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Title: Signing Made Easy: A Complete Program for Learning Sign Language/Includes Sentence Drills and Exercises for Increased Comprehension and Signing Skil by Rod R. Butterworth, Mickey Flodin, Karen R. Twigg ISBN: 0-399-51490-2 Publisher: Perigee Pub. Date: February, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.4 (15 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: Fairly effective method of learning to sign
Comment: I realize that there are inherent problems in learning sign language from a book, and in all fairness this book does as well as any can to teach sign language effectively.

The practice exercises to improve one's signing proficiency are quite well done. My only gripe is that they follow the sample texts a little too closely; I'd prefer to practice on new, unfamiliar sentences with the same vocabular so that I could be sure to really understand the language, and not just rely on rote memorization. And the sign-recognition exercises simply don't work in book form. There needs to be an accompanying video so one can actually watch signs being made.

I also wished for a more comprehensive discussion for signed grammar. There is some mention of it in the introduction, but not nearly enough attention is paid to one of the most interesting aspects of ASL. This is not a fault, exactly, as the text seems geared more towards Signed English than ASL. But I imagine that some from the Deaf community may find this a bit offensive.

What I find offensive, though, are other signs of bias in the book. Canada, Israel, and the United States seem to be the only countries that appear in this book (as well as the state of California). The signs for Christian, Jesus, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, are all present, but absolutely no mention is made of Muslims, Jews, or atheists. The authors, I'm sure, meant the vocabulary in this book to give only the very basics necessary to get a conversation going, but it's unavoidable. The geographic and religioius bias is there.

In short, Signing Made Easy is an adequate introduction to sign language. It will get you up to a rudimentary knowledge of ASL or Signed English fairly quickly, but you'll soon want to invest in either a dictionary or a full-fledged class to be truly fluent.

Rating: 1
Summary: Terrible
Comment: Lets keep this simple... This books sucks. Dont buy it. There are so many better books out there that will help you if your wanting to learn American Sign Language.

Rating: 3
Summary: Don't Be Deceived!
Comment: Are you looking at this book because you want to learn the natural language of most Deaf people in America (American Sign Language)? Then DO NOT buy this book. This book teaches you about 1200 signs by placing them into sentences and topics. The illustrations are very good, but it's deceiving. What you will see in this book is NOT really ASL. It's called Signed English and it's used only by young deaf children who are learning the English language. Once a deaf child grows older, they switch to a pidgin or true ASL.

If you want to learn to sign in English format, this is a great option for you. Just be aware that if you use Signed English in a group of Deaf people, you're going to look like a sure amateur. Just this deafie's opinion. :o)

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