Dactylology,
often referred to as finger spelling, is the representation of letters and
numerals using only the hands (Wikipedia). The finger
alphabets or hand alphabets, have been used in deaf education,
and have been adopted by a number of sign languages around the world.
For those of you who may not know, there isn’t one universal sign language,
there are about 200 different sign languages used around the world today. The American Sign Language (ASL)
The following videos are songs interpreted using ASL
Oh, and just a heads up, you may have to
click the Watch on YouTube link in the first video. Sometimes it works right off the bat and sometimes I get a restricted from playback message. But if you have time, do check these
out, I think both interpreters are impressive and very nice to
look at. (;
Skip to 0.55 seconds if you want to go directly to the start of the song.
Other dang interesting D_ology words:
Deltiology: The study and collection of postcards.
Dysteleology: The philosophy that existence as we know it, has no cause or purpose or inherent goal. Dysteleology is also described as a form of science-oriented atheism.
Dendrology: The study of trees.
A study of postcards? Very interesting...as were the rest of those words.
ReplyDeleteI'm really digging your theme, Elise, I'm going to drop some of these words on my friends and family and pretend like I'm smart :)
I've always wanted to learn sign language too. Once I found a book on sign language and learned how to do the letters of the alphabet using sign. But if you don't practice, you forget how to do everything.
ReplyDeleteThe study of postcards is different. I guess there's a study for everything. In school, we had a deaf girl. I took a year or two of sign language hoping to communicate with her. Although I never did (she had a different group of friends) my siblings and I used dactylology to communicate. . .always then when we weren't allowed to talk ;)
ReplyDeleteI only recently learned that there isn't even one sign language for all the English speaking countries. How silly.
ReplyDeleteRhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com
AtoZ #42
I can only sign the alphabet. And not very well. I'm way behind...but I have to check the rest of these out. Such a cool theme!
ReplyDeleteWOW... they were both incredible, especially the first guy. Totally awesome. I've never really thought about learning sign language, to be honest, but after watching these videos, I'd quite like to.
ReplyDelete(Stopping by from AtoZ)
http://suzyturner.blogspot.com
Dactylology sounds awesome. 200? That's plenty. Yeah I'll stick to local ASL when I'm ready to learn. Wonderful pick today.
ReplyDelete200 different sign languages?! That's amazing!
ReplyDeleteDani & Jax @ Cover Girls
We have people at our church who know sign language and it's fascinating to watch them during the music, because they are both singing and signing.
ReplyDeleteI'm hopeless when it comes to sign language. Don't know the first thing about it!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting D words.
Thanks for stopping in guys. I'll be hopping over to hang with you all on your blogs today! :D
ReplyDeleteVery impressive and also entertaining.
ReplyDeleteGreat D words. I collect postcards so deltiology is for me! :)
ReplyDeleteFascinating, I didn't know that there wasn't a universal sign language.
ReplyDeleteGreat videos, they make signing come alive.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there was such a thing as the study of postcards. I wonder if one could make a living doing such a thing.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the videos. I know a little sign language, but I've always wanted to be much better at it.
I love the videos! I took Sign Language...my professor was deaf! Best way to learn-he was amazing~
ReplyDeleteIt was a college course offered by my work. I worked in the hospitality industry. He made us get up in front of the class and we could only sign, no talking. It was hard...
Great post :D
Ummm how can you study postcards? Look at the prett picture? lol and those videos sure are impressive.
ReplyDeleteI dig the videos too. I always thought sign language was so beautiful. How's A-Z treating you?
ReplyDeletePostcards, really?? I wonder what kind of degree you'd need for a career in postcard-studying
ReplyDeleteThis was awesome! So emotional, their hands and bodies were truly their beautiful voices.
ReplyDeleteKatie atBankerchick Scratchings
yay!
ReplyDeletemost guys'd prolly like d-cupology ;)
me? cup sizes never meant a thing... anything more'n a handful is, usually, a waste! :P lmfao
I've ALWAYS wanted to learn sign language! Cool word.
ReplyDeleteHappy A through Z blogging!
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/
I've always wanted to learn how to sign. I know some words, but not enough to be fluent. I love your theme for the A-Z challenge!
ReplyDeleteDendrochronology is another D word. The study of tree rings. I love these -ologies!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great group of D words. I know some sign but since I don't use it any longer, I forgotten so much.
