It is difficult to describe a sign name in words. It is better to show it in a personal conversation. Signs are visual and cannot be written down. I got my sign language name in my home country, the Czech Republic. There is a common sign name for the name Petra.

That is not so easy to answer. As with other languages, it depends a lot on the talent of the person learning sign language. In addition, it also plays a big role in how often the person has contact with deaf people and actually uses sign language. Then language acquisition is also faster.

The most important difference is the perceptual channel: Sign language is a visual language, while spoken language is an auditory language. I.e. the former is perceived with the eyes, the latter with the ears.

Yes, it works very well. Each country has its own sign language, just as there are different spoken languages. Nevertheless, deaf people can communicate quickly. Many signs reflect concrete actions or objects and are therefore similar all over the world. They are called natural signs, e.g. the sign for "drink" or "car".

In schools, there are usually English classes as well. Unfortunately, however, deaf children rarely learn English sign language as well. They only learn written English and the meaning of the words or phrases.

Yes, deaf people think and dream in sign language. This is our mother tongue and therefore we think and dream in signs.

No, I don't miss anything because I'm deaf. I'm happy the way I am.

We all want sign language to become a matter of course in society and public life. Then we wouldn't always come up against communication barriers.

Sign language is best learned in a face-to-face course. There you learn a lot of background knowledge and build on it. Books or DVDs cannot do that. A face-to-face course also offers the great advantage of being taught by a deaf person and thus making contact with the community. If you want to learn more about our community, I recommend the TV show “Sehen statt Hören" (translation: "See instead of hear”) and the social media channel “hand.drauf” (translation: hand on it - to confirm a verbal promise with a handshake) on Instagram.