May272012
INSTANT SURVIVAL TIP: A snoop-free foreign language
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image by Carla216
Being married to The Paranoid Dad has its benefits. I’ve become a lot more careful about what I say and to whom I say it. There was a time when I would broadcast to the world our vacation plans and proudly announce them on our voicemail recording. Soon, shredding everything, even sales flyers from Home Depot, became the new normal.
Recently I was thinking about which foreign language our family should focus on learning. Latin is already a part of their homeschool curriculum. Spanish is definitely practical. French would be fun but in our neck of the woods, we don’t meet too many native French speakers.
At the same time, I put on my husband’s Paranoid Dad cap and thought, “What language could we learn that couldn’t be easily understood by people observing us or listening in?” And then it hit me: American Sign Language. ASL qualifies as a foreign language for high school and college requirements, even the best microphone in the world couldn’t pick up our ASL conversations, and we just happen to have an ASL teacher in the family, my mother-in-law.
Perhaps this summer would be a great time to get your kids and even the whole family busy learning ASL. We use a few signs in our family already, and they’ve come in handy dozens of times, especially the sign for, “Going to the bathroom”!
Learn more about ASL here and here.
Learning the ASL alphabet is easy and fun. My mother-in-law said that her first step in learning ASL was to practice finger spelling every object she saw as she walked home from school each day. This site is a fun and interactive way to learn finger spelling.
Finally, do a search on YouTube for American Sign Language, and you’ll find dozens of videos to help you learn this amazing language.
Enjoy communicating without worrying about who might be listening in!
© 2012, thesurvivalmom. All rights reserved.
(37) Readers Comments
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Kristina
I beg to differ. As someone who grew up in a family of interpreters, I can understand about 75% of what people are signing. And, I can snoop from far away. I ca be on the other side of a parking lot, in my car and see what people are saying. Plus, ASL is becoming a very popular foreign language to learn. It is being offered in more and more colleges around the country.
If you want to find a snoop-free language, I’d suggest one of the Native American languages. Most tribes have language programs. They don’t want their languages dying out completely.
Kristina
On the other hand, ASL is an imminently useful language. I think everyone should learn it. It is instinctual and useful for so much more than just talking to deaf people.
thesurvivalmom
I understand your point, and I’m sure you understand that you are in, by far, the minority! It’s not just the visual snooping that concerns me. I’m actually more concerned by the capabilities of electronic snooping. Everything in your home, including cell phones, that have a microphone, have the ability to transmit. When I use my webcam/mic, I can pic up conversations in my neighborhood.
Kristina
If your biggest concern is electronic snooping, then ASL is the way to go. The other HUGE benefit to ASL, from a learner’s perspective, is that it is so intuitive. And, after you learn the alphabet, you can communicate anything, even if it is very slow communication.
Stealth Spaniel
I like the idea- because ASL is a “silent” language, you can communicate pretty well without anyone being the wiser. A lot more people do seem to understand & use ASL; but it is by no means universal. My friend’s daughter is slowly going deaf, she will be totally non hearing by the time she is 38 or 39. Lauren took ASL to get a head start while she still has hearing. Her parents also learned with her as a family exercise. Now, Starbucks pays her extra to use her ASL skills. For most of the public, dealing with the deaf involves screaming at them or desperately looking for pen & paper. So, I see a lot of positive in learning ASL.
Chris
I took greek in college. Our class spent 1 day on verbage and other grammer. The other 3 days we read from the new testament. It’s a wonderful way to learn a language. Greek is not near as good of a language as say, Navajo, but it is something at least locally won’t be picked up on. In the southwest, I have yet to meet one person that spoke greek other than the person that taught it to me
!
Chris
Come to think of it… I know WAY more people that speak Navajo
.
thesurvivalmom
I USED to know a ton of Navajo speakers when I lived in northern Arizona. There’s a reason why the U.S. military chose that language for their code-talkers!
koensayr
The Navajo code, from what I understand, was based on the Navajo language, but it was still a code, so that simply capturing some poor Navajo soldier didn’t do the Japanese any good.
