r/MadeMeSmile • u/Rough_Ad_8702 • 7d ago
Good Vibes When Margot Robbie noticed a fan was hearing impaired, she switched to sign language to chat with him
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u/Balabaga 7d ago
It’s kinda more wholesome that she’s just doing the alphabet bc she wants to interact to the best of her ability and I’d imagine the fan appreciated the gesture
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u/Frolicking-Fox 7d ago
It is just like anyone who has a non native language meet someone who speaks it.
I called a Lyft ride, and as I opened the door, the driver immediately signed that he was deaf, so i knew he couldn't hear me. I immediately nodded with understanding.
I don't know much sign language, but i was able to tell the driver where to stop and that he could turn around there. As I exited the car, he looked back at me and I signed "thank you."
He immediately put on the biggest smile and nodded his head enthusiastically.
I really hope that made his day. I am sure he rarely gets someone who even know those few signs. I had to dig in the archives of my mind for them.
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u/HuggyMonster69 7d ago
I shop at a lot of international grocers (I’m in the UK) and I make a point of thanking them in their native language, just because the smile you get is so nice lol.
Only place I haven’t done that is the Chinese shop, because I can’t figure out if it’s mandarin or Cantonese they speak.
I feel like with sign language it’s probably even rarer to get that because learning a short phrase of a spoken language is a lot less effort than planning on learning sign language
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u/grail3882 7d ago
If you say thank you in mandarin or Cantonese they almost definitely will understand you either way (like 99.9%). If you enjoy this type of experience, i would say don't let the mandarin/Cantonese distinction hold you back when it comes to a simple phrase like "thank you". say it either way and enjoy the human connection.
with that said, if you want to know if they are speaking mandarin or Cantonese, there is a pretty easy way to tell without having to learn either language. Cantonese has lots of syllables that end with hard consonants like k / t / p while mandarin has none. all mandarin syllables end with vowels or soft consonants like ing / ng / n.
also worth mentioning there are like a million other Chinese languages/dialects, but again, i think nearly 100% of them will understand a thank you in mandarin or Cantonese. just go for it!
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u/Jyil 7d ago
There’s a lady that speaks Mandarin at my local food court and every time I say “Xièxie nǐ” she says “Bú kèqì”. It makes my day every time. Usually when I say “Xièxie nǐ” to someone who speaks Mandarin or “m-goi” in Cantonese I only get a gesture back, but she responds in Mandarin and it feels so wholesome.
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u/DeadlyVapour 7d ago
I would say that it is probably safer to use mandarin.
Firstly, statistical, there are more mandarin speaker world wide.
Secondly, there are probably more mandarin as a second language speakers who have Cantonese as a first language, than the inverse (mostly going to be those who live in the Guangzhou region (historically known as Canton, no shit)).
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u/Minimum_Possibility6 7d ago
In the UK it's more likely to be Cantonese due to the HK connections and the amount of passports we gave, plus the first wave of immigration again was from that area
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u/UnfatedAim 7d ago
In the UK there are probably more cantonese speakers, who've moved from HK or are descended from those who moved. anecdotally, mandarin speakers do tend to either live in cities or are tourists.
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u/brianwski 7d ago
I can’t figure out if it’s mandarin or Cantonese they speak.
I love that you do this! And you should bring in a friend in there once that can figure it out.
My business partner of the last 20 years is from Hong Kong originally. In some restaurants we have been to together, he just starts speaking Cantonese to the waiter. I've asked him how he knows whether to use Cantonese or Mandarin (he can speak both) and he always says, "Oh please, come on, in this place it is obvious." LOL. Not obvious to me!
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u/Frolicking-Fox 7d ago
That is so cool... people really do appreciate it when you make the effort to speak their language.
I honestly could not believe I remembered the signs for stop here, and you can turn around. They were sloppy, as it takes practice to make beautiful signs, but seeing his smile and nodding head when I said thank you at least made my night. I was stoked I remembered those signs.
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u/dnaka22 7d ago
Cantonese: vowels ramp up and down in words/sentences. Tonal shift.
Mandarin: slurred “sh”. Shur, shee.My wife describes her Cantonese as a rollercoaster for vowels, whereas she finds Mandarin sounds like they are chewing their words.
Hope that helps :)
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u/sionnach 7d ago
Highly likely to be Cantonese in London, and if you get it wrong they will understand what you meant and will not take offence.
