Hands that Speak
~A Celebratory and Informative Blog on International Day of Sign Languages by Kiruthika Murugesan.
Imagine waking up one day, not being able to listen to the melody of the birds, the gentle cadence of rustling leaves, the music of the whooshing wind, the symphony of flowing water, a whistling cooker or your mother yelling.
And now imagine waking up another day, same place, unable to speak, discernibly being impotent and inadequate to express anger, love, disgust, laughter, or normalcy, the vocal box just being another mere accessory.
Can those with hearing impairment listen to the hush of silence ? And those who struggle with speech, do they find fluency in their quietude ?
What a blessing it is to have what we have, until we don’t. There is no such thing that can compensate the beautiful ability to hear or speak, perceive and reverberate thoughts.
Unfortunately, for people snatched off these very salient abilities at birth or later in life, the silence is loud and the void, colossal. For the deaf, it would require great strength and acceptance to not be able to recognize people by their voice, laughter, giggles or sighs. And for the dumb, it is a mountain of task to make the listener intimately understand their emotions or thoughts.
As though God heard the deaf and engaged in conversation with the dumb, there was blessing not in disguise but fully visible for those hapless and unlucky, the sign language emerged. It could be heard by the deaf and spoken by the dumb. We can call it the silver lining in the big, dark cloud that cast an unnecessary and inevitable shadow in the lives of many.
The recorded history of sign language goes back to the 17th century, as a visual mode of communication. A Benedictine monk named Pedro Ponce de Leon employed gestures to facilitate the education of Spanish students with hearing impairments. This action laid the foundation, leading to the emergence of the initial structured sign language by Charles Michel de l’Eppe. Sign language comprises a structured framework of customary gestures, mimicking expressions, manual signs, and finger spelling, coupled with the utilization of specific hand placements to symbolize alphabets. These signs possess the capacity to encapsulate comprehensive concepts or expressions, extending beyond the realm of singular words.
Just as spoken languages exhibit variations across different regions, sign languages also display distinct adaptations amongst various linguistic communities. It is in the hands and quite literally at the fingertips of the person. There are different types of sign languages across the globe, around three hundred in use today. Minor differences exist between each language, for example, in ASL(American Sign Language) letters are signed out with one hand whereas in BSL(British Sign Language), two hands are used.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SIGN LANGUAGES is celebrated on the 23rd of September every year. It is to increase understanding about the significance of sign language in upholding the complete realization of the human rights of individuals who are deaf and nonverbal. The celebration of sign language day is directly connected to spreading awareness online, through posters, tv shows, news and workshops. Today we include film screening, storytelling events, interactive mobile apps and art illustrations.
Virtual reality experiences are used to simulate deaf experiences, helping individuals understand the challenges and joys of communicating through sign language. The key to a successful celebration is to create meaningful interactions, foster understanding, and promote inclusivity.
Here are few facts about sign language:
- There are grammar rules in sign language too!
- Signs can be feminine or masculine.
- Learning sign language enhances memory retention, fosters problem-solving abilities and critical thinking, boosts focus, and improves multitasking capabilities.
- Names have a sign- rather than spelling out names, people create a sign that represents their name.
- There is no round of applause, only wiggling hands in the air.
- Babies pick up sign language like spoken language
We have deaf audiologists, speech therapists, disc jockeys, pilots, police officers, firemen, dancers, actors, professors, dentists, doctors, and more, again proving that they are no different from us and that their abilities are on par with ours. The global landscape becomes a better place for everyone to live in, if we embrace and accept deaf and dumb people as our own and treat sign language as an equal to spoken language.
FOR
Sending loads of love and a hug, with my hands,
(You’ve learnt 10 words in sign language :)
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Instagram: @kiruthikaaaa_
