American Sign Language (ASL) Lesson 04 Narrative (Story)

[@sign-language]

Hello ASL Heroes!!! Hey, I could really use your help. If you’ve enjoyed having access to an expert in ASL you can help me continue my work for you. A donation from you would instantly make a big difference here at the studio because teachers don’t earn much and I could use some help paying for server and domain hosting for Lifeprint.com. Right now you can help out a humble (not to mention kind, caring, generous, compassionate, helpful, friendly, fair, and hard-working) ASL teacher -- just go here and a few clicks later you too will be a true “ASL Hero!” www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=64QMBRBXQSV6G Thanks! - Dr. Bill p.s. Want to have your very own USB drive with four semesters worth of ASL instruction (that’s the equivalent of two years of colleges classes) for just $79.95? See "SuperUSB" in the ASLUniversity bookstore at: lifeprint.com/bookstore/bookstore.htm Take care and love to you all. :)

[@ges4934]

Hi Bill, thank you SO much for putting out these amazing lessons for us! It's been a while since I've been able to practice asl but I'm getting back into it and am so excited :) I'm really sorry I can't donate right now :( but I wanted to suggest that you start a patreon, a ton of KZbinrs do it and people can easily donate monthly or just once. I think it would be a great idea and would help you out a lot, you should look into it. I'll donate as soon as I get my financial situation sorted out 💜

[@Simplyfemme]

Im a nanny to a ASL family and bill just know because of you I learned so much. And I also take ASL classes. Keep it up🤘🏾

[@hollisterlasers-ion8939]

This is the story for Lesson 4. Here is the English translation: "My aunt wants a divorce. Uncle loves her. Doesn't want a divorce. He is sad, angry, heartbroken. He goes to his bedroom and cries. He asked a friend to help him. The friend's idea was that if uncle wants to be happy and stop feeling sad he should go to his wife, apologize and ask for forgiveness." This story is strong on absent referent indexing (using space to talk about people who aren't in the room with us, see his pronoun video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHLVqKV_Z9F3Y5Y). This story lesson can be found on his lesson 4 webpage: www.lifeprint.com/asl101/lessons/lesson04.htm

[@charmedheart77]

Just finished Lesson 4 again and onto the next lesson. Lesson 5. I really like the narrative (story) lessons. Putting together all that you learn in a lesson really helps.

[@sign-language]

How to use ASL University to learn sign language for free: 1. Visit Lifeprint.com and become familiar with the ASL University website. 2. Bookmark the official ASLU KZbin master playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PL6akqFwEeSpiLwRFA3ZvuOWMwPXwI7NqA 3. For quick reviews (to prevent memory extinction) bookmark the "Signs" channel playlist page: kzbin.infoplaylists 4. If you use a desktop or laptop computer you can look up signs using this page: www.lifeprint.com/search.htm 5. If you use a mobile device you can look up signs using this page: www.lifeprint.com/search/index.htm 6. If you can’t find a sign after using the search options at Lifeprint.com then consider applying to join the Lifeprint-ASLU Facebook group and asking your question there. See: facebook.com/groups/Lifeprint.ASLU/ 7. Go through the ASLU Lessons for free: www.lifeprint.com/asl101/lessons/lessons.htm Your comments, questions, or suggestions are always welcome. To contact Dr. Bill Vicars, see: www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/contact.htm Ways to support the ASL University channel: 1. Click the “thumb up” (like) icon on videos at KZbin.com/billvicars 2. Click the “subscribe” button at KZbin.com/billvicars (if you haven't done so yet) 3. Click the “Share” link and share the videos. 4. Visit the “ASLU” bookstore at www.lifeprint.com/bookstore/bookstore.htm (feel free to suggest new products that you would like to see). 5. Buy some ASL University “official” clothing at: ASLU gear: teespring.com/stores/aslu 6. Subscribe to the ASLU subscription site: asl.tc (For information see: lifeprint.com/asltc/ ) 7. Donate via: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=64QMBRBXQSV6G 8. For other donation options, see: www.Lifeprint.com/donate.htm If you have any friends who might be in a position to do so you might want to consider inviting them to donate -- thus supporting Deaf children and the promotion of free sign language resources via Lifeprint.com

[@antediluvial]

Thank you Bill!

[@popularonyoutubephilippine7124]

Philippines have English in FSL now. Because borrow for ASL really. BUT need learn from asl language..

[@jadaglenn7363]

I love the narratives!

[@annaethridge2800]

Bill I wish you could come to Missouri I would love to do one of your videos. I've learned everything so far from you. Your so funny. N

[@sign-language]

Anna, I'd love to come out to Missouri! Just get a sponsor and set up an ASL Workshop. For example, do a GoFundMe campaign or some other fundraiser, (bake sale, car wash, etc.) Or go meet with millionaires (you can find them at "charity events") and ask them to sponsor ASL training for parents of Deaf children (or of children on the Autistic spectrum, or similar). My fee is generally $500 (plus "expenses) for a "one day" workshop. Expenses include airfare (business class), hotel (2 nights), auto rental (2 days), and "per diem" (food, etc.) Since most folks prefer a firm target (they want to know the exact fee in advance) I've set an general "all total" rate for workshops in the (contiguous) U.S. that comes to $2,995.00. - Dr. Bill

[@annaethridge2800]

@@sign-language That's a great idea. Thank you. I will see what I can do and get back with you. Again thank you for being my Teacher on KZbin. Your so funny and kind.