It’s like being from France … you’ll still know what “thank you” is in Spanish and Italian.
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u/William_Dowling 7d ago
Just say 'm'goi sai' because it's 99% likely they're Cantonese, and if not they'll still understand it
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u/Armored_Souls 7d ago
Similarly I called an Uber once and the driver notified me he was deaf.
I didn't know any sign language but during the ride I was wondering how being deaf might hinder driving, eg. Not hearing honking.
But anyway I decided it wasn't my place to judge, but also was curious how to thank the driver when we reach, so I googled it and signed thank you before hopping off. I hope he appreciated it, and from this experience I also learned something new.
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u/tu-BROOKE-ulosis 7d ago
I briefly dated someone who was deaf. He was a great driver. He actually is the one who taught me how to parallel park. But he did have to very much be on alert for sirens etc. since he could only see them. So extra cautious going in to an intersection if nobody else was.
Fun fact, he had very strong opinions on what his favorite music was to play while driving. He’d rest his hand on the cup holder thingy on his drivers side door, and feel the vibrations.
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u/McGriffff 7d ago
What kind of music did he like?
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u/tu-BROOKE-ulosis 7d ago
Red Hot Chili Peppers was the one I recall the most. lol this was early 2000s, so tha tracks. I just remember he wanted stuff with strong bass.
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u/spread_panic 7d ago
This is the second comment on the deaf experience of music on Reddit in the last month that has reminded me of Mr. Holland's Opus. I think I need to re-watch it. I remember it being good, although I haven't seen it since I was a kid.
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u/Binary_Nutcracker 7d ago
That reminds me of when I was managing a hotel near a national park. I was running the front desk and handling the breakfast for the day when I saw a family of 4 all signing to each other. When I was in the kitchen I started looking up how to sign some key phrases like “have a good day”, and started practicing them. When I started using it to talk to them, the parents lit up and showed so much appreciation. I was trying to make their day, but it wound up making my day in the process. It put me in such a good mood for the rest of the day and I was working long shifts at the time to have coverage.
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u/avaslash 7d ago
I recall recently getting a uber and it told me before hand that the driver was deaf and so me being the anxious person I am, googled a bunch of basic signs and spent the whole wait practicing them in preparation because I thought it would be a polite gesture. Only for me to get into their car and for them to launch into full conversation with me and not one even hint at being hearing impaired. No hearing aide. No "sorry i didnt catch that." dudes hearing seemed better than mine tbh.
Now i wonder if it switched drivers at some stage...
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u/ShyOrchid 7d ago
I had the exact similar experience once with an Uber driver. I did pretty similar to you but back then I was (coincidentally) starting to take sign language classes so I didn't know many words and we hadn't covered courtesy like "please" and "thank you" yet, so I spent a chunk of my trip googling the sign for thank you so when I arrived at my destination I could give the guy the proper thanks. I still think about that interaction and I hope that guy is doing great because there's too many assholes out there and we all need more nice and considerate people in our lives.
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u/annaonthemoon 7d ago
Yes! I once thanked my deaf cabbie at the end of the route and he cracked the biggest smile and put a hand on his chest with the biggest "aw!" expression. Made my day to see him brighten up so much.
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u/Affectionate_Day7543 7d ago
Both our regular posties are deaf and wear hearing aids. They’re often paired up on rounds and see them signing to each other. I’ve started learning the basics and finally plucked up the courage to sign thank you one day and he smiled and signed thank you back with a thumbs up.
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u/bleepbloop1900 3d ago
I work on film shoots for advertising - a lot of big multi nationals have requirements now to hire a certain amount of people with disabilities on crews (I’m not in the states, I’m in Asia, dunno if it’s a global directive or not) so usually the craft services hires a deaf woman to serve coffee etc, and there’s this poster behind that teaches you how to order., it’s been a couple years already so I’ve learned quite a bit of basic stuff just from repetition. It’s honestly great for every one involved, and it’s totally “DEI” in action that benefits all of us, which id have never expected from brands who otherwise don’t do much good in the world lol
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u/thetastykhargosht 6d ago
That is so lovely. I went to a Target once (i think this was pre-DEI debacle) and needed help finding a blender. I approached a teen employee for help. He quickly pointed to his ear and pulled out a little tablet and asked me to type. I apologized, typed, and he walked me to the kitchen appliances. I was extremely grateful and because I am also a flaming dork, I tried to sign thank you. He blushed a little and left. My sister (who was learning ASL at the time) later told me I puckered my lips too much and it looked more like a flirty old lady kiss than the correct sign for thank you.
