Communication from the silence

by Group 6

Most of the time when we refer to the language, we consider the verbal form we use whenever we want to communicate with others, but rarely we think about how language develops in those born with disabilities and therefore, who didn't acquire the same way of expressing that the common people. One of the most interesting disabilities from a linguistic point of view is deafness, since deaf people must use non-verbal language for communicating, called sign language.

For children born with this disability, learning styles vary if parents are also deaf or not. The way they can communicate is a purely gestural and then over the years, they can learn sign language as such. It’s also important to note that sign language varies from country to another, because each country has different rules of grammar.

For speaking about learning and language development of deaf children and sign language, we must ask what is meant by language. Language can be defined as the set of means that enable people to express their thoughts, feelings, experiences, among others, and it's considered as a set of communication systems consisting of different forms, such as drawings, gestures, sounds, cultural processes, etc. It’s considered as a social institution, since it can only exist in a community, as an instrument of human communication.

Another specification to do, although it may seem obvious, is that deaf and deaf-mute is not the same. Often people confuse these terms and they talk about hearing impaired people as deaf-mute, though deaf people can verbally communicate, but used to do it only on certain occasions. Instead, being deaf-mute implies a double disability, that is to say, they are people who haven't developed or have lost hearing and vocal ability at the same time. Even deaf people are able to use spoken language; both use sign language to communicate. We want to note we only use the term deaf-mute to differentiate both disabilities. However, currently this term is considered derogatory and outdated, such as deaf-and-dumb, so the preferred term today is simply deaf.

As we said, it's commonly thought that language refers only to verbal expression, but we can't ignore the non-verbal language that it's used by those who are born with hearing difficulty, so it's no less important to our society.

Language acquisition is a phenomenon that seems natural and almost automatic. For this reason the terms language development and language acquisition are commonly used interchangeably to refer to hearing children. However, in the case of deaf children, it is not possible. Language development refers to the use of a pattern in a natural way or more or less automatic. Language acquisition in contrast, requires an effort since the child acts as a learner and the adult as a teacher, who will teach the sign language corresponding to their place of residence. Thus, the concept language acquisition is more appropriate to describe the process of language acquisition in deaf children.  

During their first years of life, deaf children develop the gestural language spontaneously, according to some investigations. Children with hearing impairments assimilate this way of communication at the same age in which listeners children begin to speak. This explains why the gestural language develops in similar stages of oral language.  

Baby making the gesture for “more” and “eat”

There are also important differences between deaf children who were born from deaf parents, against those who were born from hearing parents. First, we must consider that children with deaf parents acquire sign language with the same speed hearing children learn spoken language. For those children, communication between them is much more fluid and feasible from the beginning, because they share the same situation and parents have the advantage of teaching from their own point of view, which facilitates the work. Regarding academic performance, it has been shown that children with deaf parents outperform those who were born from hearing parents. This may be because they learn and understand the language fully and achieve from an early age the development of this, thanks to the education of parents and the natural contact with this language.

As mentioned above, the difference in language between parents and children creates more difficulties in the communication which makes children's learning slower and more complex. We must also consider that over 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. Anyway, despite the complications that could result in its development, it is entirely feasible that the child can communicate and develop their language.

It’s based in signs made with the hands, facial expressions, and other body movements. This sign system is not universal, but as with oral language, each community, country or region has its own sign language.

Like any system of language, the sign language has gone through processes of linguistic change which has led to its evolution and perfection in different communities. This means that there are over 50 sign languages, completely different between them, regulated by the "International Sign Language (ISL)”. This language is not a direct transcription of spoken language, because it has its own grammar, syntax and lexical structure, and is not necessarily similar with the spoken language of the geographical area in which it is. For example, the American Sign Language (ASL), which is used by the deaf community in the United States, is not similar to the spoken English or British Sign Language (BSL). Only some sign languages ​​are recognized as languages, as in Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Uruguay. Unfortunately Chilean sign language is not recognized because it is considered minority.

Chilean manual alphabet

For babies or toddlers deaf, gestural language is essential to achieve communication, because the hands, body and facial expression are the tools that children use to express their needs, experiences and emotions. According to studies, children who are born deaf can learn gestural language as quickly as a hearing children learn to speak. Children, who have parents with this type of disability, acquire sign language faster, because they are constantly using it. For children with hearing parents it’s a more difficult and slow process, but is not impossible. With the support of the environment and the efforts of parents and families, backed by a professional in the area, they can develop the communication between them fully, obtaining satisfactory results.

We should not consider deaf people least equipped to deal with the society in which we live, because they need grow up, develop independently and learn how to live in a community in which people mainly communicate verbally.

Now, we know deeply what sign language is, the mainstay for people with deafness. This kind of language is a complex system, with its own grammar, syntax and vocabulary and it can be completely autonomous from the geographical language. Moreover, contrary to we might be believed, sign language is not universal and depends on the geographic area in which the individual live. Did you know this?

Today, due to technological advances, the deaf babies' parents have many options to help his children, such as special headphones for deaf and hard of hearing people. Here we leave this really cute video from a deaf baby who hears his mom for the first time. Enjoy it!