[@doctorluzbubs258]

Solano in spanish is a term used when someone asks what gang you are in but you respond "solano" when you are indifferent

[@XALi-qm3kp]

Bill, thank you for the lessons! Your videos make me feel like taking them in a classroom. I just wanted to ask a small question: I sign with my left hand as the dominant hand. For the "heartbroken" sign, should I sign the "hurt" in front of my left chest (where my heart is) or in front of my right chest to make it a mirror of the right-handed version?

[@sign-language]

You could do it either way. For most signs lefties just do a mirror image -- including signs like "police officer" that involve the area over the heart. For a hurting heart type of concept if I were a lefty I'd still do the sign generally near the area of the chest where the heart is typically considered to be since the "hurt" sign is being used as a "locative" sign.

[@XALi-qm3kp]

@@sign-language Got it! Thanks again.

[@suzannehedderly1331]

I feel bad for the uncle. 🙁 What did he do? 😄

[@sign-language]

What the uncle "did" we will save for the "advanced" class. ;-)

[@suzannehedderly1331]

Bill Vicars 😄

[@gwen9697]

thank you so much! this was wonderful!

[@zachubert32]

She did great!

[@CaseyMarkov]

at 15:13 when you were signing the ask-formal you put your hands together at a (what looks like) 45-degree angle instead of the students 90ish. Is that way make it look more authentic and less as a student of asl or is it just the way that you sign it? Thanks

[@sign-language]

Good eye! Keep picking that stuff up and you'll soon be a pro. Dr. Bill's first rule of signing: If it hurts -- don't do it. You'll notice that the faster and more casually we sign things -- our wrist and arm positions become more and more natural and less inclined to cause stress on our joints. Plus the signs become more abbreviated and the movements smaller. For example, the sign "know" often ends up being done on the cheek rather than the forehead.

[@sloanemactire8780]

I was wondering about the forms of divorce used in this exercise. Is there a nuance in meaning between the two signs (initialized form vs handclasp version)? Just curiosity given that they both are used. Thank you Dr. Vicars for all of the wonderful resources at the ASLU on the Lifeprint site!

[@sign-language]

The two forms of the sign denote the same meaning. The use of the unclasping version however may be considered to provide a bit of social connotation due to choosing to eschew initialization. Avoidance of initialization may indicate that a signer is deliberately avoiding the appearance of using English linkages in their signing. There can be a number of reasons for such avoidance: Trying to be avant garde, trying to appear to be advanced on the signing skill spectrum, holding an actual disdain for English and/or Hearing people, genuine pride in ASL, etc. However, as time passes and the unclasping version of "divorce" becomes more common people then start signing it not for connotative reasons but instead are signing that way simply because that is what they were taught and/or how they see others signing it. In other words, as time passes -- the unclasping sign becomes more denotative and less of a connotative statement about the person doing the signing. Also, as time passes, if the unclasping trend continues, then doing the initialized version of the sign for "divorce" will eventually start connotating (suggesting) that you are "old," or that you learned (habituated) the sign for divorce prior to the de-initialization trend that has been going on since around the turn of the 21st century.

[@caidenlawson5695]

thank you for this lesson

[@donnafiebigshababy5918]

Love these videos. What is the difference between “wife” and “married”? It looks the same here.

[@sign-language]

"Wife" is a compound of girl and married. So, it starts higher up and/or touches the chin. See: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foPZZYuCodyXmcU Some people actually sign girl+marry to mean wife.

[@donnafiebigshababy5918]

Thank you. Is the Color "black' and the word "because" similar?

[@sign-language]

In order to help people more quickly receive responses to requests for free help regarding basic sign language questions I have set up a website at Lifeprint.com where you can look up signs and visit lesson pages. I have also set up a Facebook group to provide assistance and feedback to individuals wishing to receive advice regarding ASL. If you haven't done so yet, you may wish to visit and apply to join: facebook.com/groups/Lifeprint.ASLU/ If you do wish to join, please keep in mind that you will need to "read the rules" and answer a couple of questions during the application process. After you are a member of the Lifeprint-ASLU group feel free to post your ASL-related questions there after doing a search for the answer using the in-group search function (available on full-size browsers). You should receive some good answers. After a reasonable amount of time if you haven't received an answer from the group and if you still need my assistance feel free to tag me from within the thread. Warm regards, - Dr. Bill ___________________ William G. Vicars Ed.D.

[@pepsisepsis8087]

Hey, Solano represent!

[@caitlinkillarney6313]

What happened to the sound in his videos

[@sign-language]

I am not voicing to my students. They are learning with their eyes. Some videos have sound but it is background noise only.

[@annieswatches]

@@sign-language Maybe that's what she meant, like why is there no background noise?

[@sign-language]

I generally click on the "no sound" option when preparing the videos for publication. Sometimes I record in a home studio or in a mixed use environment and would rather not be publishing whatever stray / random sounds are being picked up by the camera. For example, one of the first videos I ever posted was one I recorded of an interview I did of a friend (also Deaf) at a restaurant. Later, KZbin contacted me with a copyright notice against the video and blocked it. Eventually I figured out that the problem was the restaurant had music playing in the background (that I was unware of due to not hearing it). The KZbin system detected that the background music was copyrighted and threatened to put a strike against my account if "continued" to break their rules. In some of my earlier videos (prior to KZbin) people would contact me and mention that on such and such a video my cat was meowing the whole time - or they could hear my kids. Awkward. So perhaps you can see why a Deaf person might not want to have background noise in their videos. Over time I've become a bit less concerned (either way).

[@KimNguyen-ku7zw]

Second

[@aiyannageorge8296]

First