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u/Cat5kable 6d ago
Slightly similar story, I was at a local event hosted by a farm that had a few workers from Mexico. One guy had okay English, and the rest have barely any at all and basically nod whenever dealing with event goers.
Walked by, said “Hola” (the most basic hello possible) and they all nod or mumble a hello. Throw in a little “cómo estás?” and they absolutely POP. OFF. I feel so bad that I can’t contribute any more!
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u/PersistentPuma37 6d ago
I have two double-merle dogs, both completely deaf and different levels of visual impairment. We were at Petsmart with our elder, well-trained dog and the year-old, basically feral Aus. Shep we'd adopted that day. He wasn't aggressive, just 10 million gigawatts of untethered herding instincts. Prior to owning them, I'd audited a bit of ASL in college 30 yrs ago, but owning the first dog rekindled my interest in the language for training purposes.
I'd noticed a deaf girl and her Mom, signing away in the store but didn't interrupt. Later, while my wife paid and held the good dog, I was outside with the feral dog and the young lady was waiting for her mom to pull around.
I tapped her on the shoulder, and she held up her phone with a boilerplate message in enlarged font, apologizing for being deaf. I VERY clumsily signed, 'no apology. My two dogs are deaf/blind. The one inside does t-h-e-r-a-p-y with old people. This one [pointing] is CRAZY'. She laughed and her mom pulled up in a closer parking spot.
I watched as she EXCITEDLY signed to her mom with elevated hands and sweeping motions, pointing at us, smiling and giggling. Her mom's face looked like a time-release capture of a flower blooming as her daughter had such an affirming, validating and normal experience of talking with a dog lover about how amazing they are. She waved and signed 'thank you' a million times as she drove out, not like a politeness but like a prayer.
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u/Unlikely-Grape-5762 7d ago
I’m learning ASL for my work. It’s so slow and clunky. There’s a deaf coffee shop nearby and I go there to practice. I asked if there’s a hearing accent. Yes, yes there is. Nice to know I can now communicate terribly in 3 languages.
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u/Wise_Pie_359 7d ago
I never thought about the issue of an accent in sign language! That’s so interesting!
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u/kots144 7d ago
Not only that, but ASL is just American Sign Language. Every country has their own. Margo is using Australian sign language here. Australian sign language is pretty different because it uses both hands for the alphabet while all the letters in asl can be done with one hand.
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u/tu-BROOKE-ulosis 7d ago
Thank you for answering the question I came to the comments for. I couldn’t figure out if she was either a) doing a different sign language like Australian, or b) was just making shit up to what she thought looked like sign language. Because all I knew was that it wasn’t ASL.
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u/Shakeamutt 7d ago
They don’t use articles is one thing. So sentence structure is different.
This can cause confusion in class, when the instructor is deaf (born) and there is a miscommunication because of grammar and sentence structure.
There is also speed sign, which is the beginning first couple of letters and the last letter. Which are advanced sign language courses. So using the basic alphabet is easier for beginners, and also for helping decipher the speed signing.
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u/TheDrunkWickerbeast 7d ago
I’m learning Spanish for my work because I have a couple Spanish only parents and they get excited knowing I’m learning and the bilingual ones will only speak Spanish to me to help me learn. Never thought I’d be learning a whole new language to be a better teacher but here we are
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u/Unlikely-Grape-5762 7d ago
Mas despacio por favor. Is my second most used phrase. Next to como se dice…
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u/happiestnexttoyou 6d ago
The funny thing is that she probably learned it from the phone book. It was delivered to every Australian home in the 80’s & 90’s and had the AUSLAN alphabet printed in it.
The things we’d do for entertainment before the internet!
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u/subroutinedreams 7d ago
To note: it seems he handed her a picture of the alphabet in sign-language which is why she says "I know it!" and ends up just doing the alphabet. So, slightly misleading title, but she still was awesome for taking the time to engage as she did.
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u/Scared_Slip_7425 6d ago
Ok that makes more sense! I thought it was really weird that she just randomly started signing the alphabet!
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u/Final-Intention5407 6d ago
I think she was also signing BSL not ASL . So depending on where the fan was from the signs still might be different . Either way most are happy you are willing to try .
