Comprehensive Study Guide: Sign Language and Deaf Communication Systems of Communication for the Deaf

Criteria for Defining Sign as a True Language

• Formal Criterion for a True Language:

  • Sign language qualifies as a true language because the system enables a signer to comprehend and produce an unrestricted number of grammatical sign sentences.

  • This linguistic feat is achieved through a limited vocabulary (signs) and a structured system comprising both syntax (rules for sentence structure) and semantics (rules for meaning).

• Informal Criterion for a True Language:

  • An informal measure of a true language is whether a signer can communicate through signs anything that can be communicated through spoken speech.

• Physical Modes of Language Acquisition:

  • Language acquisition necessitates some form of physical mode.

  • For the deaf, this is typically visual (signing).

  • For those who are both deaf and blind, this mode is tactile (touch).

The Expression of Complex and Abstract Concepts

• Abstractions in Signing:

  • Sign language is capable of conveying highly abstract and complex sentences.

  • Sentence Example: "If the weather had been fine, then Mary's uncle could have come and given her money."

  • This specific sentence is used as a benchmark because it expresses a wide variety of complex semantic functions and relations.

  • It involves multiple intertwined events and hypothetical situations.

  • Conclusion: Any individual capable of comprehending and producing such intricate communications through sign instead of speech is considered to possess full language capabilities.

Degrees of Sign Language Completeness

• Complete Sign Languages:

  • Signers of complete languages can express anything that can be expressed in speech.

  • Examples: American Sign Language ($ASL$), French Sign Language ($LSF$), British Sign Language ($BSL$), and Malaysian Sign Language ($BIM$).

• Incomplete Sign Languages:

  • Some sign languages are considered incomplete because they may be syntactically limited or possess a restricted vocabulary.

• The Case of Japan (1990s):

  • During the 1990s, deaf children in Japan were often forced to speak and were banned from using sign language in schools.

  • In schools where sign language was not part of the curriculum, students learned and used it secretly.

  • Anecdote: During a physics class with a hearing teacher who knew no signs, students would erupt into a "frenzy of forbidden signing" the moment the teacher turned to write on the board. When the teacher turned back, the classroom appeared calm because students simply lowered their hands.

Speed and Cognitive Processing of Sign Information

• Comparable Speeds:

  • Signers communicate at approximately the same speed as speakers.

  • There appears to be an optimum speed for human language processing. Whether the information is delivered via speech or sign, humans are most comfortable processing data within a specific temporal range.

Gestures of Hearing People vs. Sign Language

• Definition of Gestures:

  • Hearing people use gestures as a means of communication, but these gestures do not constitute a formal language system.

  • Understanding gestures is critical to avoid confusing them with the formal signs of a sign language.

  • Gestures are often similar across groups but are seldom universal; they are typically specific to cultural, linguistic, or geographic regions.

• Categories of Gestures:

  • Body Gestures: Movements involving the arms, head, and torso.

  • Facial Gestures: Expressions used to convey meaning or emotion.

  • Iconic Gestures: Gestures that physically resemble the object or action they represent.

Specialized Gestures in Professional Communities

• Some communities use specialized gesture systems for efficiency or necessity:

  • Stock Trading (floor signals).

  • Television production.

  • Music (conducting).

  • Race tracks.

  • Sports (referee signals or player cues).

Gestures in the Context of Speech

• Beats:

  • A "beat" is a common gesture where a hand or finger stays in motion, synchronized with the rhythm of the spoken word.

• Iconic Gestures with Speech:

  • These occur during speech to visually illustrate the content.

  • Example: A person saying "He is trying to go up inside the drainpipe" while using hand motions to simulate upward movement through a narrow space.

Questions & Discussion: The Universality of Sign Language

• Is ASL a Universal Language?

  • A common misconception is that sign language is universal. This is incorrect.

  • Logic: Just as there is no single universal spoken language (English is not universal), there is no universal sign language.

  • Each country or region develops its own unique sign language system.

Types of Sign Language: Speech-Based and Independent Systems

• General Definition: Sign languages utilize hand, face, and body movements within a three-dimensional space as their physical medium.

• Speech-Based Sign Languages:

  • These systems represent spoken words or their specific spellings.

  • They follow the word order or morpheme order of ordinary spoken languages (e.g., English, French, Swedish).

• Independent Sign Languages ($ISL$):

  • These are independent of spoken languages.

  • They have developed their own unique vocabulary and grammatical systems for production and comprehension.

  • Examples: American Sign Language ($ASL$) and British Sign Language ($BSL$).

Finger Spelling: Orthographic Representation in Signing

• Mechanics:

  • Words are represented letter-by-letter using individual signs.

  • The signs follow the exact order of the written language's alphabet.

• Methodologies:

  • One-Handed Method: Used in the American system.

  • Two-Handed Method: Used in the British system. It is generally faster and produces more easily identifiable letters.

