I thought deaf people couldnt hear...but didnt know they couldnt read!

by cyberjesus 21 Replies latest social humour

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  Lady Lee

  ASL or any sign language is the rare case where there is no written equivalent.

  From my experience with schools for the deaf it seems that the teachers do not believe it is important for the students to have a good grasp of written English.

  Personally I think this is a huge mistake because it limits the possibilities for living in a world where the written word is often a core part of employment.

  To be fair this isn't just a problem among the deaf. More and more hearing kids are graduating from high school are functionally illiterate. Texting and twitter are doing nothing to improve that.

  Another aside to this is when children who are physically disabled they also seem to be subjected to this second rate education. I don't understand it. Why shouldn't they be able to get the best education possibility? When my daughter was in the reverse education program (she went for one year to a class filled with kids with physical disabilities) they warned us that they would only do this d=for one year because it did put the child behind their peers in the school they would normally go to.

  But getting back to the issue of the ability for most deaf people to comprehend written English does a great disservice to them. it isn't because they can't learn. Many are smart people. But they haven't been encouraged to to have a good grasp of the language.

  So I'm not just picking on the education of the deaf. There are problems throughout the educational system that need to be addressed.
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  cyberjesus

  Wow I never thought of that. American Signed Language is not English Signed Language... Its a whole different language in itself. So i stand corrected :)

  Well that sucks. I think then thats its more usefull to teach a deaf person to read than asl. Reading connects you with the world.. Asl connects you with the world of a deaf person...
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  OnTheWayOut

  Serein States it best. ASL is their first language that they learn best in. But Lady Lee's point is important. No matter how hard it may be, it does a great disservice to anyone not to really grasp reading well. There are many deaf with excellent educations because they did read well.

  But WTS does these videos so the deaf will be appreciative and see how nice it is to have things in their language. It also standardizes meetings instead of various "hearing" interpreters deciding what signs to use. So it's about recruiting and control. Does that surprise anyone?
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  Lady Lee

  Yes it is a true language with its own set of rules and like all languages it is evolving.

  The grammar is different than in English. For example

  In English I would say:" I'm going to buy milk at the store." We could reverse this though and still be correct

  In French I wouls say: "I am going to the store to buy some milk." There is no change in the order like there is in English. I suspect Spanish, Italian and other Latin languages most likely follow this pattern of sentence structure

  In SEE (Signed Exact English (rarely used now) you translate word for word.

  In ASL there is no word for word equivalent. The words "I am going" is made with one sign. "to the store" is one sign and buy is one sign and milk is one sign. Now I am not an ASL signer but I think the order is changed from English. In many ways the language is abbreviated. It is econimcal in its useage far more than English or certainly French
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  Iamallcool

  me go store milk

  http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/ME/3864/1

  http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/GO/3539/1

  http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/STORE/409/1

  http://www.signingsavvy.com/sign/MILK/627/1 I only use one hand not two hands I also just squeeze. Look at the comments below the sign too.
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  Lady Lee

  thanks for that translation. I knew I was wrong but hey . . .
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  Iamallcool

  no problem.
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  jgnat

  In my ASL classes I was taught the order is Object-Subject-Verb.

  English has pauses at the end of a sentence - the period (.) We take a breath. This helps the listener interpret when one thought ends and another begins.

  ASL flows. To break it up with pauses looks like a jittery black-and-white movie. ASL signers can spot an English speaker right darn quick because of this. To break up one thought before another without interrupting the flow requires a stricter sentence structure, closer to French than English. As soon as you hit a new object, you are talking about a new idea.

  Reading a native ASL signer's English can be a challenge. The first instinct is that the person is uneducated. But really it is their best effort to translate their naturally flowing thoughts in another language, in to English.
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  Iamallcool

  fyi http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/grammar5.htm
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  jgnat

  Ha! Not so black-and-white as I was taught!