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u/julesthefirst 6d ago
Could also be AUSLAN, iirc they have similar alphabets and signs
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u/Small-Mushroom9191 7d ago
I like it when celebrity and famous people do this💯
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u/Loaatao 7d ago
I like when normal people do this too
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u/MrCoolBoy001 7d ago
Tbf, the person is probably more excited on talking with a celebrity rather than someone else
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u/checkedem 7d ago
My neighbor is deaf.
He told me that the deaf community gets offended when calling them hearing impaired. They prefer being called deaf.
I hope he’s not fucking with me.
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u/coffee_ape 7d ago
Deaf culture is a trip. Because you have degrees of deafness, on top of that, you have pride. A sense of pride and community for not getting the cochlear implant, you retain your identity. I have family members that are deaf and I’m an honorary coda kid.
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u/GnarlyNarwhalNoms 7d ago edited 7d ago
It bugs me, to be honest. I'm effectively deaf (without hearing aids) since childhood, and it sucks. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I can't grok the whole identity aspect of it, or the attitude among some that it's wrong to cure deafness. It feels like a very weird form of cope to me.
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u/EveningAnt3949 7d ago
Agree about curing deafness is a good thing. As for identity, I'm not deaf or hearing impaired, but sign language is fascinating to me. I can understand that peopel who are fluent in sign language want to preserve that part and think of it as part of their identity.
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u/E-2theRescue 7d ago
I'm 50/50 on treating deafness.
It's kind of a weird thing. Where hearing is a blessing, being deaf is a curse - where hearing is a curse, being deaf is a blessing.
Neighbor kids screaming? Being deaf is a blessing, having hearing is a curse.
Your own kid screaming? Having hearing is a blessing, being deaf is a curse.
Construction next door? Having hearing is a curse, being deaf is a blessing.
Walking past an active construction site? Having hearing is a blessing, being deaf is a curse.
It's such a weird thing the more you think about it.
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u/johnyordinary 7d ago
Using an electronic aid would mean you could selectively choose to switch it off , for the plusses like not hearing other peoples kids..
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u/Lord_Borgimus 7d ago
Tribalism is in EVERYTHING it's ridiculous.
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u/MissJoey78 6d ago
Tribalism? What do you mean by this? It’s natural for those who share a language to want to be together.
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u/Lord_Borgimus 6d ago
Oh no, not what I meant. It's the pride they were talking about of refusal on cochlear implants and what not. Not the practicality aspect.
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u/DreamweaversGrimoire 2d ago
I dated a scientist who got their PhD in Rochester, which apparently has one of the largest deaf communities in the US. He and I had a really great conversation about the ethics of whether or not I would “cure” my child if they were born deaf and he enlightened me on how people in that community find it to be mutilation or even comparable to the selective genetics breeding program America had for a short period of time trying to end certain mental disabilities or traits (as well as try and staunch the black community). Truly so fascinating that they identify so strongly with their disability that it’s considered ableist and ethically immoral to try and improve it.
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u/coffee_ape 2d ago
You hit the nail right on the head. That’s exactly it, it’s their identity. Hearing people’s thoughts be damned because they are not in the deaf world/community to understand it. It’s not our place. I respect it ethically.
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u/MachoMachoMurph 6d ago
Similar story to "Native American". I only lived in the res for 7 years growing up, barely remember any of it, so I don't care one way or another but everyone I know from that time gets so pissed when called Native American or Natives. To this day my pop and grandma flip their lids with the "pandering". Say theyre proud to be American Indians.
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u/Xiao1insty1e 6d ago
Well if someone invaded your land killed most of your family and people then said you're "X" when you didn't call yourself that would you want others doing it?
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u/Leefdem 6d ago
Well on the flip side people came to your land saw you once and decided “those are probably indians” and now your whole identity is linked to a different country and the white people that conquered america through disease
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u/thorin2016 7d ago
I know 2 deaf guys. To be honest they are both dickheads. I have worked with one of them for almost 20 years and he uses monkey gestures to describe black people. He did that the first/second week i met him and he still does that to this day.
Deaf people exist in a strange time. We look at them as disabled but they insist they are perfectly able yet when they are asked to do something they bring up their disability as a reason they cannot
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u/punksmurph 7d ago
If ASL is his first language then he will prefer to be called Deaf, learned this from an ASL instructor. I am starting to learn because I am hearing impaired and want to get head of it before I lose more if my hearing.
