My sign name comes from my beard and I like to scratch it like I'm the mafia godfather.

I counter this with a counterquestion: How long does it take to master the English language well enough to be able to converse with others?                       

True, this takes a lot of practice and learning time. At the same time, you are never too old to learn something.                                                                                                

Nevertheless, in sign language you can start to come into contact with deaf people and communicate with them early on, even with just a few words, because, in contrast to other languages, it is very visual. You simply learn the language better in the interaction in which you use the language. If you don't have any contacts, you can take a sign language course or a sign meeting (if available).

Unlike auditory languages, sign language is purely visual and three-dimensional. We also use a sign room, for example, to be able to describe things and sequences of actions very precisely. Some of it is very difficult to translate into spoken languages.

In addition, information can not only be told one after the other but can also be conveyed at the same time, i.e. simultaneously. This means that I can provide several pieces of information at the same time, e.g. I can use facial expressions to signal interrogative sentences, or confirmations or negations. With two hands I can also locate and relate to people independently using the sign space. Sign language therefore also has a sentence structure: subject - object - verb (unlike German spoken language with the subject-verb-object sentence structure). If I express the facial expressions and the hands at the same time as described above, then you have to look at both the hands and the face while keeping the sign space in mind.

From the outside, sign language seems so “simple” or “emotional” because you only see individual hand movements or facial expressions. This is not the case, rather it has the same complexity as other languages.

Yes and no. Every country has its own sign language, as do all spoken languages. So sign languages ​​are different in different countries.

Nevertheless, two deaf people from different countries can interact well with each other, because they can clearly and unambiguously represent facts in an almost “pantomimic” manner for everyone and have conversations about them, e.g. individual actions such as EATING and DRINKING can be presented very vividly and can be used widely internationally.

If the deaf person even knows international sign, they can even have deeper conversations. Not every deaf person can do it automatically.

Depending on which qualifications you obtain in Germany, we also learn one or more foreign languages.

If deaf people attend a regular school (accompanied by an interpreter) among “normal-hearing” people, then they learn the same number of foreign languages ​​as everyone else. Learning is not easy for us because, for example, the interpreter is not constantly staffed due to financial barriers or the teaching staff does not have the special education background knowledge to be able to adequately adapt their lessons to our visual learning needs, for example. Even if an interpreter is available, it does not mean that he or she knows an appropriate foreign language for the deaf (e.g. American Sign Language) and can translate it professionally. We are often disadvantaged in several areas and do not have the same great access to the foreign language as “hearing people” have.

Very rarely, American Sign Language is offered as a “foreign language” at some special schools for the hearing impaired. This “foreign sign language” would be optimal for us because it is also visually accessible to us and direct communication with the teacher is possible.

The demand for good foreign language lessons for deaf people is currently increasing, but the corresponding skills and knowledge of the learning needs of deaf people are often lacking. So the answer to this is not very rosy.

Counterquestion: Do “hearing people” always only dream with words? 

So yes, we also dream in gestures at times and we all also dream inexplicable things, e.g. shadowy shadows or movements or clear panoramic images with a certain tone of voice, mental images, or mental language. Even musical bass can also be incorporated into dream worlds.

Hearing people often have no insight or understanding into our deaf world. Sometimes they even have misconceptions and prejudices.

Here's a little insight: We deaf people have existed as long as humans have existed. We have experienced every era of humanity (as an unseen fringe group). We finally want our recognized and equal place in society from other people, i.e. from you who “hear”. For several thousand years, “hearing people” have tried to treat or even “fix” us so we can speak, to ban sign language, or even to eradicate us through euthanasia, because deafness (like other disabilities) is something negative and bad. We are healthy, we don't lack anything, and we are also people with our own language and culture, and can do everything that hearing people can do, e.g. dancing, studying, and much more. We feel auditory discrimination from some hearing people and we receive support from some nice people.

Disabilities arise because the majority do not have this “otherness”. What I want to say is that people with disabilities are not a deficit, but simply bring challenges in interaction that society and individuals have to overcome together. So working together is always easier for all of us. I miss the fact that people are just different and that way.

It is precisely through being together that we gain this multi-perspective and can thereby gain interesting insights into the world of sign language, e.g. sign language poetry.

As already mentioned above:

• finally barrier-free sign language in all media and events,
• finally recognition of the deaf community in society on an equal footing,
• finally, implement the UN CRPD and finally stop just saving!
• finally recognition of sign language as the second most important language in Germany!

For us, it is also important that the terms signs and sign language have a positive connotation and no longer have negative connotations, as they have in the past.

It is difficult for us when the information can only be accessed audibly and not in sign language or in writing, e.g. doctors who can only be reached by telephone and have no email address or interpreter services.

We often face hurdles at the public authorities, as sign language is not yet recognized as the second most important language in Germany, so the costs for the interpreter are often not paid or covered because they do not want to pay for it transfer responsibility to other offices. This means that it is often not financed in a timely manner or not sufficiently financially. Short-term inquiries, conversations with colleagues or teachers, or offers are particularly affected here, e.g. speeches by politicians, visits to the doctor, and much more. and here we feel left out as they are often geared towards auditory audiences. It was particularly difficult during the Corona period: information was often conveyed auditorily and verbally, e.g. television, colleagues, conferences, etc., while there was a lot of fake news on the Internet and we couldn't be sure what was true.

The question should be laughed at because, as mentioned above, there are obviously barriers. We are affected by these barriers, although since 2008 (UN-BRK) Germany has signed up to the law that people with disabilities should be included in society by being able to take part in events, life, and society. To this day, there is still generally no area of ​​life that is truly barrier-free for us or barrier-free for all deaf people. All areas of life are primarily aimed at the general majority and do not take other minorities into account. We would like sign language to be offered everywhere.

Of course, you shouldn't pretend that inclusion won't be cheap and that the government should simply implement what it has enshrined and implemented in law since 2008.

We always recommend watching the weekly television reports from "Sehen statt Hören" (translation: Seeing instead of hearing). There is an incredible amount of information out there about the world of the deaf.

Alternatively, you can follow the really interesting posts in the “Hand Drauf” (Translation: hand on it -  means to confirm a verbal promise with a handshake) group on the Instagram channel.

If you would like to learn about sign language in general, we recommend the German Sign Language Handbook.

Sign language is a visual, beautiful language. Once you get past the sticking point in learning sign language where you have an aha moment and really understand the special aspects of sign language, then you don't want to give it up. Because, unlike other languages, it is a real benefit here, also for everyday life, because it offers advantages that spoken language cannot bring, e.g. visual-spatial imagination or the simultaneous capture of information, or simply underwater or through glass panes being able to talk to others properly and in a relaxed manner. You’ve probably experienced this “aha” moment in other foreign languages. I wish the same for you in DGS. So be patient while learning (don't be too strict with yourself) and keep at it. At some point, the sticking point comes.