Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Sign Language

 






There are different forms of sign language based on culture, but one of the most popular is the American Sign Language, also known as ASL. ASL is expressed by movements of the hands and face. It is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing and is used by some hearing people as well. People are still unsure of how this type of sign language started, but there have been some theories that it originated over two hundred years ago. There is no real evidence to back up this theory.

When people use ASL, certain punctuation is expressed not only with the hands, but with the facial expressions as well. When some one is asking a question in sign language, they often raise an eye brow to imply it is a question. It is very interesting to see that facial expressions can make a huge difference when using sign language.

Studies have shown that many parents should consider learning sign language due to the fact that children will be able to speak through sign language before they are actually capable of using words. Their hand coordination develops before their use of words. This also helps the child learn expressions and communicate their emotions. Attached is an article I found regarding this study.

 

https://educate.bankstreet.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1158&context=independent-studies

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language

 

3 comments:

  1. I really do think sign language is so neat. It is awesome because it is universal which is not very common nowadays for something to be consistant all over. Stockton actually has an ALS club and I believe a class on it. I used to see the posters for it all over. It seems really interesting and could be a great asset in a future career.

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  2. Interestingly, when a toddler has a speech delay one of the first things the speech therapist does is teach the family some baby signs. You would be surprised how much being able to communicate "More", "eat", and "drink" reduces frustration and cuts down on meltdowns!

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  3. I never knew that sign language also included facial expressions. I didn't know that simply raising your eyebrows changes the context of the conversation.

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