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u/Xiao1insty1e 6d ago
He's not, hearing impaired infers a deficiency a "less than" and while that may be technically true the deaf definitely don't see themselves that way and don't want to be referred to in that fashion. Deaf is how they identify so that's what you should call them.
Source: CODA
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u/luv_u_deerly 7d ago
Deaf and hearing impaired are 2 different things. Deaf people can’t hear. Hearing impaired can hear some, usually they can have a hearing aide help them hear better.
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u/MissJoey78 6d ago
Not exactly. While your answer makes sense, it’s a tad oversimplified. Deafness is a culture-an identity-a shared language, way of life, etc. There’s a huge spectrum of what one can hear. Hearing impaired people are still deaf but those that consider themselves “hearing impaired” are often late deafened or those that don’t sign or don’t identity with the culture itself.
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u/Critical-Cost9068 7d ago
It’s OK, he can’t hear you anyway
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u/checkedem 7d ago
lol True. But he’s surprisingly amazing at reading lips. Never thought he’d be so good at it. So I need to face him when I talk to him.
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u/thx1138a 6d ago
My wife and I were going to learn sign language as she is losing her hearing. The sign language book we got spent so much time droning on about the various deaf identities and, frankly, factions, that we kind of lost interest.
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u/GATh33Gr8 5d ago
Technically, you can call him whatever you want. It's not like he's gonna hear ya.
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u/santiUHD 7d ago
This woman stays undefeated in my eyes. What a great human being and a role model for the young.
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u/Volkshit 7d ago
She is one of the few people that are both extremely beautiful and also seem to be like a genuinely good person.
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u/thomasplanter 7d ago
Posted this somewhere else but she came and sat at my bar and was absolutely lovely
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u/Serasul 7d ago
And on top she has a high iq. She is someone where i can look up to.
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u/Darkmaniako 7d ago
She could have a negative IQ and still wouldn't be a red flag since she a kind person anyway, that's not even worth mentioning
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u/andienotandy_ 7d ago
I worked at a family friend’s cafe a while back and we had deaf customers stop in. I don’t know much sign language, but I do know the alphabet. So I began to finger spell out for them as they ordered. They later wrote a review on how much it was appreciated knowing just the alphabet than to write out what they wanted to me.
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u/Warranty_V0id 7d ago
I still don't get why we don't teach sign language in every school as a second "foreign language". Would do so much for inclusion and options to communicate with people worldwide. (I know that there are different sign languages, but still.)
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u/Leoniqorn 7d ago
Part of the reason is probably that there simply is not one sign language. German sign language is different from American sign language. American sign language is different from British sign language. And there are many more.
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u/booty_enjoyerr 7d ago edited 7d ago
Because the probability of you ever having to actually use sign language is less than 0.1%
Instead they can teach you some advanced maths, which you won’t ever use either
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u/Ok-Alternative-4879 7d ago
They don't teach you advanced math because there might be a random moment in the future where you need to use it. It's to teach your brain problem solving, recognize patterns, develop persistence etc. These are useful skills that go beyond mathematics and are applicable to many different situations throughout life
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u/Plunger_enema 6d ago
I can tell you the average adult acts like they never learned anything and were raised under a rock.
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u/arye_ani 7d ago
The product of advanced math is the reason you typed that comment. Imagine they never teach anyone, the pool to have advanced tech would become small and it would have taken centuries to get to where we are now, and you enjoying internet and relaxing watching some nice movies on your smart tv. Be grateful for math.
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u/Silverleaf96 6d ago
We have a state school for the deaf in my hometown, a lot of dead ppl...but my schools don't teach it even tho it's literally across the street. They did offer night classes for students and was credited classes, but no way I was going to waste my free time at that age (..
Useless fact. Some countries like Korea recognize Korean sign language as an national language, and counts for applications for citizenship
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u/crucialcollages 6d ago
probably cause there’s not that many deaf people
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u/Charming-Fig-2544 6d ago
But wouldn't it be useful for hearing people too? There are lots of places I'd like to quickly and discreetly "say" something to someone near me. Places you're supposed to be quiet obviously, but also places that are really loud. Ever tried communicating during a concert, or in a loud bar? Sign language would come in handy many times in my life.
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u/theChronic222 6d ago
It super is! One of my exes took ASL at her college and she taught me some as a way to practice. We met at a rave and and were at a couple shows a week generally and it was super useful. Way easier to sign im going to the bathroom stay here or lets move up/back then try and say it during a loud ass dubstep show.
