I love sign language

[nuggetsmom]

This weekend we were out and about and DD got all excited about this dog as she does with all the dogs she sees. The owner of the dog explained to me in English and signs that he was deaf and that it was OK for DD to pet the dog. I was so happy I knew the sign for dog and that I was able to say thank you to the man in sign language.
Not that I know very much, but I knew enough. I think the sign he used for pet was what we use for gentle, but I doubt DD was confused since the concept of gently seems foreign to her right now anyway.

I just felt like sharing.

[sozobe]

Very cool! I've seen this too (I'm deaf) that more and more people a) recognize that my daughter and I are signing to each other and b) know enough signs to have a rudimentary conversation. (I lipread well, but it's still cool.)

What was the specific sign used? (Pet/ gentle.) Just curious.

[symbiosis]

That is cool!

I have taken a few ASL classes and used to have deaf co-workers so my conversational skills were much better years ago then they are now but I did remember enough to teach our youngest some of them and it was a wonderful experience.

[nuggetsmom]

For gentle I stroke/pet my hand. This is the sign he used for petting the dog. The ASL browser has this as the sign for pet too. I have noticed that once you start to learn some signs, they really make sense in that they represent something real. I should look up gentle.
I also love how sesame street has sign language with the songs sometimes. I learned christmas this way
I would watch everyday if I could, but I really don't think it is neccesary for DD to watch everyday. I could tape it and watch after she goes to bed... Well, I don't like TV that much either.

[sozobe]

That is the sign for pet. The way you do it indicates "pet gently," or "pet briskly" or "pet lightly" or whatever. I use the sign for "soft" when I want to say "gentle" (can describe the sign for "soft" if you'd like.)

[nuggetsmom]

Yes, I would like to know. I am not sure that I should change the sign we are using now though. Still, it will be useful to know, and since the concept of gentle seems to be foreign to her right now anyway, maybe I can change it.
We use gentle a lot because we have a pet who is very old and needs to be treated gently.

[sozobe]

If gentle is specifically about treatment of the pet, the "pet-gently" sign is entirely appropriate.

The sign for "soft" is to hold your hands palm-up in front of you, very slightly cupped, then bring them down gently while drawing your fingertips together. Do this twice.

I'm trying to think of when I use this -- I sometimes use both together ("pet-gently", "be gentle"). I guess anything non-petting related -- "that's delicate -- be gentle with it", that kind of thing.

[nuggetsmom]

Thanks Sozobe. I also use it for being nice to me, and I am an animal, so I guess that could be appropriate too. Lately I have been using "gentle" for being careful with objects (like the christmas tree and my plants in the back yard). Would that be the time I could use "softly" instead?