Timeline on learning ASL http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49990 Itzika I have a character who is basically mute. She technically can talk, but her voice levels buildings, so she doesn't. She wasn't born this way, though; she's twenty-five now and it probably started when she was around fifteen. Her family, including her, are made up of hunters (their family was cursed and now every kid in the generation is a paranormal), so they would have been traveling a lot and wouldn't have seen each other full-time after they were old enough to drive. Under these circumstances, how long would it take this character to learn ASL? And how long would it take her family? Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:15 -0700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49990?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1122538 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49990?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1122538 Aria617 Enough to communicate? A few months. To be fluent, I'm not sure. I took an ASL class in college (twice a week for a semester, so four months or so) and I know enough to be understood and can have a conversation if the other signer is going slowly. If it's the only way for her to communicate and she's doing it all the time, I imagine it wouldn't take too long. ASL is pretty easy to pick up since a lot of the signs are intuitive ('snow' is moving your fingers like snow falling from the sky. 'penguin' is that little waddle-y motion) and syntax isn't especially important when doing basic signing (I like much that car, that car I like much, that car I much like, I much like that car... it all works based on what my signing professor would say) Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:13:58 -0700 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49990?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1122610 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49990?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1122610