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u/FigMoose 6d ago
Years ago I visited the Pantheon in Rome. Like a lot of museums it had a very quiet, solemn energy. There happened to be a group of maybe 20 deaf kids there, and it was super cool to see them “shouting” to each other in sign language. It was still whisper quiet, but the space was buzzing with energy because of them. I really wished I’d known what they were saying.
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u/pewpewhadouken 6d ago
my fam communicates long distance at food courts, events, concerts, parking lots, etc. also when we want to say discrete stuff like “let’s move away from this smelly group”…
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u/ihatepeopleandyoutoo 7d ago
This. I wish I learned this in school. It looks so cool
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u/oneeyedziggy 7d ago
Right? I'm just autistic and it would have been great for when feeling non-verbal, or communicating in loud places? So many places play music and have enough people talking already you can't understand the person across from you... My wife and I resort to texting each other or passing the phone bsck and forth...
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u/TheBoBiZzLe 6d ago
Some do. Our school district does. Problem is that we can’t keep teachers. Kids take that when they don’t want to learn Spanish. Meaning most students that go into it don’t really want to learn it and think it will be a blow off. They then fail because they don’t really want to try, then after being removed from their athletics for failing their language, their parents come in swinging. Parents like to group up against teachers and pressure the ones they don’t like until they quit. Get a sub and think it means an easy pass… but the kids still fail and end up taking Spanish later.
They pretty much loose a language teacher every year.
Funny because the kids that take it seriously gain so many life’s skills. And the ability to pretty much cheat on any test if the teacher isint watching.
But alas. Always ruined by the parents that defend their lazy kids.
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u/DickledPink 7d ago
This is sweet, but she did the alphabet, not have a conversation.
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u/BxBoy69 7d ago
It’s an attempt to connect though…maybe the post is mis-titled but that’s not on her.
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u/DickledPink 7d ago
Dude, I’m not personally attacking Margot Robbie, just clarifying a misleading caption is all.
Or should I say “ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ”
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u/ToLorien 7d ago edited 7d ago
American Sign Language is HUGE and a lot to learn. She may be just a beginner but it’s really great she has a chance to connect and practice. She probably learned a couple quick things during this interaction!
Edit please stop telling me over and over it’s not ASL. That’s great. It’s another sign language. Still takes a long time to learn. Why don’t you read the replies before replying?
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u/lewan049 7d ago
Is this American sign? It doesnt look like the sign I’m familiar with.
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u/g2562 7d ago
It appears to be at Leicester Square in London, so I’d imagine BSL.
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u/blinky84 7d ago
I don't know enough to tell but I would have thought she'd be most likely to learn Auslan, being Australian. Apparently the alphabets are virtually the same, though, which may be why she's using the alphabet rather than actual 'words'.
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u/farfetched22 7d ago
As someone pointed out in another comment, the fan handed her a paper with the alphabet. She said she knew it and started doing it, hence why she's signing the alphabet.
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u/SixWingedAngel 7d ago
Maybe, as an Australian, she doesn’t speak American Sign Language?
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u/ZzoZzo 7d ago
I’m assuming that’s what Australian sign language looks like? Because she was saying the alphabet but I didn’t recognize any of the signs
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u/BigDsLittleD 7d ago
Australian Sign Language is based on British Sign Language. Both of which are different from American Sign Language, which is apparently based originally on French Sign Language.
Just to make things easy.
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u/the_wrong_lever 7d ago
Australian Sign Language and British Sign Language both use a two handed alphabet instead of one hand like American and French
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u/AEveryDayIdiot 7d ago
I’m pretty sure this is London so it would be BSL
Edit: not pretty sure, that’s definitely Leicester Square lol
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u/Sally_twodicks 6d ago
It's very cool and interesting to see non ASL as an American.
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u/Televisiongod 6d ago
Yeah its trippy to see at first because i thought she was american and i was trying to understand what she was saying. They look very similar, obviously.
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u/MarvelousBabbe 7d ago
Who cares if it's exactly that or not? Good for her for making the effort - she most likely helped someone feel like part of the group instead of an outcast
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u/kinjiru_ 6d ago
She is doing A-Z in Australian sign language. It is cool that she knows it!
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u/TheAKofClubs86 7d ago
Is there a big difference between American Sign Language and Australian sign language? Sounds silly, but I know different countries have different “dialects”.
