Ch 22

     This chapter talks about whether or not it is okay to invite yourself into an ASL conversation. If I wanted to have a private conversation with a friend or family member all I would have to do is whisper. For deaf people their conversations are all out in the open. " Anyone who wants to have a private talk in an ASL environment (such as Gallaudet) has to duck behind the shrubbery, use a jacket as a 'sign-shield' (holding the jacket out with one hand, signing with the other), or adopt a smaller discretely formed, disguised style of signing that snoopers will find harder to read-the equivalent of a whisper" (140). In a way I believe it is almost harder for people who sign ASL to have a private conversation. I would get annoyed really fast knowing I couldn't have a conversation without snoopers.
     It is appropriate to join an ASL conversation. When you join you must introduce yourself. Let the signers carry the conversation and as a third wheel you can take the opportunity to use this as practice. I myself have been a third wheel. At the deaf culture event I found myself just trying to follow along with the conversation to see how much I could understand. I surprisingly shocked myself on how much I actually understood. Real life practice is by far the best way to learn ASL
     Not all deaf people will be okay with you interrupting their conversation. The same thing can be compared to any language. I sometimes have conversations that people join and I am not bothered. There are also times I might be having a conversation with a friend and someone will jump in. In that case I usually avoid them, the same concept happens in ASL.

 Works Cited

Morre, S. Matthew, and Linda Levitan. For Hearing People Only. 3rd Ed. Rochester, New York: MSM Productions, Ltd.,2003.Print.