Welcome to Online Auslan Level 2 - Frequently used little words #1

Welcome to level 2 of my online Auslan course for beginners.

If you have made it this far, and can remember most of the vocab from level 1, then you are acing out and can probably already have some pretty good conversations with Deaf people.

The signs you learn here will fill in some gaps and help bring your signing up a notch.

If you haven’t studied level 1 yet, head there to start learning Auslan and to find out answers to frequently asked questions such as which hand to use when signing.

Please remember that the signs I’m teaching you are the signs I used in Melbourne, Australia. Signs vary a lot around Australia, so people will be sure to tell you that some of the signs I’ve shown you are ‘wrong’.

But my aim here is to help you communicate effectively with Deaf people, and if you use a sign from another state, or a sign they don’t usually use, chances are they’ll still understand you.

You’ll notice a dramatic change in the videos for Level 2. You asked me to sign slower (I hope I did that!) and to repeat my signs.

I’ve signed each word twice, so you can watch the first time, and do it with me the second time.

I hope that makes it easier for you. If they are still too quick, watch the video on YouTube and use the settings cog to change the speed to 0.25.

The other big change in the videos is how amazingly professional they look. This is thanks to Joanne Donahoe-Beckwith, who kindly volunteered to film the videos for me.

She’s a pro, as you can see, and even created a studio set up with beautiful lighting to make the videos the best they can be.

She also subtitled and formatted all the videos for me, saving heaps of time. Many, many thanks to Joanne for her generosity.

Now.. let’s get started. Here are some signs that will be useful in conversation:

alive
live (e.g. to live in a house)
dead
sick
cuddle/hug
important
true
shh
quiet
sit
stand
trouble

This video has a few mistakes! When the captions say 'Stand,' I am actually signing 'Sit.' And when the captions say 'Alive,' I am actually signing 'Stand.' Sorry about that!

[kickchick]

I'm really liking the new format. Much easier to follow with signing twice. Thanks!

[colhannanjr]

Once again I am extremely appreciative of you awesome people who make these vids for many people like me to learn how to sign.. it's brilliant!!

[brianschofield]

Yes, this is excellent. Much better signing twice and displaying the position of fingers. Thank you very much. I'm grateful for the time and effort you must put in to make these videos.

[JustinShaedo]

0:06 Alive
0:14 live (e.g. to live in a house)
0:21 dead
0:27 sick
0:33 cuddle/hug
0:39 important
0:51 true
0:56 shh
1:01 quiet
1:09 sit
1:15 stand
1:19 trouble

[finnsnothuman]

thank you so much for making these videos!!

[SirSteveDavis]

I like the new versions Asphyxia. No longer are you an accidental video star :o)

[crystilei]

I tell you what, the way you started to sign important, that's not the way I am used to seeing those hand signs used LOL

[crystilei]

what is the difference between the first and second "Alive"?

[Philski]

Hi, why did you have 2 different signs for Alive?

[asphyxiax]

Sorry everyone - there is a mistake in this video. The sign that is labelled ‘alive’ is actually ‘stand’.. and the sign that is labelled ‘stand’ is actually ‘sit’.