Sign Language

Introduction

According to the website of the Nebraska Department of Education, Sign Language is a another system of communication by using gestures as an alternative for the spoken or written means of interaction. It makes use of hand gestures, facial expressions, body positions, as well as other physical evidences.

There are a lot of different sign languages depending on its origin. However, there is a widely accepted form, and this is the American Sign Language. For more specific words and signs, they may be referred to the more specific styles.

According to the National Science Foundation website, sign language is most important because it has become a means of understanding the true nature of human language. Furthermore, the same source mentioned that Sign Language also demonstrates two important parts of the human language.

The first of which is that languages have different features, but they definitely share certain characteristics. The second is that all human beings are capable of communicating with other people through a specific language. These two aspects pointed out by the National Science Foundation are the basic information one should know about Sign Language as it stands as its backbones.

In this light, his research paper is aimed to justify the claim that Sign Languages are important to society. The reasons behind this claim are that Sign Language is the primary communication system of deaf people. Second, it is also a tool used in early child development. Last, it is also a means of expressing one self.

Discussion

The initial purpose of polishing Sign Language is for the deaf to experience communication without having to say something. When one person is deaf, he or she is also rendered incapable of speaking. Besides their facial expressions and nonsensical sounds, the deaf are literally left with nothing.

With this, a universalized system was created for them to be able to speak with other people who are also capable of using sign language as a mode of communication. This also enables a deaf person to share with other people his or her feelings and thoughts so that he or she is no longer enclosed in her own world.

The hopes of the deaf people are lifted. The world that revolves around them is no longer silent and no longer do they see a never ending array of images that does not make sense. Although feelings can still be associated by the sense of vision and touch, their world is still too quiet for them to understand completely the reality he or she revolves in.

According to Medicine.Net, for a normal person, the meaning of the words varies on the intonation used to speak those words. However, since there are people who were not as gifted to ever have a perception of sound, they rely on the images they see.

It is important to continue Sign Language as an alternative to the common means of communication because not everyone is born with the sense of hearing. Having an abnormality or accident that eventually leads to one’s deafness is not his or her fault. But it remains to be a problem. Although there are advances in science wherein the deaf are given the opportunity to hear again, it does not mean that the discovered procedure is applicable to all. That would leave Sign Language as the only means of communication left for these inpiduals.

The second importance of having Sign Language is for early child development. According to an article from the website National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, sign languages is vital to early child development because the inpidual is still at the stage wherein their practices and thinking can easily influenced.

When a child is born deaf, parents are called to make use of Sign Language. This way, these children are given the opportunity to grow and relate with his or her environment in what other people would assume as normal. According to the source, the only difference between deaf children and normal children is their hearing capabilities. But since they have a means of communicating with other people, he or she is able to maximize all the features they have. Nothing will be lacking if they are taught well.

The source also mentioned that the children are not the only ones who would need to learn how to do Sign Language. It is just as vital for parents to know how to do the same thing. The logic is simple. The parents are the models these children would look up to, and it would be important that the parents would know what their children are saying. Likewise, they should be able to learn that language first so that they can share this with their children. It will not be just a learning experience, but it would also be another opportunity for both parties to bond together.

Sign Language is important because if provides benefits to early child development. Since children are still at the age where their minds are still flexible to the changing times, when they are discovered deaf, Sign Language is the only other option that will provide them a normal childhood.

Years of being given pity and taunts can cause trauma that can permanently damage their perspectives in life. But from the beginning of their childhood, when they are honed to become understanding about the realities of life, then the potential harm that can be reflected in their personality during their adulthood can be prevented.

The third importance of sign language is its means to allow a person to express one’s self without using words and sounds. Unlike other languages, sign language is not comprised of alphabets or concrete words. It makes use of visual representations. This means that sign language uses facial and hand gestures to describe something, in comparison to defining with words.

As mentioned earlier, sign language is commonly used by deaf people as well as in early child development. But they are not the only ones who would use it. The other people they would be able to encounter would also use this kind of language so that they would also be able to understand each other.

There are also times when people would insist on learning sign language just for fun. The interest is there, and inpiduals would just have to answer to that call of their interest. Although they did not need it, the fact that it is another avenue of expressions takes the matter of learning to a different level of consideration.

According to website Essortment, with the use of sign language, an inpidual is not just a means of communication, but also of expression. Instead of telling someone how they feel, they make use of visual imagery, which includes facial expressions, hand spellings, gestures and hand spelling.

The same source mentioned that the emotions that were bound by words were instead showed. With this, barriers are broken down. The process would have been expressive. It has become not just a communication system, but also a form of art, therapy, drama, and other non-traditional scenarios. It is no longer just for the hearing impaired, but also for hearing.

Conclusion

Sign languages are a means of getting ideas and messages across through facial expressions and hand gestures. The use of such language remains important today. The reasons behind this claim are that it allows deaf inpiduals to communicate with people who are not impaired of hearing. This kind of language removes the barrier between those who can and cannot hear. The second reason is that it is also used in early childhood development. When children are born impaired of hearing, they can still grow like a normal child who can hear would. The language will allow him to still be able to maximize their youth, and develop into a healthy person. The third reason is that it is a means of expressing oneself. Because the language is based on visual representations than words, it is able to show one’s feeling than bound by words that can sometimes only tell so much. With sign language, emotions are better expressed.

Sign language remains important in society because it offers benefits that many have neglected. While there are people who can hear normally, there are also those who cannot. The spoken word is not broad enough to help these inpiduals as well. Sign languages, with the abovementioned reasons, should remain as an optional avenue.

Work Cited

• “American Sign Language.” National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorder. 22 May 2008. 23 May 2008 .
• “Glossary – General.” Nebraska Department of Education. 23 May 2008
• “Important facts about sign language.” Sign Genius. 23 May 2008 <http://www.signgenius.com/info-important-SL-facts.shtml>.
• “Sign Language.” Medicine.Net. 2008. 23 May 2008 .
• “Sign Language Expression: the importance of gestures and facial expressions.” Essortment. 23 May 2008 .
• Malone, Elizabeth. “Sign Languages.” National Science Foundation. 18 July 2005. 23 May 2008 .