Preliminary results are described of an attempt to analyze the talk of the Finnish deaf signing community from the perspective of conversation analysis (CA). CA is described as an empirical approach to the study of spoken conversation deriving from the field of ethnomethodology, which itself emerged as a reaction to traditional sociology in the 1960s. Video data for this study was collected at a local social club for the hearing impaired. It was found that groups of signers needed to be recorded in ways that would not have been appropriate for groups of speakers. Interpretation of the signing was dependent on the quality of the image, and was further complicated by the fact that there was not a suitable impressionistic notation system for transcription. It is concluded that ultimately the study of sign language will not only reproduce the findings of studies of spoken language and reveal phenomena peculiar to sign, but it will also yield new perspectives on language use in activities that are difficult to capture in speech environments. Contains 34 references. (LB)