Learning nonverbal language

Fingers flew during a sign language lesson at the Findlay-Hancock Public Library Tuesday evening. Kids and teens were given the chance to learn a few words and phrases in American Sign Language from University of Findlay students studying ASL. Family-related words and phrases, the ASL alphabet, colors, animals and numbers were taught to the young people. Hundreds of thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing people use sign language for daily communication. But hearing people have a variety of reasons for learning sign language — some want a different experience in learning a language, some have a deaf friend or family member, or some have a goal of being an interpreter. "I just totally fell in love with deaf culture. It's amazing," said Leanna Ingelfinger, a senior at the University of Findlay. Ingelfinger, along with fellow UF student Callie Stetzel and associate professor of American Sign Language Leah Brant, gave the youth a crash course on ASL at the library. Ingelfinger has completed all the ASL courses UF offers. She doesn't have any immediate family or friends that are deaf, but Ingelfinger said she's been exposed to deaf culture from the large deaf population in her home state of New York. Her plan after graduation is to pursue a career as a sign language interpreter, despite being a pre-veterinary major. "When I did want to go to vet school, it was really important that people have an interpreter. I feel like a lot of (American Disability Act) rights, not just with deaf people, but in general, are overlooked," she said. "There's a lot of accessibility that just is not offered when it really could be very easily offered to anyone with a disability." ASL is primarily used by North Americans, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Other sign languages exist in different countries and regions. No one is sure exactly when ASL was invented, but researchers suggest that ASL appeared about 200 years ago from a mix of French Sign Language and local sign languages used at the time. What motivates Ingelfinger to continue learning and teaching ASL is spreading awareness of deaf culture. "I think it's great that people are teaching their baby sign language, but I think it's also important that they teach their children why these people are using their sign language and the culture behind it," she said. "People use this for language for a reason, and it's the language of a whole culture."