Beginner II

The Peacock and the Crane

Watch the fable in American Sign Language.

A peacock took a stroll and met a crane one day. They exchanged a greeting. The peacock puffed up with vanity and spread his gorgeous tail with pride and boast. His colorful plumage glowed in the sun.

The peacock said, "Hey, look at this beautiful tail." He mocked, "And you? Your feathers is full of gray. How dull!"

The crane calmly nodded, "True, definitely true." He spread his wings and flew up high in the sky. He look down and called, "Hey, look, I soar high and far that I can view beautiful brilliant stars in the sky. I also can view all beautiful scenery below me." The crane continued, "And you? You are stuck among the birds of the barnyard all the time. How dull!"

The peacock stood in silence as domestic fowls busily buzzed around him in their ordinary routines. He smuggly shrugged, "Anyway."

ASL storytelling
Illustration by Harrison Weir, John Tenniel, Ernest Griset, et.al., Aesop's Fables, 1881. Published by WM. L. Allison, New York.

Views

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"Fine feathers don't make fine birds." -- Aesop

"The useful is of much more importance and value, than the ornamental." -- The Aesop for Children

ASL storytelling
Illustration by Milo Winter, 1919.

Related posts

Also see The Goats and the Bridge: a fable.

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New to sign language? "Where do I start?" or "How do I start learning sign language?" This ASL Rookie guide lists some selected links to the tutorials for ASL beginners to get started and keep rolling. It may be a useful review for intermediate-level learners and ASL students as well.

Some tutorial pages are a mix of free and premium versions. Access to premium content and links below are available in the PatronPlus subscription. More links/posts will be added from time to time.

Jump-starting

  1. How to fingerspell ABCs
  2. What is and what is not sign language?

Getting started

  1. Benefits of learning sign language
  2. Awareness quiz and Reflections
  3. Basic transcription symbols (glosses)

Language/Culture Fundamentals

  1. What is American Sign Language?
  2. Understanding variations
  3. Introducing audism
  4. Cultural appropriation

Learning first words

  1. Expressing greetings
  2. Introducing oneself and others
  3. Fingerspelling exercise
  4. Expressing goodbyes

ASL Basics

  1. Personal Pronouns
  2. Possessive Pronouns
  3. WH-questions
  4. Yes/no questions
  5. SVO sentence structure
  6. OSV sentence structure
  7. Numbers 1-10+
  8. Basic time: future, present, past

ASL Basics II

  1. Asking what the sign is for a word
  2. Spatial referencing
  3. Verb inflections
  4. Contrastive structure
  5. Listing and Ranking
  6. Classifier basics

Describing shapes

  1. Describing shapes + perspective
  2. Describing shapes + locations
  3. Describing shapes + sizes

Expressing needs and wants

  1. Making commands or requests

Talking about family

  1. Talking about family and pet
  2. Telling age
  3. Telling date

Making basic plans

  1. Review basic tenses
  2. Calendar: DAYS
  3. Calendar: MONTHS
  4. Transportation: basics

Shopping

  1. Telling prices in dollars and cents

Talking about activities

  1. Frequency of time: how often?

Are you able to carry everyday conversations in ASL? Are you a student in the intermediate levels and beyond, who wishes to boost up your signing skills? You've come to the selected tutorial series. (Some premium content are available to PatronPlus membership.)

Language and communication

Sentence types

Non-manual signals

Tenses

Numbers

Classifier classes

Describing

Stories, poems, performance arts, etc. in sign language.

Fables

Fables II

Poem Translations

Stories

Deaf Jokes

Parables

Performance and video arts

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This documentation project follows a child's language acquisition, literacy development, and phonological acquisition in sign language, specifically ASL, from newborn to age five in a natural native-ASL environment and visual culture.

Language development

Baby Signing

Toddler Signing

Preschooler and Kinder

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