Customer Reviews

Comprehensive Reference Manual for Signers and Interpreters

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Comprehensive Reference Manual for Signers and Interpreters contains almost seven thousand entries, including vocabulary and idioms, with cross-references and sign descriptions. It is intended primarily for interpreters, but it can also be used effectively by signers who have at least a working knowledge of sign language. This manual is employed most profitably when the user reads the entire sign description before manually executing the sign. Since it is written for the right-hand dominant signer, those who are left-hand dominant must reverse the handedness and direction of the descriptions when and where appropriate. Due to the three-dimensional nature of sign language, it is difficult, if not impossible, to learn how to sign from the two-dimensional pages of any book. Addition-ally, knowledge of deaf culture is critical to contextually appropriate signing. Therefore, a qualified teacher is of utmost importance to the sign language student who wishes to build real competence in sign production, proper grammatical construction and the all-important understanding of deaf culture. Dedicated and motivated interpreters and signers are constantly striving to increase their inventories of internalized signs. Sometimes, however, this knowledge can slip away if it is not frequently called upon, either expressively or receptively. This manual, therefore, has been written for serious signers and interpreters whose memories need occasional assistance with seldom-used signs and who also wish to increase their sign language repertoires.

I recommend this book to interpreting students and working interpreters. Once you get past learning the notation symbols, you'll be glad you added this book to your professional library. I had bought the first edition; now I have to up with the lastest one...more words and easier to understand notation symbols. Stop worring about the price; get it.

If you are serious about learning and using ASL, this book is a must-have! It is not difficult to grasp the descriptions of hand positioning, and if you are taking ASL classes or private ASL lessons, you will not have a problem learning how to get the most out of this book. Worth every penny!!!

Well, this is a great book for those with more fluency. There are just several ways to sign a meaning, and this book helps open up the possibilies to do that. I'm able to combine what I know with what the book has to offer, which helps increase my vocabulary. Right now I've just started the first steps in becoming an interpreter, my first class. I bought this book before that and as time goes on my understanding expands and my vocabulary/fluency increases. It's really a great reference manual. Since this book is for those who know sign and pretty much has a large vocabulary, there are no pictures. It does however explain orientation and movement, basically how to do the sign.