September 23 was the International Day of Sign Languages. This day serves as a reminder of the importance of sign languages involving communication for the deaf community, as well as pushing for accessible and inclusive communities. As a student at GNB Voc-Tech, I found this story important to me because I have been learning ASL since the beginning of summer break. I find it is important to educate myself on languages such as ASL because as a student in the Media Arts it’s my ultimate goal to help others feel comfortable and have a voice.
Who is Eowyn?
Owner Derek Cassese, known on TikTok as @thesigningd, shared the story of his corgi, Eowyn, in a TikTok created on June 25th of this year. The response to Cassese’s video was booming. In less than a week, the clip uploaded to TikTok impressed over 5.1 million users, the number of likes on the video. The video also received 28.1 million views and 14,900 comments.
Eowyn was able to learn American sign language by watching Cassese communicate with his spouse. Six years ago, Cassese and his current wife Emily began their long-distance relationship. When Emily visited for the first time, Eowyn quickly realized that Emily was deaf. Cassese noticed how Eowyn would bang on the side of the bed instead of barking to wake Emily, which isn’t normal, as Eowyn would often bark to wake Cassese. After a couple of months, Emily moved in, and Eowyn began learning sign language, just by watching her parents. Eowyn quickly learned ASL, specifically, the signs for her favorite words.
Image obtained from ABC News.
Image obtained from WQAD News.
Words Eowyn Has Learned
One major example of the words Eowyn has learned is “fail”. Cassese says she’ll get grumpy whenever she notices them using the word in conversation. It even happened during their wedding vows, as they promised to stand by each other through life’s successes and failures. Eowyn demonstated an unhappy response.
Some of the other signs that Eowyn has learned:
- Ball
- Dinner
- Bath
- Cookie
- Breakfast
- Eowyn *
* Interesting fact about names in ASL
In the deaf community, names are created and given with a sign unique to the person. No name has the same sign. It is important to note that name signs are only to be curated by deaf individuals.
Communicating With Deaf Canines Using ASL
Although Eowyn’s story is extra special due to her ability to learn ASL all on her own as a hearing dog, many canines are deaf and have been taught by their owners or trainers to communicate and use commands through sign language. Sign Training is a type of training that uses visual cues such as ASL to teach commands to deaf dogs. Naturally, hearing-impaired dogs use visual cues, just the same way as hearing dogs react to sounds. Using sign training, deaf canines can relearn the tricks they once knew and communicate fluently with their owners in ways non-hearing dogs without sign training can’t.
Check out the TikTok Cassese created about the talented Eowyn HERE!
If Eowyn can, you can too! Consider learning a new language, and use online tutorials on ASL to expand your communication throughout your community.