Population of Deaf JWs

by Yizuman 31 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Kophagangelos

  After a long time I am now here. Now I searched the word deaf and now I see that you are deaf! It ist beautiful. I am deaf and JW still. I am a free JW and lost all priviliges volunterly since summer! I have very much work in the post office that I am on the new workplace. A new work schedule and I am busy fulltimely since November to keep a distance from JW slowly. I can not quickly to go away. My story is read in this community. Search the word Kophagangelos and find my story.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=13220&page=2&site=3#595537

  Edited by - Kophagangelos on 19 December 2002 7:56:28
• 

  minimus

  WHAT DID YOU SAY??????..........................about intellectually deaf????????????????
• 

  Yizuman

  minimus - WHAT DID YOU SAY??????..........................about intellectually deaf????????????????

  minimus, that is not a nice thing to say. He's speaking in ASL which is a shorthand of english. Something you will not understand.

  I would suggest an apology be in order.

  Thank you.
• 

  Lady Lee

  Yixuman - a shorthand of english?????

  sign is much better than that - a wonderful language with it's own grammar and syntax - efficient and perfect on its own - I would never say that sign is an english short-hand - sort of lowers it a bit - but that is just my opinion
• 

  Yizuman

  Lady Lee - Yizuman - a shorthand of english?????

  sign is much better than that - a wonderful language with it's own grammar and syntax - efficient and perfect on its own - I would never say that sign is an english short-hand - sort of lowers it a bit - but that is just my opinion

  Well, I'm trying my best to explain how ASL works and poor choice of words on my part.

  When I said "short-hand" english. I meant something like this...

  English: I visited the Sears Tower today. I went up in the elevator to the roof of the building. I got to see the most beautiful scenery of the city of Chicago. It was an awesome sight to see!

  ASL: I finished touched Sears Tower. I rode elevator to roof. I see Chicago everywhere. WOW! Wonderful see city!

  There, you see I made the whole story short and to the point, as you can see, I also cut out unneccesary words in a sentence, such as: the, to, in, etc.We don't use any of that in ASL. We deaf folks who engage in a conversation prefer quick and to the point conversations. So, I was trying to convey and describe what ASL is like.

  Also, we deaf folks don't hear words inside our thoughts when we think like hearing people. Instead we think with "hands" inside our heads, like an image of a pair of hands signing as we use our thought process. Since I don't hear words, I don't think in words either. Besides some words I still remember how to say before I lost my hearing at the age of 3, I can still remember how to say, "shoe". But I am verbally illiterate. So I am limited in the verbal volcabulary department. We also think in pictures, images of what see and know about and we think with emotions as well.

  So when a couple of deaf people or even in a group engage in a conversation, we connect immediately by "seeing" what the conversationalist sees and we "feel" what the conversationist feels. It's like we're wired together like a tether(s?). So we relate to each other far more easier and more so than we do with hearing people.

  If you had the chance to study the Greek language, it's very closely, very much like how we deaf people think, see and feel. The language is entirely different in the thought process than in the english language. Same goes for Hebrew as well.
• 

  Beans

  I believe it is around

  6 Million
• 

  Lady Lee

  Yizuman I know when I was learning sign I thought in sign. When I interpret I used SEE but talking with deaf I used ASL or a poor version of it) I think that is why I had to sign it or at least see the signs in my head to understand fully because in sign the imagery is so much more expressive.

  I loved signing. It was a whole body experience for me - especially the facial expression. I used to be painfully shy and never looked anyone in the eye. Signing forced me to look at people and to learn to be comfortable with direct eye contact.

  I was good and I loved it - maybe that is why I was good. I was usually asked to do the more important talks at meetings and DC and CA.

  I remember one time I was signing one of the dramas with a brother signer. We sort of forgot we were interpreting and started signing the drama to each other - almost acting it out. For a moment it was sheer magic. Then the brother stopped the connection we had and went back to straight signing. The deaf came to us after and said that for those moments it was so alive for them. I was sad when he stopped acting it out with me. It was really special feeling.

  Another time I was asked to sign for a play by Moliere. I had no idea who he was or what I would be signing. it was a very funny comedy live play. I love Moliere now. Sad biut there were no deaf there

  Another time I went with my deaf friends to see "Children of a Lesser God" There was supposed to be an interpreter on the stage but there was non. So I sat on the floor in the row of seats so all deaf with me could see me sign the parts of the play that were not signed. That was fun but I missed most of the play. We got to go back stage after and meet some of the actors. The group really liked that part

  Just some of my enjoyable experiences signing.
• 

  Yizuman

  Lady Lee - Yizuman I know when I was learning sign I thought in sign. When I interpret I used SEE but talking with deaf I used ASL or a poor version of it) I think that is why I had to sign it or at least see the signs in my head to understand fully because in sign the imagery is so much more expressive. I loved signing. It was a whole body experience for me - especially the facial expression. I used to be painfully shy and never looked anyone in the eye. Signing forced me to look at people and to learn to be comfortable with direct eye contact. I was good and I loved it - maybe that is why I was good. I was usually asked to do the more important talks at meetings and DC and CA.

