, IL! And I took ASL! Come sign with me!
OK, what's the scratched out last sentence say?
Something like "Have you heard of a school [something something] Jacksonville High?"
Good find! You would think this would generate alot of comments, but post have been low lately. What up?
@ Marlene ... I've been signing away like mad, but I guess my computer doesn't have that ASL recognition software loaded yet. Have to resort to typing instead. Drat!
This broke my heart. I hope that the author of this note found some friends who knew sign language or were willing to learn it.
This hurt my heart, too. I hope this person was able to make some friends....it must be frustrating for this guy/girl.
That is freaky, i was just talking about learning sign language when this came up, I have a condition SSHL (sudden sensory hearign loss) I went deaf in my right side over night and sometimes worry about the left and think about learning sign from time to time.
I personally would rather learn American sign language than a national language. More fun, I think
@ Jonathan, I was wondering when someone would pipe in mentioning how the sandwich was invented in sandwich xD I've never been there, but I was in Kent last week :P
I suppose it must be easier for a deaf person to see who their real friends are - the ones willing to try learning sign language for them.
@Librarian: you're right about many people thinking that learning ASL is just a matter of memorizing one sign for each English word. Language experts, however, compare it to learning Chinese as far as the difficulty level is concerned.
I saw John Irving give a reading in New York earlier this year and the sign language duo that translated for him was astounding. They were jumping up and down and making exaggerated faces and broad gestures.
I loved them, but I must admit that I had trouble keeping my focus on the story. (Of course I have trouble keeping my focus on all sorts of things... which is why I'm checking in on the Found site instead of reading Tale of Genji.)
Are most "literary" signers like that or did those two just go to The Frustrated Mime School for American Sign Language?
@ receptionist and Holly -- my heart hurts too
Body language and facial expressions are often more exagerated in sign languages in order to convey what would be expressed by the voice using pitch, volume, etc.
@ John ... and can you imagine how difficult it would be to learn Chinese sign language?? (Or maybe it is conversely easy?)
But seriously, another thing some folks seem to think is that Sign is the new Esperanto, whereas pretty much each language group has its own sign language.
Why can't sign language be universal? Imagine the whole world being able to communicate with each other through our hands.
I think I remember reading something once about the Earl of Sandwich, wasn't the original sandwich, both the food and location, located somewhere across the pond?
which side of the pond are you on, girl in a cube? because the definition of across the pond is dependent on which side of it you are.
The invention of the sandwich occurred in the UK.
Wow,this person has an amazing grasp of English Grammar. The deaf people I know use ASL Grammar,which is more like spanish than English
@ Girl and Mona ... sounds like a library reference question to me! The Brits seem to think that the earl and the food are connected with the U.K. side of the Atlantic. "John Montagu fourth Earl of Sandwich died in 1792 and is probably best remembered now for the bread and beef convenience food which took his name." See
http://tinyurl.com/57t37b
The fourth Earl was known for other things during his lifetime, not all of them things you'd want to tell your young children.
@Girl: sign language is not universal for the same reason that spoken language isn't. Each language (be it spoken or signed) developed in a different geographical region of the world that had no contact with areas where other languages were developing similtaneously. (People seem to think that someone "invented" sign language recently and botched it up by not making it universal.)
An interesting side note: The developement of American Sign Language was greatly influenced by French Sign Language (for political reasons which I won't go into here.) As a result, deaf Americans are usually better able to communicate with deaf French people than with deaf British people.
@Librarian: I can only imagine.
In point of fact, there are at 3 different sign systems extant in the United States alone: ASL, AmeSLan, and another whose name escapes me just at the moment. It depends on what school/university you attend what system you learn.
In Brasil for example there is the "official" sign language taught in schools for the deaf, and then there is the "street sign" invented by deaf street kids that have never even been to school. I once saw a documentary on this home-grown system and it was very comprehensible even for a non-Portuguese speaker like myself.
People were putting meat and veg in pitas and wontons and spring rolls hundreds and even thousands of years before the Earl of Sandwich developed a gambling addiction.
He may have invented the name, but certainly not the concept.
@Orinoco: maybe you're thinking of Signed English as the third system.
Another reference question... Have there ever been any attempts to streamline/universalize sign languages? Perhaps a new sign language, that all school children around the world would learn and be able to use across the world?
Signing Exact English is a very strict signing system (not a language), used mostly for English instruction. AmeSLan is a term for American Sign Language (ASL) that never really caught on well. There is an International Sign Language (or Gestuno) that is nearly as popular as Esperanto.
@ Mary in Land of the Avacado: I am one of those people who jumps "up and down and making exaggerated faces and broad gestures"...an ASL interpreter I am and when I read this note, I thought the poor person needs to find a deaf community. It is nice when hearing learn to sign, but most need a reason to learn it and continue using it.
And @ Tasi: ASL is a true language and has caught on exceptionally well...as it is the language of the deaf. If a deaf person meets a hearing person who is fluent in ASL, the highest compliment that hearing person can receive is, "Wow. You sign like deaf."
oops..I guess I am not supposed to reveal my occupation.
Really, I am a spy. ;)
RJ, if you were to lose your hearing in the left ear suddenly, you may not need to rely only on sign language. You could be a candidate for a cochlear implant (if you meet other criteria). People who have already learned language and have had hearing for a long time tend to do the best with them. Learning sign language is fun though, you should do it just for the kicks of it!!
I remember the old SNL, with the recapped news for the hearing impaired.
Still makes me laugh.
HAHA. SNL. I forgot about that. "TONIGHT'S TOP STORY..."
I love sandwiches.
@fooch: how silly of me to word it that way - Someone was listing ASL and AmeSlan as two different sign systems. I was trying to clarify that ASL is a true language (as opposed to SEE), someone once suggested renaming it AmeSlan, but that term never caught on.
I too, am a spy who uses ASL everyday in my job.
@Jess -- I was in Lewes last week!
Are you coming to a UK Found event? Which one?
By my BUNNEE tee-shirt shall ye know me.
Oh, how I wish I could be in that crowd, searching for the dapper man in the Bunnee shirt...
Have Fun, Jonathan!
i wish i knew this person and was their friend so i could sign with them . . . = (
@ Jonathan - :O I only just saw your comment! wow, I'm not alone in this little corner of England :P
I couldn't make it to any of the Found events, which really sucked, but hopefully there will be more in future.
and P.S, your BUNNEE tee-shirt sounds immense.