Although Pidgin Sign English (PSE) is not considered a “true language” and lacks rules, it is quite possibly the most widely used style of signing in America. Sign linguistics experts view it as a way to "bridge" the gap between native ASL speakers and native English speakers. Native speakers can be either deaf or hearing children of Deaf Adults (CODAs). The signs used in PSE come from ASL, but they are signed in English word order.

It is hard to thoroughly describe PSE, since it is quite individualistic and users communicate in whatever way they feel comfortable. Some users are very “Englishy” and sign things not found in ASL at all, such as “the,” “am,” “is,” etc. Some lean very much towards ASL and it is hard to know a difference unless you’re fluent in ASL. But the vast majority fall somewhere in the middle, signing ASL signs and, preferably, concepts, but using English sentence structure.

ASL is a distinct language, and (like most other languages) it does not map perfectly to English. There is no equivalent for many specific words and the syntax is completely different. Culturally Deaf people, signing with each other, usually use ASL, but many people, who learn to sign later in life, after hearing and using spoken English, do not sign strictly in ASL. Instead, they use a mixture of ASL and English. This is PSE, now commonly known as Contact Sign.

PSE is not Signed Exact English (SEE), which uses signs for each exact English word (even signs that don't exist in ASL) and exact English word order. SEE is most frequently used in educational settings, where the theory is that it will help deaf children learn English. Again, it was invented to teach deaf children English and is NOT used by Deaf adults. I strongly advise you against attending any classes or learning signs from any books that teach signs for articles (a, am, the), “be” verbs, suffixes, prefixes, and such. Not only will this slow your signing down immensely, but also many deaf adults might shy away from conversations with you simply due to annoyance!

Culturally Deaf people are usually very adept at understanding and using this blend of English and ASL when they sign with someone who doesn't strictly use ASL. This is why it is not necessary to learn the actual “foreign” language of ASL if your only intention is to be able to communicate with the deaf in social situations. In fact, many, if not most, classes today that claim to teach American Sign Language are actually teaching PSE. A few keys to identifying this in your class are found below.

So ask yourself why you want to learn to sign. Do you want to learn because you want to be a professional interpreter? You will need to find a class (you cannot teach yourself) and you will need it to be strict ASL (see American Sign Language). Do you want to learn to sign because you want to be able to communicate manually and maybe be able to talk to a deaf or hard of hearing person who signs? If this is the case, you may find a strict ASL atmosphere overwhelming and discouraging. Keep in mind that many people do not even realize there’s a difference (although I guarantee culturally Deaf people do). You will probably find that learning PSE is more up your ally and what you had intended when you set off on this endeavor in the first place.

Steps to learning:

As mentioned above, many classes that advertise American Sign Language are actually teaching Contact Sign. A few things to ask include:

• Is the teacher culturally Deaf or a native ASL user?
• Does the teacher use her voice as she signs?
• If not, does the teacher mouth each word as she signs?
• Are you given a list of vocabulary words on the first or second day of class?

Some of these clues may tip you off that it’s not pure ASL you’ve signed up to learn. If you’re looking for a pure ASL class, please read the next chapter, where I explain why each of the above factors may make the distinction clear.

As for the steps to learning PSE, I suggest you talk with the teacher and simply ask. If, by some awful turn of events, your teacher doesn’t know what you’re talking about, run (don’t walk) out of that class and get your money back! But rest assured, a majority of classes will teach you vocabulary of ASL and help you understand conceptualization. Then you can simply put those concepts and signs into English word order and you’re on your way to communicating! It’s really fairly simple, although it will take some commitment on your part, and it’s undebateably fun!

Not Signed English!

Just to clarify once more, PSE is NOT Signed English, even though those words are included in the name. That is one reason why the name has changed, though not the primary reason.

If your sign teacher teaches you to sign every word, or even just includes the articles, word endings, “be” verbs, prefixes, etc., you may want to question him or her. My personal opinion is not to bother and to just find a different class. There’s little doubt that, when you approach your teacher, they will have something to say to justify their reasoning for using those signs. The truth is though, that unless you plan to sign with children, it’s not only useless, but confusing to boot!

Conceptualization

OK. I’ve used this term frequently, so now I want to explain. There are some would-be sign language students who believe that there is a sign for every English word and that’s all there is to it. So, if there is an English word that, although spelled exactly the same and pronounced exactly the same, means several different things, it will still only have one sign.

This can get you into a lot of trouble and completely confuse the person you’re signing with.