• Usage and Learning:

  • Finger spelling is essential for proper nouns that lack individual signs, such as place names (Manila, Kensington) or person names (Sheldon, Francine).

  • It is relatively easy for literate persons to learn, though the process is physically laborious compared to whole-sign systems.

Morpheme-by-Morpheme ($MnM$) Sign Systems

• Definition: These systems use a specific sign for every morpheme (the smallest unit of meaning) in a spoken language.

• Systems: "Signing Essential English" and "Seeing Exact English."

• Example Sentence Construction:

  • Spoken: "I asked John for the cards."

  • $MnM$ Sign: I + ask + PAST + John + for + the + card + PLURAL.

• Advantages:

  • Learners simultaneously acquire the morphology and syntax of both the sign system and the target speech-based language.

  • It is often easier for hearing adults (especially in the $18-35$ age range) to learn than an $ISL$.

• Disadvantages:

  • Children do not acquire $MnM$ systems as easily as natural sign languages.

  • The deaf community generally does not prefer them, favoring the flexibility and comfort of Independent Sign Languages like $ASL$.

Independent Sign Languages ($ISL$): Components and Development

• Basic Components of a Sign:

  1. Hand Configuration: The specific shape the hand takes.

  2. Place of Articulation: The location in space where the sign is formed.

  3. Movement: The specific path or action the hand takes.

• Examples in Malaysian Sign Language ($BIM$):

  • Nama: (Name).

  • Duduk: (Sit).

• Learning Process for $ASL$:

  • $95\%$ or more of deaf signers are exposed to sign language after infancy (late childhood or adulthood).

  • Current practice encourages hearing parents of deaf children to learn and use signing as early as possible in the child's life.

Educational Methodologies: Oralism and Total Communication

• The Oral Approach:

  • Focuses on teaching speech production and secondary speech comprehension.

  • Utilizes vocal stimuli and requires vocal responses.

  • Success Rate: Successful with those who have less hearing impairment; however, it fails with the severely hearing-impaired.

  • Shortcomings: Speechreading (lipreading) is difficult; even an adept person only interprets about half of what is said, relying on redundancy to guess content.

• Total Communication:

  • Uses any available means: sign, voice, lipreading, fingerspelling, amplification, writing, gestures, and visual imagery (pictures).

  • Requires both vocal and signed responses from students.

Audiometric Ranges and the Nature of Hearing Impairment

• Levels of Hearing Loss (measured in Decibels):

  • Normal Hearing: $0-15\,dB$

  • Slight Loss: $16-25\,dB$

  • Mild Hearing Loss: $26-40\,dB$

  • Moderate Loss: $41-55\,dB$

  • Moderately Severe: $56-70\,dB$

  • Severe Loss: $71-90\,dB$

  • Profound Loss: > 90\,dB

• Pitch/Frequency (measured in Hertz):

  • Standard testing ranges include $125\,Hz, 250\,Hz, 500\,Hz, 1000\,Hz, 2000\,Hz, 4000\,Hz, 8000\,Hz$.

• Nature of Mutism:

  • Most deaf individuals are not congenitally mute; they are mute because they lack the auditory feedback to learn how to produce appropriate speech sounds.

The Historical Conflict: Alexander Graham Bell and Edward Miner Gallaudet

• Alexander Graham Bell (Oralist Perspective):

  • History: His mother (Eliza) was deaf, and his wife (Mabel Hubbard) became profoundly deaf at age 5 due to scarlet fever. His father, Alexander Melville Bell, invented the phonetic alphabet "Visible Speech."

  • Reasons for Favoring Oralism:

    1. Social Equality: He believed speech would allow the deaf to be seen as intellectual equals in society.

    2. Linguistic Belief: Viewed sign as inferior, lacking precision and abstraction.

    3. Laziness: Feared children would become "lazy" and avoid the hard work of learning speech if allowed to sign.

    4. Eugenics: Wanted deaf people to find hearing mates to prevent the production of deaf offspring.

• Edward Miner Gallaudet (Pro-Sign/Combined Perspective):

  • History: Like Bell, he had a deaf mother and a hearing father devoted to deaf education.

  • Advocacy: He led the pro-sign group and advocated for Total Communication. Later, he supported the "Combined Method," teaching both sign and speech to ensure comprehensive development.

The Role of Written Language and Literacy in Deaf Advocacy

• Literacy and Success:

  • Deaf individuals often bear the burden of finding ways to communicate with the hearing majority.

  • Low levels of literacy historically lead to low-level employment. High literacy is essential for realizing potential in the computer age.

• Written Communication as an Equalizer:

  • Writing notes often receives more respect than mumbled speech.

  • Written communication presents the deaf individual as an equal participant.

  • When provided with a notepad, hearing persons find it much easier to communicate effectively with deaf individuals.