Talk to my hand! Learning sign language with one hand


The first time I learnt something about sign language was when I visited a dormitory for deaf youngsters who pursued a vocational training in Munich. The director of the dorm explained that German Sign Language (GSL, Deutsche Gebärdensprache) was a language completely independent of spoken German. I learnt that GSL had its own complex grammar and even dialects. After the tour through the dorm, the visitors could have drinks in the dorms café and suddenly I felt mute. How was I supposed to communicate that I wanted a coke? I didn't know any sign language! It was an interesting experience and since that time I was fascinated by sign language and by Deaf culture.

Yes, Deaf people have their own culture. A world that is unfamiliar to hearing people. But I love it that the Deaf community embraces their own culture rather than seeing themselves as disabled. "Able-bodied" or "disabled" are just terms defined by society, but not necessarily how people feel themselves.

You might say "But! Deaf people are mute! They can't talk, they can't sing, they can't listen to music, they can't dance to music! They ARE disabled!" You couldn't be more wrong. By using sign language, they are talking but they can also talk in ways that are more accessible for hearing people and they can enjoy music. Before I get to the actual topic of sign language, take a moment here with me and watch these videos:

A fun video of a deaf mom and her hearing son dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgP_S9NiVnc (coolest mom ever!)

Shaheem Sanchez, a deaf hip-hop dancer, talking about his experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbWyaDy9N1M

Macy Baez, another deaf hip-hop dancer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HRLBgHKN1c

Mandy Harvey, a deaf singer, who took part in Britain's got talent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSWXzAnVe0

Marvin, a blind and deaf young man who is an American football player: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSmNg2WGXeQ

Ok, so now back to sign language. So, I've been fascinated by sign languages for a long time. Every country has its own sign language. American Sign Language (ASL) derives from French Sign Language (LSF) but is unrelated to British Sign Language (BSL). Chinese Sign Language (CSL) is a language isolate but does share some similarities with BSL, but not with Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL), that belongs to the Japanese Sign Language (JSL) family, and not with Malaysian Sign Language (BIM) that is related to LSF and therefore also to ASL. Isn't that intriguing? Sign Languages have a completely different language family tree than spoken languages. Look at the following picture and you'll get the general idea.

(I don't know where this picture originates from. I downloaded it here: https://its.greektome.lv/sign-language-family-tree/. Note that it's not complete but for instance, Australian Sign Language (AUSLAN) is missing.)

You can't imagine the differences between the various sign languages? Watch this video, where JSL, ASL and LSF are compared: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kqhrLAz2n8. You will see quite big differences. The signs aren't universal at all.

But ok, I'm not an expert on sign languages and don't plan a full lecture on this topic. If you read other posts on my blog, you might have noticed that I'm quite a language enthusiast and am trying to learn a couple of languages. But despite my interest in sign languages, I never tried to learn any of them. Why? Because I thought that I wouldn't be able to "speak" them. I was born only with one hand and therefore thought that I'm too "disabled" to sign in sign languages. It was only this vague idea that both hands are absolutely necessary for being able to sign, that held me back all those years. But in fact, as deaf people can also enjoy music, one-handed people can also communicate in sign languages. Firstly, it differs from sign language to sign language if more one-handed or two-handed signs are used. Also, there are many occasions where people use only one hand for signing for practical reasons. For instance, because they hold an object in one hand, are driving or simply because they are speaking in a more relaxed way. Sometimes in slang one hand is used, while in more formal speech both hands used.

My role model is Elisabeth Ward, an amputee, who shows how to sign with one hand:

Learning BSL with one hand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myQmmoYDgfQ

One-handed BSL: general conversation in British sign language: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l7sbIc7I1Q&t=3s

So, finally, I decided to give it a try and learn German Sign Language. I plan to get in touch with the local Deaf Community in my town. Because it's a "spoken" language after all. In order to learn it, I should get in touch with native speakers, rather than hide behind books. But as I need to start somewhere, I'll use this awesome website for learning GSL:
http://www.gebaerdenlernen.de/index.php?article_id=1 (only in German). Hopefully, I can also post videos like Elisabeth Ward later, to encourage other people to learn sign languages.

 Learning the sign language of your community is important to strive for a barrier-free society where we all can communicate with each other. But not only should we connect with the Deaf community but also make the hearing world more accessible for everyone. So, that's why it is a great signal that Rachel Shenton signed her Oscar acceptance speech for the short movie "The silent child": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeqzd-Rv8Bs.

 But it's also important that the actual movies are made accessible to everyone, not only acceptance speeches. No matter, if hearing, seeing, blind or deaf. Everyone should be able to enjoy culture. So, this message by Daniel Durant, a deaf actor is more important than ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoxyZcgXDy4. Please watch this to learn why captions are necessary and how a simple adjustment can mean a big step towards a barrier-free society.






Kommentare

  1. freecomputertutorial6. März 2018 um 14:19

    When you started talking about language and how things are differnet from a country to an other you remembered me of a book called alchemist, a young boy from sapain who wanted to find a treasure and what he did is that he followed the omens and this lead him to dicover new traditions about arabs.
    i have a question for you. since every country has it's own traditions and behaviors for example if a deaf man from morocco met with someone from french would they be able to speak with each other.

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    1. Sprachensammlerin6. März 2018 um 14:34

      Ok, first of all, I'm not an expert on Sign Languages yet and mainly interested in German Sign Language, but as you can see on the Sign Language Family tree, Moroccan sign Language is derived from American Sign Language which is derived from French Sign Language. Signs from American and French Sign language are taught at schools for the deaf in Morocco: https://www.ethnologue.com/language/xms/20. So, my guess is that two people from France and Morocco initially would have problems communicating but would be able to work out the differences. Similarly, like people from related spoken languages.

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  2. Almare6. März 2018 um 14:46

    It's awesome that you're learning to sign even though you're one handed.
    I myself have had direct contact with Deaf since I was a small child, but while I attended a Polish SL course at a Deaf community centre in my city as a teenager, I have barely picked up a few signs. I think I can understand more than I can sign, but it's still not a lot. I also understand a lot of the problems they face, how their culture differs from mainstream culture. But with recent developments with The Silent Child and further awareness in mainstream communities, I might try again. :)
    For me the difficult thing about learning SL is the sight perception. I'm not used to 'hearing' language with my eyes and I don't seem to have the ability to quickly process signs into words in my head. It's also difficult because when I practice speaking a normal language, I hear myself and learn to listen, but when I sign, I don't 'hear' myself. And if I sign before a mirror and 'hear' myself, I have the wrong 'mirror' perception so when I see someone else sign, the signs are all wrong. xD Then again, it probably comes with time, though for some reason I have more patience with hearing languages...

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    1. Sprachensammlerin6. März 2018 um 14:55

      Thanks, Almare, for this insightful comment! Yes, I guess it's similar to learning other languages, being able to express oneself and "listening" comprehension are two different things. When I learnt Chinese, I first focused on the written language. When I started to actually talking to native speakers I had "subtitles" running in my head. If I could assign a character to the word I heard, I would understand it, but if I wouldn't find a fitting character, then I also wouldn't understand what was said. It's a bit like you, needing to "hear" yourself. Yeah, it would be great, if you gave Polish SL another try. :D

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