Chapter 23

"Where did you learn sign language?" This question is the topic of chapter 23. People say they get this question frequently when signing with Deaf people. They want to know why and if this is common for most people in the Deaf culture. The book answers yes, this is a very common question to ask hearing people if they know sign (p. 143). Most Deaf people are curious on how you learned sign language or why you learned it.

As the book says, "ASL is the language of Deaf people. It belongs to them, and they feel protective of it (p. 143)." At first I thought this statement was odd. I thought, its a language so it can't "belong" to anyone. The more I thought about it and read this chapter the more it made sense. I like that they feel protective over their language, they should. It is an vital part of who we are as humans...the ability to communicate with one another.

One reason some people are fluent in ASL is because they have parents, brothers, sisters, or other family members who are Deaf. I don't think its a bad thing that Deaf people are curious about where you learned sign. It would be like a person from another country learning English fluently; most people ask where they learned to speak so well. Or something along those lines. Everyone and every culture is curious about one another, especially if you know a lot about that persons background.