From experience we know that the 50,000 people in Northern Ireland who rely on lip-reading and/or sign language for communication are very grateful when they meet ‘hearing’ people who have gone to the trouble to learn their language, albeit at a basic level.
We started with learning the alphabet - quite easy and it means we can spell out our names. Signs such as ‘Good morning,’ or ‘Nice to see you,’ or ‘My name is ...’ or ‘How are you?’ are simple and easy to learn, and we benefit from the fun and mental stimulation of learning a new language.