Remember last week's post...about naming babies and how exciting that can be at our house?
Yeah, well, the fun doesn't stop there. Oh no. In Deaf households we get to name our babies twice. Not only do my children have a hearing name, one that hearing people will call them throughout their lives. They also have to have a name-sign that Deaf people will identify with them as well. .
No biggie, right.
Wrong. You know it is a biggie because I am making a whole post about the thing.
You see, it is a widely accepted rule in Deaf culture that a Deaf person must be the one to give you your name-sign. It is their God given right, apparently. Why? I'm not quite sure. I have never really had a problem with it.
No problem at all. I didn't complain when Hubs decided that my name was going to be S-T-E-F...meaning you spell my name. If you spell it fast, it simply becomes S......F. So I share the same name sign as San Francisco and Santa Fe. What kind of name sign is that??? Most people get really cool name signs. On my mission my name sign was the same sign as "funny." I loved it.
Apparently your Deaf husband has the right to change your name when you wed. Nobody told me this. Secrets, I tell ya. I guess I was super lucky to take on his last name and the first name he chose for me.
I guess it is also very rude to complain about the name that the Deaf person gives you. I'm rude.
Like I was saying, I have never really complained about these rules. Just accepted that rules were rules and went along my merry little way.
Until we had kids.
It was at this point, we broke the rules. Hubs and I would wait until our babies were about 18 months old, and together we would chose a name-sign for them. By that age their personalities were emerging and we could base their name sign off those quirky things about them. It really is fun.
We did great, I think. Kobe's sign is "dimple" because he has these killer dimples and he is as sweet as "candy." Kyla's is symbolic of the way that her hair would stick up when she was a baby. Brody's sign is "laugh" because he was such an attention seeker even at an early age. Camden's sign is a hand covering his eye because he sleeps with one eye open. A little freaky.
It has taken us a long time to come up with a name sign for Brigham. Okay, not true. Hubs knows what he wants to call him but I am not yet fully on board.
B-5.
That's it. That's what he wants. A letter and a number.
Really?
He is the 5th Burns child born so the reasoning is there. It's just really awkward to sign. At least it is for me. Try it. It almost hurts my hand and brain to do it. I don't love this sign, if you haven't noticed. But can I flat out reject it?
Do I stick with fingerspelling B-R-I-G, which is what I do all the time? If you fingerspell it, it is actually quite smooth and natural.
But who wants their name sign to be two letters.
Ahem...hypocrite is my middle name, in case you were wondering.
Which one do you like better?
14 comments:
Sorry Stef...I kind of think B-5 is really cool! I always thought sign names touched somewhere on your body. I guess not! My boyfriend gave me the sign of a K on the heart. I changed his (jokingly) to a J on the bicep. All his friends thought this was hilarious....now I know why!
You are so educating me on the Deaf culture.
As far as the sound of? I like B-5but I'm clueless about signing so I'd probably go with the one that is less awkward. ;P
Too funny! Having a sign name is almost like having a nickname in sign language. How cool is that?
I prefer "B-5" too since it's more of a nickname than just Brig BUT I feel like "B-5" lacks the cuteness that the other kids have. There must be something about Brigham other than the fact that he's the 5th child, right?
B5 is great and easy to sign...although perhaps less about the boy's personality and more about his position in the family...which CAN say a lot about the personality. Incidentally I got my name sign because I am a sloppy fingerspeller...howz that?
Such complexities. It's fascinating to read about all this. You are a patient woman for sure.
At least he didn't want to call him B-52...after the band from awhile back and the plane!
I like B-5, but the name should be easy to sign. So I have to cast my vote in the other (spelling) direction.
Not that my vote matters, of course....
;)
Okay, I just rethought that. And I'm kinda serious this time.
Someday, those kids will all sit around and be proud of the etymology of their own deaf names. Each of the other kids has a sign that is personal and tells something true and lovable about him or herself.
Your youngest son is going to feel bad if he doesn't have the same.
JMHO, of course.
You crack me up! I love how you write and how you incorporate this part of your every day life so that us sign language virgins can understand;) Good stuff!
Why don't you ask him what sign he wants? Or are you afraid he'll want to be called pony boy or something?
When my brother was three he wanted to change his name to hot dog. Insisted every one call him that.
Didn't help matters that his initals are ARF.
-J
I kind of like B-5. I think it's kinda cool!
Ok Stef - I totally agree with you that it is easier to sign the letters of his name than B5, and the whole point of a sign name is to make it easier! Now, that being said, it was soooo hard to come up with sign names for my children, so I sympathize - but I had the benefit of being the one to create their sign names! This is only my opinion, but B5 - seems too much like a serial number - hahaha...Good Luck!!!
So, are they stuck with this name for the rest of their life? I guess not since hubs changed yours.
I guess if you're in a big hurry B5 would work better! :D
I have a friend whose name sign is K5. So your son isn't the only one with that kind of name sign. What can i say, us deafies are more creative. ;-)
I didn't realize deaf people had two names. Thankfully it looks like you give them their names early on in life. JDaniel would be named whiny if we named him now.
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