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u/Rhain1999 7d ago
Not just dialects; they're completely different languages. Others have mentioned it in this thread, but Auslan is based on British Sign Language, while ASL developed from French
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u/Spacegirllll6 6d ago
American Sign Language developed from French Sign Language (LSF) while I believe Australian developed from British! Many sign languages across the world often share roots in French I believe. That excludes the BSL family, Swedish, Chinese etc.
There’s actually a whole family tree thing on Wikipedia if you’re interested!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Sign_Language_family?wprov=sfti1
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u/TheRealStorey 7d ago
She's learning it, that was the alphabet, not a conversation. Good for her, she's trying.
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u/PlsDntPMme 7d ago
I when we all learned ASL (and in other countries their own) in school as young kids. Imagine how practical that’d be in life! I go to a lot of festivals and raves where it’s far too loud to speak. I’m always saying that if we knew ASL we could chat and convey messages without screaming and getting a dozen “WHAT?” replies.
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u/babyfireby30 6d ago
We used to sign to each other in orchestra practice, when we weren't allowed to speak.
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u/Curious_Lurkur 7d ago
It's more endearing that she's so excited about it than the fact that she's doing it
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u/MoorsMoopsMoorsMoops 7d ago
"Yeah man, when I met Margot Robbie she got totally handsy with me..."
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u/thisistestingme 7d ago
People really appreciate when you make an effort. We had a Turkish Uber driver. I quickly googled how to say thank you in Turkish when he dropped us off. I didn’t realize that my husband had googled “have a good night.” The guy was beaming. It was really fun.
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u/Visible_Let_5516 5d ago
Nobody talks about how cool this is, that she can talk to him in sign language
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u/PlasticMercury 7d ago
She's going through the alphabet, which is not exactly the same as "chatting".
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u/slackjack2014 7d ago
It’s better than I can do!
I should probably learn some of the basics of sign language.
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u/Aerandyl_argetlam 7d ago
The alphabet is pretty easy to get down; ik we learned it in elementary school and I recently relearned it, I still had maybe 70% of the letters correct :)
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u/Mobile-Bar7732 7d ago
Are the alphabets common between Auslan and ASL?
I just googled it:
Fingerspelling: Unlike American Sign Language (ASL) which uses a one-handed alphabet, Auslan uses a two-handed fingerspelling system.
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u/Alarming_Panic665 7d ago
Auslan is based off British Sign Language (BSL) while ASL is based off of French Sign Language (LSF). So no the alphabets are completely different with ASL and Auslan being completely incomprehensible to each other.
Basically Auslan to ASL is the same difference as English to Hindi. (completely incomprehensible to each other with a different alphabet, grammar, vocab)
While ASL to LSF is basically the difference of English to German. Where they share a substantial amount of vocabulary and even share a broader foundation, but their specific grammar rules have diverged over time. To the point where they are not mutually intelligible without study.
Then obviously BSL to Auslan is just English (UK) to English (Australia)
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u/sezziefromtheblock 6d ago
It’s probably AusLan (Australian Sign Language)
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u/GrimmBrowncoat 6d ago
Like the Jesus Lion from the Narnia books?
Edit- Just a joke. A good friend of mine went to school for interpreting with ASL and I’m going to ask him about the differences.
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u/MyReddit_Handle 7d ago
The title kinda set me up to see her bust out some “Hi, how are you?”s but I’m still happy with what I got.
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u/CilanEAmber 7d ago
May I ask which sign language?
Based on where they are and where she's from I assume British or Australian?
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u/The-Reddit-Monster 7d ago
Waiting for Redditors to discredit this by emphasizing how it's not actually sign language, instead of still appreciating this gesture of good faith and connecting with a fan.
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u/RodeoClownRedditor1 6d ago
Just when you thought she couldn't get any more awesome. :) Then she does.
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u/KingAudio 6d ago
I wish they made sign language universal and taught everyone on earth. Would he so cool if we all had a way to communicate.
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u/Head-Dentist-1213 4d ago
I took asl in high school. I’ve forgotten so much because I never use it. It really sucks because it was such a handy thing to know when I was working in restaurants.
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u/MrZythum42 7d ago
I really prefer when the hottest people are jerks so we can hate them and it balances out. Now it's just unfair to the rest of the populace.
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u/OwnMathematician2320 5d ago
This was nice. I miss these type of nice acts that aren’t done for clout.
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