I’d say if you’re worried about eavesdropping, learn some obscure language, like Esperanto, and modify that into a code. The Feds will have a WONDERFUL time breaking THAT code.
thesurvivalmom
Latin was a language my husband suggested we all learn. My daughter just finished her first year and my son will begin this fall. Again, my biggest concern with communication is the capability our government and others have with electronic eavesdropping.
Heather
I agree that ASL is a good language to learn, in an emergency you can communicate quietly with each other. On the other hand, knowing another language that many people don’t know is a good idea. I agree with the suggestion of one of the Native American languages. They are no widely known and in an end of the world crisis, not too many native speakers will be the problems we have to deal with.
thesurvivalmom
Heather, years ago I taught mostly Navajo students and learned a smattering of Navajo. It’s not an easy language to learn. I agree about the possible usefulness of an obscure verbal language but keep in mind you’ll have to find an instructor and there’s a steep learning curve. With ASL, and yes, I’m sticking to my guns here!, there are tons of resources, and even if all you can learn is the alphabet and some basic signs, it’s still helpful.
little bird
ASL is a great choice. It is a beautiful language and if you are out in public a turn of the body can keep your signs private. I also loved the idea of finger spelling every object when walking home from school/work.
And crazy as it may sound yes the cell phone can be used to ‘listen in’. Even if it’s off. The only way to prevent that is to remove the battery.
Diana
An iPhone is NEVER off, even when it has been turned off and the battery cannot be removed.
CouponCook
Our public library offers free language courses online. They are basic say and repeats. I live on the Gulf Coast. We have a very large deaf and blind school here. ASL is very useful for silent communication. I used to speak it somewhat fluently with my deaf cousin. When he moved to Tuscaloosa I lost it. You’d need to practice all the time. We also live a few hours from New Orleans. We’re a port city. You’d be surprised how many people speak and understand some form of French, Vietnamese, and Japanese. My hometown has a large amount of commercial nurseries. Spanish speakers are very common. I understand more Spanish than I speak. Hmm… so I’m not sure what we would pick. But its definitely been part of past discussions. Thanks for the article.
Penny Willis
My sons have been going to an on-line school, and were offered a foreign lang., i made them take ASL before taking another for the purpose of talking between themselfs and other members of the family. Partly to give them something to bond them, they are brothers and fight like ones. After this language is spread through the 6 of us we want to learn Gaelic, an almost dead language of the Irish and the Scot.
Maureen
We’ve been think the ASL then Gaelic would be a good path for our family. ASL is the easy one … one of our local churches has a class open to the public. Any ideas on sources to learn Gaelic? I love to hear any ideas.
Thank you,
Maureen
thesurvivalmom
Oh my gosh! Great minds think alike! My husband was joking when he suggested we learn Gaelic or Welsh, but so few Americans would know Welsh and Gaelic is all but an extinct language, it’s not a bad idea. a few years ago we were at a Scottish Highland Games and there was a group offering lessons in Gaelic. Maybe you could locate a Caledonian Society near you and ask about this.
Someone
My family is from Scotland (about 300 years ago!) and I learned a bit of Gaelic. It was difficult to pronounce and to spell. One day in the grocery I was checking out when my husband suddenly turned around and headed back down an aisle. I called after him, “Where are you going, my husband?” in Gaelic. The looks I got from everyone around me were hilarious. We live in a very diverse area and regularly hear Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Kurdish, Arabic, Spanish, etc., which everyone “kind of” recognizes. Apparently Gaelic was so bizarre it shocked people. They wouldn’t have looked that way if I’d said “A donde va usted?”
Gaelic is a great choice. Check out your closest used bookstore and see if they have any books with tapes. Also Amazon
Lisa
http://www.omniglot.com/books/language/gaelic.htm
Rob
My family took an ASL class through our church (we had a deaf ministry). While I never mastered it (no capacity for language it seems) I can still do the alphabet. And when we have foster babies we always teach the signs for “water”, “milk” and “thank you.” A bonus:it was nice to have a conversation with a deaf person when no one else could.
