Selfish Genes

Taking American Sign Language is an unique experience for those of us who hear well. One of the first things you learn is that the sign for hearing and talking are the same. The implication that it is the hearing that do most of the talking. Another thing on the first-class agenda is we are told not to use our voices. As we get used to this and the class quiets down, we are transported to a very quiet world for a few short hours. Not quite the same world as world of the deaf, the buzzer for the door is so loud it is startling and the students are still distracted by noises in the hallway that our teacher doesn’t seem to be aware of.

As we relinquish our voices, we try to let our eyes substitute for our ears and our hands for our mouths. But as people learning any second language often find it difficult to distinquish the new sounds of the second language, our eyes often fail to distinguish one sign from another. My eyes are not used to seeking subtle differences in gestures. I am sure to the deaf teacher, signing for our class feels like signing in slow motion. And no matter how slowly the teacher signs, we usually ask him to repeat the sign, and then to repeat it again. Frequently, the only clear way to communicate effectively is to write things down on the board.

Even when we understand what is being asked of us, we are confronted by our hands which suddenly feel as large as Mickey Mouse’s mittens. Our brain has interpreted the input and formulated a response. However, our fingers fumble around awkwardly. Which finger is up and which is down, and then do you move your hand to the left or the right? We hearing students gamely try to shape our hands appropriately. We are often embarrassed to learn that we have either signed something obscene inadvertantly or that we have signed the equivalent of jibberish. By the end of the class, my fingers feel like they have run a marathon. All the tiny muscles in my fingers are tired from forming signs.

Somewhere near the middle of class the teacher indicates that we can take a break. He needs to repeat the signs again s_l_o_w_l_y for us to comprehend. Finally our brains begin to appreciate the implications, and the first thing we do intead of standing up to go get a drink, etc. We turn to each other and start to talk. Our talking is a little louder and more rapid than usual, as if we are trying to cram as many words into our short break time as possible.

So why do we come to learn? We each have our own motivations. Our own failing hearing, someone we care about is deaf or possibly we plan to launch a new career as an interpreter. What ever the motivations are, they bring our struggling eyes and fumbling fingers back each time to try again. Once again, ASL is like any language, as a beginner the best thing we can do for ourselves is to accept that we are going to make a lot of mistakes, however in order to learn, we just have to keep trying. (Oh, by the way do you know the sign for practice?)

Filed under: Uncategorized and tagged American Sign Lanquage, ASL, Deaf, Hearing, second language