I've been fingerspelling for over a year. During that time I've always tried to show the palm of my non-dominant hand when signing, to increase clarity. Today I watched a fingerspelling training video in which the instructor insists that the palm should always face the signer, not the receiver. Which is correct - palm faces the signer or palm faces the receiver? Thanks!

Does anyone know some pet names in Auslan? I know SWEETHEART and I suppose HONEY and SUGAR could work even if signed literally.

However I assume there are some that I'm missing or don't have a direct English interpretation.

I would ask my local community or teachers but it seems like an awkward question face-to-face.

How would you quickly sign the name of another person who wasn't present for the conversation, using Auslan? For example, if I wanted to explain to a hearing impaired person that myself and they were invited for lunch with John Smith and Jane Jones, would it be easiest to just spell the entire name out? I'm trying to learn Auslan and there's a lot more involved in communication than knowing signs (which I cannot do yet anyway), there's more to conversation and interaction than that, so I'm just asking for an opinion. It would seem complicated to spell out the entire name, but off the top of my head, I can't think of another way to accurately communicate a person's name through non-spoken interaction. I've been trying to look up an answer, but I can't really find the right response beyond "HOW TO SIGN YOUR OWN NAME IN AUSLAN pleaselikeandsubscribe" videos and so forth. Thank you in advance if anyone is able to help give me advice.

hi! Is there anyway i could learn auslan without having classes ( i don't have any money for classes, right now, and there aren't any near me anyway,), also i can't interact with the deaf community right now as i don't know if there are any classes or anything near me, (also i'm 16 and one of my friends little sister is 13 and she also wants to do it but her parents probably wouldn't bother)

edit: i can finger spell

Hi I’ve just started using Auslan Whiz app and ‘nice’ from ‘nice to meet you’ is coming up as two hands clasped and kinda sliding through each other. I don’t really know how to describe it sorry. That’s literally the only spot I can find that sign is used and the rest is ‘nice’ going from the face. Can’t see if it’s a dialect thing either so would appreciate any help with if this is a commonly used sign or not!

Also I’ve just read through this reddit and found the app is not run by the deaf community so I’ll stop using it anyway.

Hi! I'm interested in learning Auslan just because I think it's a beautiful language, and I think knowing sign language is useful for a variety of reasons. Anyways, I'm Australian but not currently living in the country, so I have no way to interact with Auslan users. I know you can learn from websites and videos, but are there any online tutors or language exchanges or anything for Auslan? I had a look on the usual language tutoring websites like italki and Preply but they only have tutors for ASL.
Thanks! :)

Looking for signing mates to improve my sentence structure and not just use single words! HMU if interested 😁

I personally remember learning Auslan and Signed English in my primary school when i was quite young (year prep-1). I left the school after the first year but I've been to many other schools, as well as hearing about other's schools now that I'm in secondary college. And NOT ONCE did i hear about anyone learning auslan. heck I don't know anyone who knows a single word in auslan.
even in my old primary school, for like half a year our auslan classes disspeared before being replaced with a new teacher.

I'm an autistic person, my hearing is fine but I struggle to clearly hear one voice if there's lots of background noise, all the sounds in the environment kind of blur together, which makes communication difficult at parties and other loud events.

I've completed my Cert IV in Auslan and have involved myself in the Deaf community plenty over the years so I can communicate very comfortably in Auslan. I've always said no when hearing friends have asked me to teach them and I direct them to places they can learn from Deaf people.

I would never be a teacher of Auslan in any official capacity but if my partner could understand me when I sign it would make social events a LOT more accessible for me, and her job is far too demanding to allow time for her to attend classes or events with Deaf people.

Would it be appropriate for me to teach her to sign just for my own accessibility needs? She understands that it would inappropriate to use Auslan with hearing people outside of our relationship without any input from the Deaf community so she would only ever sign with me, but my life would be so much easier if I could sign with my partner...

I’m a person with autism/adhd/cptsd who has full hearing but I’ve just subscribed to the Auslan app to start learning sign language and I’m genuinely loving it! I can’t wait to meet people who sign. In my experience it’s such a great way of communicating and stimming and all the signs are making sense.

I’m not really a “go getter” but this has been a lovely app to use in my experience.

A little context I've started learning auslan to better communicate with my autistic partner who struggles with speaking.

I'm not sure if it's my ADHD or something else but I am really struggling to control my mouth movements for non-manual features in auslan. While my partner doesn't care, and I will always try my best for everyone, how significantly do you think it will affect communication with most auslan users?

(From googling most peoples reaction to not using proper facial expressions is a crime against the auslan community, so I'm worried)

Hi! I was curious if there is a font that can be downloaded for the Auslan alphabet?

For reference, here in the US Gallaudet University released a font for ASL.

I'm a journalist with the ABC doing a story about the first hard of hearing Kpop group Big Ocean.

I'm interested in talking to Deaf and hard of hearing Australians to find out what they think about the band.

Anyone up for having a chat? Please feel free to send me a message.

Thanks!

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how much (if at all) Signed English is still used in Australia (particularly in schools)? 20 years ago I was fluent in SE, but haven't really used it in the last 15 or so years as I haven't been around deaf people. I can have a basic conversation in Auslan but I am nowhere near fluent. So basically I'm wanting to know if there is still any use for Signed English at all?