And think about how often you have seen a deaf person trying to communicate at a store and getting frustrated. You could help!
ozzie
Look at me. I can speak languages that’ll be understood in Mexico, Cuba, Puerto rico, Guatemala, nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Spain, Colombia, El Salvador, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Monserrat, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Portugal, Phillipines, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba, Creole English, French Equatorial guinea(formally known as Equatorial Spanish), Andorra, East Timor. Little bit of American English.
In case of leaving the U.S. A. or Canada. I can blend in easily in some neutral country in the rest of American continent. BTW I’m partially deaf and I use sign language ( just enough to get me by).
But if I want to make it hard to understand me I use Pig Latin. Cofoprefendes? mefeifimafagifinofoquefenofoyfilafaufunificafamafaneferafadefewuefelofoenfentifiefendifiafasefesgrafabafandofomefe….9Nothing obsene0….Just do it really fast and you wont understand a thing…..
Got to go…I got an English calss…
millenniumfly
Have them learn Chinese… that’s what they’ll probably need to know to survive.
Robert
How about Morse Code? Written or voiced (dit-dah), it’s incomprehensible to almost everyone, and even amateur radio operators mostly shun it.
Ken
Just wondering what kind of top secret things you folks are involved in that would make you so paranoid? Have you considered that your being in fear of these things is just another way to control you? I live in New England and believe in prep, due to hurricanes, ice storms and blizzards. But you folks are talking about visual survailence, eavesdropping and thing that are way over the top. I have watched shows like “Dooms Day Preppers” and really wonder where the line of prep and sanity became so blurred? Does anyone here ever think about these things?? I’ve been preparing for disaster since I was 12, because I saw what hurricane Gloria did, but some of his stuff is way over the top IMHO.
thesurvivalmom
You don’t have to be involved in anything illegal or immoral to be concerned about the loss of virtually all privacy in our country. Facebook is nothing more than a way for government agencies to glean information about citizens. The electronics in our homes can be used to spy on us. I just discovered a couple of weeks ago that the webcam I purchased picks up conversations around my neighborhood! If I can hear THEM, surely they can hear ME, and that’s without even trying. With a quick search, you’d be AMAZED at how much information is on the internet about you, your family, your private business information. It’s not at all paranoid or insane to want to protect our privacy as much as possible.
Furthermore, when your own government labels preppers as possible terrorists, then YES! Read this: http://offgridsurvival.com/randpaulwarnsofmilitarylockingupamericancitizens/
If you believe the government is altruistic and that our original freedoms are still intact, maybe you should get out more.
Ken
Sincerely,
You need not attempt to insult my intelligence. I am trying to have an open minded intelligent conversation with an exchange of ideas. I thought that your being a writer, a different perspective might be of interest to you. I believe in prep but I am concerned that what might be more dangerous is people emassing weapons, shutting themselves off from society and perpetuating a manic paranoia.
As far as the electronic survailence is concerned … There are fail safes, firewalls, security software and many other ways to secure your electronics. As far as your audio devices are concerned … There is only so much “citizen ban” to use for electronics. When you buy certain equipment there is a way to change to two or three channels. If there is no switch on the proyou’re intact the manufacturer to find a better channel in your area on which to broadcast.
I believe you’re doing two great things by creating a place for information and exchange of ideas. You are helping us Moms, the protectors and nurturers, empower themselves. You’ve also taken the lead for women in prep. So, thank you for your Blog, weather you choose to discuss contrary ideas with me or not.
thesurvivalmom
Ken, your first question had an accusatory tone, “Just wondering what kind of top secret things you folks are involved in that would make you so paranoid?” Did you expect us to admit to drug-running or counterfeiting? Why is the suspicion placed on someone who just wants their life to remain private?
That isn’t directed at you, actually, but our society as a whole who looks at anyone with a contrarian view as somehow borderline criminal. We stock up on food, so there’s something wrong with us. It’s the people who scramble to find water bottles and plywood a few hours before a hurricane hits that are “normal.”
