Signing Savvy, Your Sign Language Resource

This article is part of our “Signs That Are Close... But Not the Same” series, which highlights signs that look similar, but have different meanings. The signs discussed in this article include (1) PLEASE vs. ENJOY, (2) HOT vs. YELL, (3) BROWN vs. BEER, (4) FOOD vs. EAT A LOT, and (5) READ vs. DANCE.

Terence Parkin was an Olympic Swimmer. Read the article to learn more about the life and accomplishments of this amazing Deaf man.

This Interpreter Q & A asks: In an educational setting, a student asked me to accompany her to interpret a conversation with one of her teachers. On the way to the teacher’s classroom, I asked “What did you need to see the teacher for?” The deaf student responded, “It’s none of your business, you are the interpreter and you will do what I tell you to do!” Needless to say, I was shocked at this answer. I always try to prepare myself and avoid misunderstandings. For example, before going into a doctor’s office, I ask the client why they’re there, to prepare myself as well as to get a feel for the client’s signing style, etc. I’m not being nosey and I feel this response was very curt and rude. Is this how we are viewed? This article is part of our "Dear BC, Interpreter Q & A” series, which answers questions on interpreting and Deaf culture from multiple perspectives.

Helen Keller became deaf and blind at 19 months old. She was famous from the age of 8 for her experience of overcoming great obstacles in order to learn to communicate. This early part of her life is the most well-known, but the story doesn’t end there. Helen would go on to become not only well educated, but famous in her own right as an author and activist. She has even been said to be one of the 20th century's ...

It’s easy to start signing with your baby and it’s amazing to be able to communicate with them through sign before they are able to talk. To get started, simply use signs when communicating with your child. There isn’t a “right” way or specific order to learning or teaching signs, just start by picking signs that make the most sense in the context of your baby’s life. There is no limit to how many signs you should introduce at a ...

We have added several new members to our advisory board and wanted to take this opportunity to recognize AND THANK all of our board members for their help and expertise.  We’ve made many updates to Signing Savvy because of suggestions provided by this wonderful advisory board! And we have many more updates in the works. The Sign Language Advisory Board is made up of thought leaders who have a deep subject matter expertise in sign language and deaf culture and are leaders ...

Nyle chose a special song, with a special meaning, for his freestyle dance on the finale of Dancing with the Stars. He chose the song “Sound of Silence” covered by the heavy metal band Disturbed and originally by Simon and Garfunkel. Nyle and dance partner Peta worked with contemporary choreographer Talia Favia to make the dance a moving performance focused on storytelling. Nyle said, “Our dance together is for million’s of deaf people, this dance needs to reflect all of them.” I CANT BELIEVE IT! WE WON! WE WON THE MIRROR BALL!!! This is for 70 million Deaf people in the world! Thank you all for your CONTINUING SUPPORT. @petamurgatroyd YOU ARE AMAZING. Thank you for embracing this journey with me. Thank you for pushing me and believing in me. I love ...

This Interpreter Q & A asks: Interpreters who are not easy to lip-read can be rough for me to understand. It makes it difficult for me to know the tone of the conversation. A lack of proper facial expressions just further compounds the problem. Is this something I should point out to even a nationally certified interpreter? This article is part of our "Dear BC, Interpreter Q & A” series, which answers questions on interpreting and Deaf culture from multiple perspectives.

You may not know this, but Signing Savvy is based in Michigan. That does not mean the signs on Signing Savvy are regional to Michigan or that only people from Michigan work for Signing Savvy, just that the company itself was founded and exists physically in Michigan. Of course, we are an online business so we connect with you wherever you are. So far, over 10 million people have used Signing Savvy - the majority of people who use Signing ...

It’s easy to start signing with your baby and it’s amazing to be able to communicate with them through sign before they are able to talk. To get started, simply use signs when communicating with your child. There isn’t a "right" way or specific order to learning or teaching signs, just start by picking signs that make the most sense in the context of your baby’s life. There is no limit to how many signs you should introduce at a ...