Possible to learn a foreign language and sign language at the same time?

(For some reason I’m full of questions today… :))

So I was on this guy’s blog earlier today and saw a note about him taking Japanese sign language. I’ve always wanted to learn a second language (I know some Spanish and French but not anywhere near fluency) and I’ve always wanted to learn sign language. I was wondering, and this is kinda crazy, would it be possible to do both at the same time. In other words, could I take a Spanish sign language class and in less time than it would take me to learn Spanish and sign language I could actually pick up both?

I guess a lot of this depends on how similar sign language is across countries. If it’s a lot different than this might be more challenging (since the likelihood of me communicating via sign language to Spanish-speaking people is pretty low!). Thanks in advance for any responses. :)

That’s an interesting question! I wonder what the difference is in Sign Language in other languages. We have two (at least?) tutors here who teach American Sign Language.

I have heard though that ASL doesn’t exactly translate to English as many signs are actually phrases and the grammar is quite different.

I’d love to hear from our ASL Tutors on this!

That is really interesting….I have a friend who’s mom might have some insight..but I don’t talk to them too often. My friend’s mom though is..fluent i guess you would say in ASL because she is partially deaf. The interesting thing though is that her mom is German. She was born and raised in Germany so I often wondered how the sign language differed. For instance if spelling a word in sign language in German how would you signify umlauts and sorts…this is an interesting topic though..

I am pretty sure it is possible. I mean there has to be some form of communication for the def in every language I would imagine. Let us know what you find out!

One of my girlfriends said learning sign and a new language shouldn’t be a challenge at all…she learned Sign and Spanish at the same time and is FLUENT in both now!!

American Sign Language is the first language of many deaf Americans and Canadians.
No sign language is universal. e.g., British Sign Language (BSL) differs from ASL. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions. ASL originates from French country combines with Indian, homemade and Martha Vineyard islanders.

ASL shares no grammatical similarities to English and should not be considered in any way to be a broken, mimed, or gestural form of English. In terms of syntax, for example, ASL has a topic-comment syntax, while English uses Subject-Object-Verb. In fact, in terms of syntax, ASL shares more with spoken Japanese than it does with English.
I am referring you to www.deaflibrary.org for some additional information.

Yes it is possible to learn sign language and another foreign language same time. Each individual’s capabilities of learning languages are diverse. So it’s feasible. ☺

I have a friend who learned French sign language growing up, because her grandmother was deaf. The only way she can really express herself now in French is by signing while she speaks.

Spring – I know what you mean – My son’s behavioral therapist is very expressive with her hands when she talks – then we found out she has two deaf children and she is signing without realizing it. Now occasionally when Matthew (who is Autistic) is trying to communicate something and I don’t understand he’ll say, “You know – it’s this…” and make the sign! Luckily I work with them during the sessions so I can usually remember what the sign is!