I've recently lost my hearing. Having trouble communicating with my children and really no idea where to start. Any organisation or people recommendations greatly appreciated thanks 😊

Hi all, I'm learning Auslan and watched an interview as part of my course. The man and woman were both deaf and even on .5x speed it was hard to keep up! It LOOKED like the woman used the sign for 'where' in space of 'at', she mouthed the word at a disadvantage the subtitles said at but she used the sign for where. Today in class we were practising a conversation about a son learning to sign at school. It was "my boy learn Auslan where school" My teacher who is deaf explained this as kind of like asking and answering a question at the same time (he is learning-where? School). I am wondering if it's appropriate to say/mouth 'at' when signing where in this kind of sentence, since it bridge the gap between my English and Asulan grammar in my mind. Is where used as 'at' like I saw in the interview?

I’m wondering if anyone knows anything about converting to Auslan from BSL. Would I just need to get all certificates from the start again or is there a way to skip a step or 2? And what’s life like as an Australian interpreter?

Hello,

I was wondering if there were any good Auslan courses for teenagers (younger teens in particular) for a cheaper price / that don't require NDIS (me and my sister are eligible but parents don't want us registered on it) . The majority of the courses are either face-to-face, during school hours, online but in southern dialect, or over $100 per person per lesson (unless I'm just reading the sites wrong if so oops). I've got the Auslan Tutor app but it's hard to know what to learn first and even if I'm learning the right stuff bc it doesn't specify what dialect it is.

If anyone knows any online courses that would accept 17 - 13 yrs, websites or other resources and work on a teenagers budget please let me know, I would appreciate it so much!

Hello,

I run a series of events called SPACE which are gigs that are run by and for people with disabilities and access needs. I am looking for an easy going and professional freelance interpreter who would like to sign 3 half hour sets on a Saturday afternoon on October 12th. There will be 20 minute breaks in between sets where no interpreting will be required, so it is safe OHS wise for a single interpreter to attend. We have a small amount of funding so definitely able and wanting to pay the standard rates for prep work and signing on the day. We do our best to get lyrics and recordings to interpreters with plenty of time, but also as all our artists have differing needs we give them some leeway as well so there may be some on the fly interpreting too.

Please email me at spacebanh [at] gmail [.] com if you are interesting in helping out.

You can look at more details and see our previous concerts at spacenaarm.com

Thanks!

Darlene - SPACE coordinator

Edit: I should have mentioned that we have done two events both with Auslan interpreters, one through an agency that quite a few people recommend and once through someone doing freelance, so I’m aware of what we need to do to provide a safe and manageable environment, we also provide dinner to all our workers on top of paying fairly. I just really prefer working with freelancers over groups for a few reasons. I do appreciate recommendations for agencies that you have actually had experience with and can personally recommend. I’m aware of places like Auslan Stage Left.

My 12yr old hearing son has an big interest in learning Auslan. I've only been able to find courses that start from 16years old. What are some good recommendations for him to begin his education in Auslan? Looking for any in-person or online resources that can help him get involved. Thanks so much for any recommendations. We are in Brisbane Queensland.

Context im teaching my toddler auslan as her vocab develops. She has just randomly started saying pardon me when she farts (which is adorable) but it got me thinking do people who use auslan say pardon me for farting? or because it originated for the deaf its not a thing?

I’m a kinder teacher who has enjoyed trying to insert Auslan into music for children. Is there anyone who could teach me a song (I have a specific one in mind) in Auslan that I can teach my children? Potentially would be willing to pay for your time. Could video yourself signing the song and I could learn that way. If anyone knows of a person or place who could help facilitate please feel free to share.

Hi lovely people I upload musical covers and I like to incorporate Auslan signs while I sing Do any of you know the most appropriate way to sign “fuck you” or at least “stuff you”? I am going to perform a rendition of “forget you” by ceelo green

I want to do this in a way that is not offensive to the deaf community.

Thank y’all

I’m really interested in picking up this skill, I just don’t know where to start. Does anybody have any good books they can recommend for a competent beginner?

I keep forgetting that 'When' is the tapping in the cheek, and always use the 'Where' symbol for it instead.

Does anyone have any tips and tricks for remembering this??

I don't seem to have the issue with who, what, or why, I think because I just use those signs more often that they've already integrated into my mind.

I work as an arborist, climbing trees with chainsaw. Mostly pruning branches away from powerlines. We shout the commands "Below" "Under" and "Clear" to communicate for safety. Sometimes noise pollution makes it hard to hear each other, so I want to trial hand signals. I'd like to use Auslan where possible. I found Under and Clear but couldn't find anything for Below. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Hi guys,

I’m studying OT in uni and have always wanted to do a course with a certificate. This just seems too good to be true? Has anyone this course? Is it legit?

Thanks 🤩

I've borrowed this book from the local library in adelaide because I've heard that textbooks are better than online sources for learning a language.
I'm especially weary of online cources for Auslan because I need to learn the different sentence structure, not just the signs.
I have no previous experience learning Auslan or any other language aside from at high school.

EDIT: Thanks for clarifying things for me. I found an Auslan tutor app on my phone that I'm going to be using now.