November 9, 2014 - 23:50
Really interesting to read about the complexity of Sign language across the globe; I'd like to know more about the history and evolution of Sign. Some thoughts/questions that came up while I was reading "Deaf": I wonder if communicating non-verbally changes one's structure of thought at all? (It does seem to activate different parts of the brain: "I could literally feel that a different part of my brain was working because I would get splitting headaches" (88) ). How do different Sign languages from all over the world influenced with one another? Are there more similarities between different Sign languages than spoken languages? The reason I ask is because there must be some sort of universality to body language and expression of emotions/ideas.
Also mentioned is the idea that disability is socially constructed: "I had gone there to investigate the social constructionist model of disability, and I found that were deafness does not impair communication, it is not much of a handicap" (87). Deafness, then, only seems to be disabling when it encounters an environment catered to hearing individuals. Even small Deaf communities in the US, although surrounded by a hearing-and-speaking-centered population, are not disabled by their lack of speech when communicating with other Deaf people and/or those who know Sign language.