The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language [Paperback]

Susan Shelly (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: August 14, 1998

You're no idiot, of course. You studied a foreign language, you can give good hand signals to a driver parallel parking, and you know when your boss is in a bad mood based on body language. But when it comes to using sign language, you feel like you're all thumbs. Don't throw up your hands yet! When you finish reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language, you'll have enough knowledge of the basic sign handshapes, grammar, and syntax to get started signing by yourself. In this Complete Idiot's Guide, you get:

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You're no idiot, of course. You studied a foreign language, you can give good hand signals to a driver parallel parking, and you know when your boss is in a bad mood based on body language. But when it comes to using sign language, you feel like you're all thumbs. Don't throw up your hands yet! When you finish reading The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language, you'll have enough knowledge of the basic sign handshapes, grammar, and syntax to get started signing by yourself. In this Complete Idiot's Guide, you get:

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 1 edition (August 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0028623886
• ISBN-13: 978-0028623887
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #923,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not something I'd want my students to use!, July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language (Paperback)

Yesterday, one of my students brought to class a copy of this book. I teach Sign, and about Deaf culture. I, myself, am hard-of-hearing. Just for starters, on the first page, we looked at an alphabet full of errors! It was as though someone who didn't know the fingerspelling alphabet had played "cut and paste." Hand-shape letters were not near the same designated printed letter. And one hand-shape, looking like no letter in particular, drawn without a thumb, was included in the mix. Looking further through the book, drawings were expressionless. It was difficult to recognize motion or direction in the drawn signs. ...And I know what the signs should look like! Looking for background on the authors, I read that one is an interpreter. Yikes! :-(

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a particularly good resource, September 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language (Paperback)

I have read other "complete idiots guides" and they can be good resources for beginners. However, this one falls short. It's unclear, easily misinterpreted and inaccurate in places. It gives an slightly less than OK assessment of deaf culture and does not even begin to give the reader an understanding of ASL.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Complete Idiot, indeed, April 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language (Paperback)

Well, the book's not all bad . . . For example, the attempt to describe Deaf culture is successful on a very basic level, and the illustrations are attractive, if not particularly useful. That, however, is the main problem- the uselessness of the illustrations. It's as if a textbook on French wrote "gkhukyf" instead of "bonjour"! There's also relatively little on grammar, other than an acknowledgement that there is such a thing as ASL grammar (which is a good first step but by no means the last. Try A Basic Course in American Sign Language by Humphries, Padden, and O'Rourke. And definitely practice with native signers!