There are different forms of sign language based on
culture, but one of the most popular is the American Sign Language, also known
as ASL. ASL is expressed by
movements of the hands and face. It is the primary language of many North
Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing and is used by some hearing people
as well. People are still unsure of how this type of sign language
started, but there have been some theories that it originated over two hundred
years ago. There is no real evidence to back up this theory.
When people use ASL,
certain punctuation is expressed not only with the hands, but with the facial
expressions as well. When some one is asking a question in sign language, they
often raise an eye brow to imply it is a question. It is very interesting to
see that facial expressions can make a huge difference when using sign
language.
Studies have shown that
many parents should consider learning sign language due to the fact that
children will be able to speak through sign language before they are actually
capable of using words. Their hand coordination develops before their use of
words. This also helps the child learn expressions and communicate their
emotions. Attached is an article I found regarding this study.
https://educate.bankstreet.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1158&context=independent-studies
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language
I really do think sign language is so neat. It is awesome because it is universal which is not very common nowadays for something to be consistant all over. Stockton actually has an ALS club and I believe a class on it. I used to see the posters for it all over. It seems really interesting and could be a great asset in a future career.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, when a toddler has a speech delay one of the first things the speech therapist does is teach the family some baby signs. You would be surprised how much being able to communicate "More", "eat", and "drink" reduces frustration and cuts down on meltdowns!
ReplyDeleteI never knew that sign language also included facial expressions. I didn't know that simply raising your eyebrows changes the context of the conversation.
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