We live in a country whose federal government amasses new and more intrusive powers every single week. It’s smart to be aware and to take every measure possible to protect our identity, our communication, our actions. When just buying freeze dried food puts me under suspicion by Big Brother, well, there definitely IS a problem, but it’s not with me, nor with any other prepper I know. It’s with a government that views simple self-reliance as a threat! That alone boggles the mind.
By the way, you mentioned “Doomsday Preppers.” I’ve met several people who appeared on that show and I was in their pilot episode. Every one of them said they were not portrayed accurately. There is nothing “reality” about reality TV when a producer is telling you what to say, what facial expression to have, what to exaggerate, etc. I have to keep that in mind myself whenever I’m watching a reality TV show. “It’s not real. It’s not real.”
)
Nancy
As another commenter posted above, sign languages can be read from a distance. I’ve never formally studied one, just read a few articles on it and picked up a little from that, and I understand at least part of what people are saying in cars behind me or across intersections at stop lights all the time. (Okay, I have formal training as a linguist, but other people will be able to do it, too.)
One thing I’ve used occasionally in the past is a foreign alphabet. You could use Cyrillic or Korean, for instance, without learning the language — just what sounds the alphabet makes. Then use it phonetically to write things in English.
T.R.
I did this , I used the Russian alphabet instead . A fairly fool proof one that was invented in WW1 and is still in use today is the book method . The sender and receiver both buy the same book , it needs to be large . You then send your message in the form of grouped numbers , one number is the page and the other number is the word number . So simple . So effective .
CPTPrepper
Ken have you seen the NDAA? How about the recent purchase of 640 MILLION rounds of .40 ammunition by the feds? How about the use of drones?
SurvivalMom: The Army uses hand and arm signals when patrolling. In a MRAP obviously it’s electronic. But the down and dirty is yelling and a lot of gesturing.
TuhuaTarakona
In lieu of reading ‘all’ the comments – I apologize ahead of time if this was suggested. I read the first few comments and one being that visual snooping could be a problem with ASL being more popular than ever these days. They even teach the basics of the alphabets in school now (is that every where or just my state?) Anyway – what about – if you learned the basics of ASL with your family and then created your own ‘code’ within that language? Definitely an idea. If you learned the basic alphabet and then changed it slightly to become personal for those you wanted to know…well…great code there, too. :^) Thanks for the site and ideas! I’ve wanted to get back into ASL with my family and this just boosted that desire. …grin…
thesurvivalmom
That’s a great idea. We’ve talked about having code words in sign, if nothing else.
Garlickbread
my husband and mother-in-law are interpreters and I am also fluent in ASL. while, yes, I can “eavesdrop” across a parking lot if I happen to see a pair signing, I am also well aware of the real success rate of ASL classes. my first semester we started off with 30 students and ended with 10. of those 10, only 5 went on to ASL II AT ALL! my husband had the same experience. While ASL is becoming a popular foreign language elective, 1 college semester does not a fluency make…
also: when the US Government used Code talkers during the second world war, they didn’t use the appropriate words for things- in modern terms, you wouldn’t use the world BLACK and HAWK in reference to a helicopter. Our family jokingly uses signs in the same way- inside jokes of sorts, such as refering to alcohol in sign as vampire water, or a frozen computer as a Monster Box. (frozen and monster are similar in ASL)
thesurvivalmom
Great information! Thanks! My daughter has just started her first official ASL class and is learning so much. I know a few words/terms, and they come in handy, with the “restroom” sign being the one most frequently used!
Allie
Hello Survival Mom! I just stumbled across your blog, I think that learning sign language is an excellent idea. It makes me reflect, however, that in a survival situation I only know one language (thank goodness I married a linguist!).
Question though – why do you shred Home Depot sales flyers?
T.R.
Russian , not a whole lot of americans speak it . Unlike other european written languages , their alphabet is so different to us that its very difficult for english speakers to wrap their heads around it at first . You have to forget everything you know and start over .