  Alot of the interpretors had the same experience as you have had. It's nice to know that the learning experience has had a positive change for them.

  I remember one time I was signing one of the dramas with a brother signer. We sort of forgot we were interpreting and started signing the drama to each other - almost acting it out. For a moment it was sheer magic. Then the brother stopped the connection we had and went back to straight signing. The deaf came to us after and said that for those moments it was so alive for them. I was sad when he stopped acting it out with me. It was really special feeling.

  I guess some folks don't feel comfortable acting out unless it's the singing part, which is the most expressive part of the whole area of signing and neccessary.

  Another time I was asked to sign for a play by Moliere. I had no idea who he was or what I would be signing. it was a very funny comedy live play. I love Moliere now. Sad but there were no deaf there Another time I went with my deaf friends to see "Children of a Lesser God" There was supposed to be an interpreter on the stage but there was non. So I sat on the floor in the row of seats so all deaf with me could see me sign the parts of the play that were not signed. That was fun but I missed most of the play. We got to go back stage after and meet some of the actors. The group really liked that part

  I saw the stage version years before the movie version in which Marlee Matlin played in and I happen to know her well. She and I went to the same school at Center on Deafness which used to reside in Des Plaines, IL, but now has moved to Northbrook, IL.

  Have you ever heard the concept, "Shadow Signing"? It's the interpreter who is dressed in all black except for the hands and face exposed. No jewelry is allowed to be worn nor is make up allowed for it is distracting for the deaf viewers. They "shadow" behind the actors as the actors plays their part of the stage play. They follow them around and stay at some length to give the actors room to do what they want so they avoid bumping into each other. Usually the "shadows" already have rehearsted the parts to know when to avoid being bumped. LOL.

  Anyway the stage play I saw back in Chicago when I was attending Center on Deafness was about some voyage on a boat back in the midevil(s?) days. Forget the name of the play, but it was good and humorous. I've seen alot of "shadow" type plays like "The Miracle Worker", classic plays like "Wizard of Oz", "Sleeping Beauty" and there was this play I really enjoyed and dang it I can't remember the name of it, it was about a Scottish Village that appears every one hundred years and to the people, they slept one day, in other words, every time they go to sleep, the Village disappears and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. If memory serves me correctly, some witch cursed the people of the village to live out their lives for enternity as each time they go to sleep.

  Anyway, two hunters discovered the Village and one of the hunter fell in love with a village girl. As soon as he discovered about the true demise of the people and the curse, he had a choice of staying with them and live with their curse forever or leave only to lose the girl he loved. I'm not going to spoil the rest of this story as many may not have seen it, but it was a wonderful love story.

  I haven't been back to see any of those plays since most of it happens in large cities such as Chicago. I've been too busy trying to live out my life and struggles and it's not been easy. I really wish I was finacially stable to be able to enjoy seeing some stage plays again.

  Edited by - Yizuman on 20 December 2002 0:23:0
• 

  larc

  Yizuman, I was curious about something. You pointed out that one poster here was using a writing syle derived from ASL. Is this typical of deaf people? You write very well. Are you and exception or can many deaf people wrote in both syles? This leads me to another question. On newer tvs, there is a button you can push and the words for the dialogue shows up on the screen. Does this feature help the deaf improve their writing ability?
• 

  Yizuman

  Larc - Yizuman, I was curious about something. You pointed out that one poster here was using a writing syle derived from ASL. Is this typical of deaf people? You write very well. Are you and exception or can many deaf people wrote in both syles?

  First of all, thank you for telling me how well I write.

  Unfortunantly by large majority of the deaf population, they are somewhat "handicapped" as far as reading/writing is concerned.

  It basically depends on the type of education program that deaf schools offer as well as the Teachers being involved in teaching the deaf students how to read and write as well as teaching them proper grammer, puncuations and so forth.

  My school here in Indiana has the lousiest program. Anywhere between 50% to 75% of the deaf students (depending on the school year) can read and write well enough to survive in the hearing world. About 1% of the students can read and write as well as I do. The rest can't read and write at all.

  The deaf school in Illinois have a much better program and the percentage is much higher than here in Indiana. in Illinois, they discourage ASL altogether while the students is on campus (of course, they don't generally obey the rules and try not to get caught doing ASL by the school staffs), instead they enforce SSE (or SSL to some people) which means Signed Straight English. Which means the students are supposed to sign in FULL english sentences rather than using "short cuts" in ASL. This helps alot in teaching the students learn english and improve their reading/writing skills. My school at Center on Deafness (a private school) had the same rule.

  Like I said before, it all depends on the school's program, the teachers involvement with the students AND the student's willingness to learn, big important part on the student.

  This leads me to another question. On newer tvs, there is a button you can push and the words for the dialogue shows up on the screen. Does this feature help the deaf improve their writing ability?

  Yes it can help alot. As a matter of fact, it's very useful for hearing children as well for it is a great teaching tool for them to learn how to read as they watch any close captioned program on television.