Take, for example, the English word, “run.” How many definitions of the word “run” are there? Numerous! But each way of using that word uses an entirely different concept or idea. Consider the following sentences:

I am running in the race tomorrow.

My head hurts and my nose is running.

We’re running out of sugar.

Running into my old friend, Joe, was such a surprise!

Who’s running for Student Council this year?

I am running out of patience with you!

He is running your life for you.

I’m running 100 copies of this off for the class tomorrow.

Now, imagine someone signing all eight of these sentences using the same sign for the word “running.” It would not make any logical sense! You may be running a race, but your nose isn’t going to jump off your face and run, too! So the key to PSE is that, although you are free to use English word order, you must use the sign for the word that has the same meaning (or concept), not just sound.

Learning PSE is faster and easier than ASL, but it is not an excuse for signing whatever you feel like. We deafies take many things literally. If you’re having a TTY conversation and you type that the cat has your tongue, we may very well wonder what is wrong with that cat! Of course, that doesn’t always happen, but it can lead to some major confusion.

As you’re learning signs, try to turn on the thesaurus that’s in your head. When you want to tell someone to HAVE FUN do you really mean you want him or her to possess fun? Is that even possible? Don’t you mean ENJOY? Or if you HAVE TO go to the store, do you “HAVE” a “TO” or do you NEED? That’s conceptualization in its most basic form. And, for goodness sake, don’t sign NEVER and MIND when you should sign WHATEVER, or sign the single words for FROM NOW ON when there is a specific ASL sign for that.

Basic Vocabulary

Now that you’ve decided that starting with Contact Sign and then moving over as far as you’re comfortable with to ASL is the best deal for you, let’s think about the best way to start learning.

Of course, a class is always the best way to go. But sometimes classes simply aren’t practical for your budget or time restraints. Videos work well in this case, but you must supplement that with actual contact with the Deaf culture. Get out there, socialize, meet new people and watch! If the local Deaf group meets at the food court in the mall, go to the meeting, get yourself a soda pop and sit and watch. Sooner or later, someone will approach you and ask who you are and if you are deaf. That’s your opportunity to practice your skills and meet a new friend! As a last resort, books can help you get started on your way to learning to sign. The problem with books is that they are two dimensional and often difficult to figure out how to sign what you see. If you supplement books with videos and socialization, it should be fine though.

Purchasing a good vocabulary book would be fine for this method as long as you keep in mind the other points we’ve discussed. The resources section at the end of this book gives you some good ideas for what may be useful. I suggest you write a list of sentences that you say on a regular basis, learn the signs for those sentences, and then move from there. Remember though, PSE does not mean you sign every word. If you were going to ask someone, “How are you,” you would simply sign HOW YOU? There is no sign for “are” in ASL (but there is one in Signed English, so be careful).

Here are some suggestions:

HOW YOU? (How are you?)

YOUR NAME WHAT? (What is your name?)

MY NAME ________. (My name is ______.)

YOU DEAF? (Are you deaf?)

I HEARING. (I’m hearing.)

I LEARN LEARN SIGN. (I am learning sign language.)

PLEASE SIGN SLOW. (Please sign slowly.)

NOT UNDERSTAND. PLEASE REPEAT. (I didn’t understand that. Please repeat it.)

I TAKE-UP SIGN CLASS ______ (fill in where). (I’m taking sign at _____)

MY SIGN TEACHER _______. KNOW YOU? (My sign language teacher is ____)

I WANT LEARN SIGN BECAUSE ______. (I want to learn sign language because ______).

I MARRIED/SINGLE/DIVORCED ( I am married/single/divorced)

I HAVE KIDS __. (I have ___ kids.)

I HARD OF HEARING. HEARING LOSS PROGRESSIVE. (I am HOH with a progressive hearing loss.)

MY SIGNING CLEAR? (Is my signing clear?)

Think about your profession, hobbies, anything that will help tell someone more about you. Learn those terms and go from there. Please be sure to read the chapter on fingerspelling. One of the gravest mistakes some new sign students make is to think that they can learn the manual alphabet and then just fingerspell all the words they don’t know the sign for. This is not a good idea. Not only is fingerspelling exhausting to watch, but it’s a skill that doesn’t come easily. In fact, fingerspelling and numbers may be the most difficult aspects of Sign Language to master. Do the signing recipient a favor, and re-word, gesture, mime, point, write it on paper: try everything else before resorting to fingerspelling.