ASL sign language U/W?

[EricTheDood]

Curious why we have our own limited and barbaric hand signals when there are systems already developed for clear communication.

"Limited and barbaric" hand signals aren't confined to diving. Just to name a few: airports, industry/construction (forklifts and cranes), referees/umpires/coaches, and military infantry.

"Clear communication" is subjective. ASL is meant to cover a much larger vocabulary, and thus can be less intuitive.

 

[simcoediver]

Nothing wrong with ASL,I can sign " stay level deco 50 feet" Or "I'm cold I want to ascend" in he same amount of time as you can say it in English.No fingerspelling, its all ASL. You can not compare ASL to the few diver signs some of you may know, it is a pure language and to be fluent in ASL it is the same as being fluent in English or any other language. Yes there are different dialects of ASL in different countries just the same as English in England is different from English in the USA.

 

[archer1960]

Nothing wrong with ASL,I can sign " stay level deco 50 feet" Or "I'm cold I want to ascend" in he same amount of time as you can say it in English.No fingerspelling, its all ASL. You can not compare ASL to the few diver signs some of you may know, it is a pure language and to be fluent in ASL it is the same as being fluent in English or any other language. Yes there are different dialects of ASL in different countries just the same as English in England is different from English in the USA.

But I can say it even faster in standard SCUBA signs, just 2 signs required.

 

[geoff w]

Most divers out there don't dive regularly, and there are plenty who only go out every year or two on vacation. There's a reason divemasters usually review hand signals - it's because most people can't remember the basics. Now imagine how complicated diving would be if people tried to communicate in sign language that they only use once a year or so! It's a great idea, but I expect the reality of being non-fluent would be more challenging than a few basic scuba hand signals

 

[Marciadive]

I have been diving for about 40 years, am fluent in ASL and work as a Sign Language Interpreter. I've always wanted to dive with Deaf people or interpreter friends, but don't know any who dive anymore. At one time I had a good friend and dive buddy who was also fluent. It was so easy to communicate anything we wanted to say underwater. I really do miss it. If there are any Deaf divers out there who are looking for someone to dive with, let me know. Or if there are a group of divers who want to join a dive trip and have a handy interpreter there, let me know as well.

 

[simcoediver]

I have been diving for about 40 years, am fluent in ASL and work as a Sign Language Interpreter. I've always wanted to dive with Deaf people or interpreter friends, but don't know any who dive anymore. At one time I had a good friend and dive buddy who was also fluent. It was so easy to communicate anything we wanted to say underwater. I really do miss it. If there are any Deaf divers out there who are looking for someone to dive with, let me know. Or if there are a group of divers who want to join a dive trip and have a handy interpreter there, let me know as well.

We have a fair sized Deaf H/H scuba club in Ontario Canada and we go on trips all the time. If you have Facebook go to "Ontario deaf scuba divers " and ask to join.

 

[Subcooled]

Curious why we have our own limited and barbaric hand signals when there are systems already developed for clear communication.

Anyone actively learning sign language for their dive team

How easy are the relevant ASL signs to make with gloves on and to understand in murky waters? Does ASL work well when you swim horizontally and your front is not visible?

Below is a list of ASL counting signs (from Wikipedia). Pay attention to the signs 6-9.
As compared to the corresponding dive signs, they might be

• more clear because they do not depend on the orientation of the hand
• more confusing as it may be hard to see which finger is down (counting needed and visibility might be limited)
• possibly harder to do with gloves

It might be helpful to extend the dive signs with some ASL (but I am not sure - I am not a linguist). More expressive power would be required especially when communicating uncertainty and gradual developments and feelings and so on...

The book Scubasigns displays and explains almost 500 signs and signals (touch signals are not covered very thoroughly - only one page). Scubasigns the guide to all Scuba diving hand signals

 

[EarlJonesIII]

Unnecessary re-inventing of the wheel as I see it. It's OK for the simple stuff like "OK" where it's pretty obvious what is trying to be said.

On my AOW course we were doing the search and recovery dive for the "triangle shape" search. After the three of us laying on the bottom with the instructor trying for about 5 minutes of all that mumbo jumbo and her third time of trying to make us understand, I just handed her my slate.

She wrote "Do a triangle pattern search, Monica lead."

English works all the time.