Owen Gifford

Project

Presentation

Progress Log

Capstone Essay

Owen Gifford

Kohler

English 8 Capstone

4 May 2020

The World of Sign Language

466 million people, or 5% percent of the World’s population are hard of hearing . Even though that is a large number it is expected to raise up to 900 million in 2050 (“The Deaf and Mute”). For about a year now I have been deeply fascinated with deafness and the history of sign language. It started when I went to my aunt’s house for the weekend with my cousin and her toddler. The toddler did not speak much but it did sign words frequently which grabbed my attention. I felt embarrassed that I did not know any sign language but this toddler did. It was fascinating to me how he could sign more words than he could speak. Once I got home I instantly did research on the world of deafness and sign language. Ever since that point I have been interested in the subject and now I finally have a reason to pursue it.

For my capstone project I plan to learn American Sign Language (ASL), specifically the basics and other important words. Along with learning ASL I plan to put it to use in my daily life by going mute for one week and using the sign language I have learned. I am doing this as well to figure out what it is like to be mute and have to use my other senses more. Along with going mute, I have decided to add a sub-assignment as an added challenge. Sub-assignment will be a video diary of my experiences after each day to express how it went. The challenge I have given myself is to learn “Lucid Dreams'' (clean version) by Juice WRLD just to add another dimension to the project. I feel my capstone project will be difficult but very rewarding in the end. I hope this will allow me to better bond with my cousin and help me communicate to him.

One integral part of the Sign Language community is deafness and hearing loss. Hearing loss is caused by the wearing down of the nerve cells in the cochlea by listening to loud noises or by natural aging. Deafness can also be caused by diseases like chicken pox, lyme disease, diabetes, and some cancers (Felmen). Inside of the US 35 million people suffer from hearing loss which is almost 9% of the population . Even though the US has high numbers, in poorer countries the rate is higher due to lack of a great health care system. The main countries that deal with this are Egypt and Russia. Worldwide, 35 million kids suffer from hearing loss but 1.1 billion are at risk. Hearing loss treatments cost the United States close to 750 million (“The Deaf and Mute”).

The best way for deaf or hard on hearing people to communicate is through sign language. The first sign language created was French Sign Language (FSL). FSL was created in the eighteenth century by Charles Michel de l'Épée. Charles also created the first free deaf school in 1760 in Paris, France (Jay). Another old sign language, British Sign Language (BSL), was created in the 1760’s and is credited with founding many other sign languages. In the world there are thought to be upwards of 300 different sign languages each with their own grammar patterns. The most popular sign languages are the Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (IPSL) which has 1.5 million users in India (IPSL is not a recognized sign language) and American Sign Language (ASL) with 500,000 native speakers in the United States. Sign languages are a very important part of the world’s culture (Lim).

ASL is one of the biggest sign languages in the world and in the deaf community. ASL was thought to be truly created in 1814 when the first deaf education was brought to the United States from Europe. Before any standard for sign language was in the US there were still many signing communities which are referred to as Old American Sign Language. Dr. Thomas Gallaudet was credited with founding ASL after he went to France and learned about FSL with Abbe Sicard who was the son of Charles Michel de l'Épée. Soon after, he came back and established the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. In the future ASL became very popular in the United States being taught in many schools around the country. In colleges it fastly became one of the most attended classes. Even though ASL soon became one of the world's most used sign languages it was not until 1960 when it was finally considered an official language, almost 150 years after its initial creation. Even today American Sign Language is still one of the most popular sign languages (Jay).

As described in the first paragraphs it is a new parenting trend to teach babies sign language to help communicate with them. Shockingly, there are huge upsides to this practice for any baby. The first benefit is that infants develop stronger linguistic skills because babies are strong visual learners. Also because they are strong visual learners, they can learn and use more sign language in combination with their first words. Along with developing better skills, learning sign language with your baby can help create a bigger bond between the parent and baby. It is also shown that it can cause higher self-confidence and esteem due to lack of frustration when trying to communicate. Learning sign language as a baby is helpful but learning it later in life can help delay the effects of alzheimers later on in life. Sign language can help you communicate with the elderly and deaf community. There are many benefits to learning sign language like better learning skills and delaying the effects of some cognitive diseases (Clason).

In an interview I conducted with a sign language teacher, I asked her if she had an opinion on whether sign language should be taught in schools. She responded very quickly and said yes the basics of sign language should be taught in school. The first reason was because as we get older we lose hearing and it could be extremely helpful to communicate in sign language. She also talked about how even learning a couple of words greatly impacts communication with a deaf person. Finally, she talked about how it is good for kids to learn some sign language words because she believes from personal experience that it improves spatial awareness. Even just learning a little signs can create a huge difference for a deaf or hard on hearing person.

Throughout the research project I learned about a lot of helpful tips to help me with my project. The first thing I learned is about helpful sign language tips that will make sure I sign everything correctly. Firstly, make sure to sign on the proper part of the body so someone will not misinterpret what you are trying to say. Also, adding facial expressions and specifically your eyebrows to help convey how you are saying things (like excitement or sadness) (Lim). When learning sign language I was informed that some guides were actually incorrect so I need to make sure I always used a certified teacher or interpreter. In the later stages of my research I learned about people's experiences learning sign language and how being deaf hurts some children growing up. I learned that 95% of kids are born into hearing adults (How Do Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children Learn to Read). This process is called language deprivation which causes some children to never learn an actual language because they were never taught sign language as a child. This research project has gotten me ready for the challenges I will soon face with capstone.

Works Cited Page

Clason, Debbie. “The Importance of Sign Language.” Healthy Hearing, 20 Jan. 2016, www.healthyhearing.com/report/52606-Why-you-should-learn-sign-language-in-the-new-year. Accessed APR, 5, 2020

Felmen, adam. “What's to Know about Deafness and Hearing Loss?” Medical News Today, 27 June 2018, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249285.

“How Do Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children Learn to Read?” BOLD, 16 Jan. 2019, bold.expert/how-do-deaf-or-hard-of-hearing-children-learn-to-read/.

Jay, Michelle. “History of American Sign Language.” Start ASL, Jan 24, 2020. https://www.startasl.com/history-of-american-sign-language/. Mar 8, 2020

Lim. Lisa, “The Embrace of Non-Verbal Languages Is a Welcome Sign of the Times.” South China Morning Post, 14 Sept. 2018, www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/2164167/why-there-no-universal-sign-language-and-how.

"Sign language." World of Health, Gale, 2007. Gale In Context: Science, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CV2191501181/SCIC?u=beav56809&sid=SCIC&xid=50116527. Accessed 6 Feb. 2020.

“The Deaf and Mute.” Almentornet, 22 Nov. 2018, about.almentor.net/about/the-deaf-and-mute/.