padmanabha
9th December 2006, 10:24 PM
[tscii:a7e1dd1791]WORDS OF SILENCE:
Language is viewed as a complex code which humanity has shaped over centuries to serve its deep urge to communicate.
But what about those who are unable to articulate spoken words?
Though it was once presumed that the deaf and dumb have no languages they do communicate with a series of hand gestures, which are autonomous in a sense and not derived from spoken language Thus sign language (SL), differ from other spoken language in that it is produced with the hands without vocalization and is perceived by the eyes instead of by the ears.
Like all languages does SL have its own syntax? Does it have its own grammar and vocabulary? Does it differ from region to region?
The first serious attempt to document SL appears to be Abbes’ Charles –Michael I Epee’s classic about sign language written in 1776.
I Epee have built a link between natural signs and French. He found out that the signs used by his students though indispensable were insufficient as a medium to teach French.
Thus he developed his signs for preposition “pour” (means for). It begins with the index finger pressed against the forehead the seat of intention or memory and terminates with the finger pointing towards the object.
Only a few like, I Epee accepted the fact that a system by means of which hearing impaired people can carry out communication should be respected as a language. Thus new signs were created. Williams Stoke analyzed the SL, and developed a concept of a chereme as an analogue to a phoneme. Cheremes are visible units of a SL, where as phonemes are distinct auditory units o spoken language.
“Though the signs used by the students are indispensable, as a means of communication they cannot be used as a medium to teach the language” said Rosamma Jacob, a teacher at the school for the hearing impaired in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Hand gestures used by lay man have universality. But SL differs from country to country and region to region.” She said.
“As our mother tongue, has variation from city to city or place to place, SL, also differ. SL used in Trivandrum may not be the same in Calicut.” Said Mohan another teacher. “Here we follow the double hand system f representing English alphabets. In America they use only single hand to represent all the 26 letters. We use fingers of one hand to represent vowels starting from the thumb.’ The teachers said.
We discourage SL as it reduces the tendency to speak. But SL cannot be avoided totally.
“There is a vast difference between the students who reside in hostel and those reside with the family. The former seldom develop any kind of speech. They mostly communicate through hand gestures. WE use many a number of teaching aids to thrust the words in their memory.” Said Rosamma.
What about syntax?
“No. No syntax. I once asked a girl to write a leave letter. She wrote “I fever leave.” They write only catch words.”
“Eliciting a good syntactical data in a native SL is not easy. A sign never represents a word (from a spoken language) always and not every word has a sign.” They said.
Williams classified SL into tab (position marking object), dez (configuration of the hands) and sig (the motion). Later, he added the orientation of the hands.
Every sign is a unique combination of three or all the configurations. Mostly the students too develop their own languages which we cannot make out. The students are identified by signs and gesture.
Attention parents:
Once YOU REALIZE that your child is deaf/ dumb, send her to the special school. Mostly they send them only at the age of eight or nine. In rural areas parents are unaware of such special schools.
Many still believe that deaf children are failures as they do not meet the one criterion for success. Often signs are confused, with gestures-revealing public ignorance of the true nature of SL WHICH IS ABSTRACT, CONVENTIONALISED, AND LEARNED.
If the goal of education is to master a language and be literate through speech alone, only a few deaf people who have mastered the techniques of lip reading will be considered eligible. To be fully accepted as a language it is public attitude that needs to be changed rather than the structure or use of SL s themselves.
[/tscii:a7e1dd1791]
Language is viewed as a complex code which humanity has shaped over centuries to serve its deep urge to communicate.
But what about those who are unable to articulate spoken words?
Though it was once presumed that the deaf and dumb have no languages they do communicate with a series of hand gestures, which are autonomous in a sense and not derived from spoken language Thus sign language (SL), differ from other spoken language in that it is produced with the hands without vocalization and is perceived by the eyes instead of by the ears.
Like all languages does SL have its own syntax? Does it have its own grammar and vocabulary? Does it differ from region to region?
The first serious attempt to document SL appears to be Abbes’ Charles –Michael I Epee’s classic about sign language written in 1776.
I Epee have built a link between natural signs and French. He found out that the signs used by his students though indispensable were insufficient as a medium to teach French.
Thus he developed his signs for preposition “pour” (means for). It begins with the index finger pressed against the forehead the seat of intention or memory and terminates with the finger pointing towards the object.
Only a few like, I Epee accepted the fact that a system by means of which hearing impaired people can carry out communication should be respected as a language. Thus new signs were created. Williams Stoke analyzed the SL, and developed a concept of a chereme as an analogue to a phoneme. Cheremes are visible units of a SL, where as phonemes are distinct auditory units o spoken language.
“Though the signs used by the students are indispensable, as a means of communication they cannot be used as a medium to teach the language” said Rosamma Jacob, a teacher at the school for the hearing impaired in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Hand gestures used by lay man have universality. But SL differs from country to country and region to region.” She said.
“As our mother tongue, has variation from city to city or place to place, SL, also differ. SL used in Trivandrum may not be the same in Calicut.” Said Mohan another teacher. “Here we follow the double hand system f representing English alphabets. In America they use only single hand to represent all the 26 letters. We use fingers of one hand to represent vowels starting from the thumb.’ The teachers said.
We discourage SL as it reduces the tendency to speak. But SL cannot be avoided totally.
“There is a vast difference between the students who reside in hostel and those reside with the family. The former seldom develop any kind of speech. They mostly communicate through hand gestures. WE use many a number of teaching aids to thrust the words in their memory.” Said Rosamma.
What about syntax?
“No. No syntax. I once asked a girl to write a leave letter. She wrote “I fever leave.” They write only catch words.”
“Eliciting a good syntactical data in a native SL is not easy. A sign never represents a word (from a spoken language) always and not every word has a sign.” They said.
Williams classified SL into tab (position marking object), dez (configuration of the hands) and sig (the motion). Later, he added the orientation of the hands.
Every sign is a unique combination of three or all the configurations. Mostly the students too develop their own languages which we cannot make out. The students are identified by signs and gesture.
Attention parents:
Once YOU REALIZE that your child is deaf/ dumb, send her to the special school. Mostly they send them only at the age of eight or nine. In rural areas parents are unaware of such special schools.
Many still believe that deaf children are failures as they do not meet the one criterion for success. Often signs are confused, with gestures-revealing public ignorance of the true nature of SL WHICH IS ABSTRACT, CONVENTIONALISED, AND LEARNED.
If the goal of education is to master a language and be literate through speech alone, only a few deaf people who have mastered the techniques of lip reading will be considered eligible. To be fully accepted as a language it is public attitude that needs to be changed rather than the structure or use of SL s themselves.
[/tscii:a7e1dd1791]