ReplyDeleteI think sign language is so fascinating. I love to watch people using it, it's amazing to me. These videos are really cool. :)
ReplyDeleteFascinating post. My daughter, Blake (she is 14 now) lost her hearing when she was about two and as a result my family learned sign language and became very involved in the Deaf Action Community. Ultimately, we decided not teach her to sign, we were told that she would use it as a crutch and it would hinder her motivation to learn to speak. She has a cochlea implant and it allows her to hear as well as most people. She is a straight A student and cheerleader in a regular 8th grade school and class. She is our miracle. I am glad that I learned to sign as it has come in handy a few times, when I have encountered hearing impaired people who only sign.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you are aware of this or if it is the same everywhere, but in our area, cochlea implants are a very controversial topic, among the deaf community. Many took offense that we chose to go the hearing and speaking route, as opposed to allowing our daughter to embrace the deaf community. They felt that we turned our back on her "culture", but my husband and I decided that it was best to give Blake every opportunity to excel and we believed that she would do better by adapting to the world, rather than only learning to sign. Very few people are able to communicate with sign language and we could not expect the world to learn to communicate with her. I suppose it is a personal choice, but I am grateful for modern day medicine and technology and that my beautiful daughter, now has more opportunities to grow up and do whatever she chooses with her life.
I enjoyed your post today.
My sis in law used to teach deaf kids using ASL. I love this ology and how it helps others to be able to communicate.
ReplyDeleteI worked with students with disabilities for years and tried to learn ASL several times. I wasn't good with the symbolic language. But after several attempts, I realized I wasn't very good at the symbolic language. But watching the songs, isn't it lovely? I love how the face expressions are vital parts of the communication.
ReplyDeleteI think sign is soooooo beautiful!!!
ReplyDeleteWe did baby sign with our first born and it was amazzzzzing. She totally could communicate before she could speak. So cool.
Such a wonderful wonderful video! I loved it. I always wanted to learn sign language but I think I have not devoted enough time. I think it is poetic. :)
ReplyDeleteThought provoking post. I have never thought much about sign language and if I had done, I would have assumed there was only one type
ReplyDeleteWhenever I'm at a concert, I find myself watching the signers more than the musicians; it's an art in itself.
ReplyDeleteThe study and collection of post cards?? Sounds like a great book character to me! ASL is beautiful to watch. But, as a friend told me, difficult to use while doing chores.
ReplyDeleteJenn @Scribbles From Jenn
Creepy hands and creepy letters make for creepy horror in the dark of the night.
ReplyDeleteWhen you turn your lights off, and it's dark in your house after having binge-watched supernatural, may the flicker of lightning show hand letters being formed on your walls that spell "we are watching you..."
Thank you for teaching me something completely new. I hope you get to learn sign language one day, as you never know when it can come in handy. Thank you so much for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteHow immature am I that I'm now dying to see the ASL version of "I Like Big Butts?" Uh, don't bother answering... ;-)
ReplyDeleteSome Dark Romantic
I SO hoped that this was going to be about pterodactyls :(
ReplyDeleteThose videos are so cool! I know some basics in ASL, but that's about it.
Sign language is such a great thing to learn. I admire those who do it but I think I'd be terrible at it!
ReplyDeleteHi Elise,
ReplyDeleteAnother informative posting. I do appreciate your theme. I also promise not to make some silly comment such as, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I sure got to hand it to you with this posting. No, would never do that....
Seriously, Elise, as Nick has noted, sign language is a great skill to acquire. I've had folks use sign language at me that I don't think was meant to be a compliment. Take care and have fun with this alternate alphabet challenge :)
Gary :)
I've always thought signing was a beautiful form of communication.
ReplyDeleteInteresting D words. I had no idea there was a study of postcards. I do wonder what people study about them!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post. I think more people should know sign language. I took in college to fulfill my language requirement. Unfortunately, I didn't keep it up and a result don't remember anything complex. I remember the letters of the alphabet and numbers, but that's it.
ReplyDeleteThis is also a very interesting theme you've chosen. I didn't realize that there were some many -ologies.
I LOVE that last video! Signing can be so beautiful. I only know a little bit of ASL but find it so neat how many of the signs are rather intuitive.
ReplyDeleteI love the word, dactylology. It rolls off the tongue like it never wants to end. And who knew there was a word for the study of postcards?
ReplyDeleteI'm loving these posts of yours.
Sign language is so beautiful to watch. It always adds something to a hymn at church. The lady doing the signing always seems so connected, like she'll burst out into tears at any minute. LOVING your A to Z posts!
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm taking sign language classes right now, and I really appreciate the songs! What a great tool to help people learn. Sign language is so smooth and it seems like such a natural way to communicate! I also appreciate learning the word dactylology, now I can tell my friends I know how to use American dactylogy and watch their confused expressions with joy! :)
ReplyDeleteDeltiology: The study and collection of postcards. ?? The only thing I have to say about this one is: LOL!
ReplyDeleteThere's something beautiful about watching those song interpretations. Can't put my finger on it. Just beautiful :)