Learning Auslan

For about 6 weeks now I've been attending Auslan classes at the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT). Auslan is Australian Sign Language - the language of the Deaf community in Australia. (No, sign language is not universal - there are different sign languages all over the world, although Auslan is related to British Sign Language, in a similar way as Australian English is related to British English.) I am absolutely loving it. Our teachers are amazing and manage to make the 5-6 hours of classes a week fly by. I've been able to slot comfortably into a second-semester class with other students who have been learning the language for the past 6 months. I've been gobsmacked at this because it's been 9 years since I last studied Auslan and that was only one year at La Trobe University in Melbourne.

Words like proper nouns and technical terms are often spelled out quickly in Auslan according to their English spelling. "Reading" another person's fingerspelling is one of the skills that takes the longest to acquire, but it seems like I've picked up where I left off with this, which is wonderful.

Here is the two-handed alphabet in Auslan. It's the same as the British sign language alphabet. Some sign languages, such as the ones used in France, Ireland and America, for example only use one hand.

You can look up other signs at the Auslan Sign Bank, which is essentially an online dictionary.

Most people want to know why I am learning Auslan. For me it's not because I need to communicate with any people I know who already use the language as is the case for some of my classmates. I'm doing it because I think it's a beautiful language that for some reason it makes my soul happy. Maybe one day in the future I will have a professional use for it, but for now I'm happy just learning.