Blog | Awesome Auslan

Aspects of Auslan – Citation Form

This is a reminder for all people using and learning Auslan: Don’t assume you know or are using the citation form of a sign. Also, don’t assume that the person you are copying from or learning from necessarily knows, or is using, the correct citation form either. I speak from personal experience. Citation form refers […]

‘Talking Hands’ – Manual Forms of Communication

The word manual means ‘relating to or done with the hands.’ From this we can surmise that manual forms of communication refer to communication done with and involving the hands. There is often confusion around the differences between Auslan and other manual forms of communication that may be seen, known, or used throughout Australia. Firstly, let’s look […]

Oops! Common Mistakes With Sourcing Auslan Signs

The number of well-intentioned parents and grandparents who come up to me and proudly tell me that they are learning sign language and using it with their children/grandchildren is very encouraging. Although, this excitement can often turn to dismay and concern when they proceed to proudly show me the ASL signs they’ve unwittingly been learning […]

Sign for ‘Australia’

I remember some time back when a video was posted by Deaf Aboriginal Services sharing the ‘other’ sign of AUSTRALIA (which I’ll refer to as AUSTRALIA2 throughout this blog). I was so excited when I saw the beautiful sign that these two Indigenous women shared with us. Samantha Wilson (Muthi Muthi) and Joanna Agius (Narungga) explained that the […]

Sign for New Zealand and Aotearoa

I remember when I first saw (what I thought was) the new sign for NZ. I was so excited, it’s such a lovely sign, it flows so beautifully and visually depicts the two islands of NZ. Because it was only shown to me – not explained – I assumed it was the new sign and […]

Noticeable Difference between NZSL and Auslan Resources

I’ll let you in on a little secret. There have been times when I need some illustrations of Auslan signs and I’ll go to New Zealand Sign Language Online Dictionary to see if I can get the picture I need. *NOTE: I’d only advise you to do this if you are already very familiar with Auslan signs.* […]

Variation in Styles of Signing

I’ve been teaching Auslan for a number of years now and yet I was still taken aback recently by a student’s question. This student is relatively new to Auslan, is a quick-study and picking it up rapidly. They attended a Deaf event and during conversations with Deaf/Auslan users, they noticed someone sign what looked like […]

We are not the same: Australian Sign Language (Auslan) and American Sign Language (ASL)

Many countries around the world have their own sign language. In Australia, we have Auslan. Some people mistakenly assume that ASL might stand for Australian Sign Language – It is easy to see where the confusion may come from! However, ASL actually stands for American Sign Language which is used in North America (USA and Canada). Australian […]

Auslan & Appropriation – Why We are so Protective Of Our Language

You may notice that there’s an almost fierce protectiveness over our language by some of our Deaf community members. There are a few very valid reasons for this. Historically, the Deaf community has had to fight not only for recognition of and ‘permission’ to use our language, but also fight to even be seen as […]