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Sign Language and Listening
Adaptability
Sam Nommensen
Wisconsin Lutheran College
COM 311
Professor Amanda Retberg
December 12,2011
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Sign language is defined as the languages used by deaf people in which linguistics units
such as morphemes and words as well as grammatical relations are formed by manual and other
body movements (Fromkin, 2003, 594). Sign language has many different areas in which it can
be focused on. Research shows that 90% of deaf children were born to heading parents (Kyle &
Woll, 1985, 58). That fact alone shows correlation between sign language and listening is vital
in communication aspects. In what follows there will show facts about both sign language as
well as listening. In addition to those facts there will show ways in which we as effective
listeners can adapt ourselves to listening to those who speak with their hands.
Researchers are still figuring out how to deal with this type of communication. There is a
culture that is present. Within that community are different varying degrees of communication,
for example American Sign Language (ASL) or home sign. Community is understood as living
in an area surrounded by people who have similar values and lifestyle habits. The book Inside
Deaf Culture by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries explains how adaption is individualized.
Inside Deaf Culture show the struggle it is from living and functioning in a home sign
community and then trying to figure out how to adjust and learn in an American Sign Language
community. The following quote is from the section by Padden and Humphries’s Inside Deaf
Culture where he is adapting from home sign to ASL.
Though he was deaf, he found himself in an environment where he could
understand very few people. He knew no sign language [ASL]. He had grown up
among hearing people and had almost no contact with Deaf people (though he had
a distant cousin who was deaf, because she went to the school for the deaf and he
did not, they did not know each other). What he noticed first was that the other
students seemed to have a familiarity and an ease with each other that he did not
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have and at the time, could not imagine ever having. As he took his first walk
around campus, he was struck and dismayed by how alienated he felt. He had no
idea there was such a place as this (144,145).
That quote alone just shows that isolation is not the answer. Integration is an area that needs to
be further researched. In addition to integration there is also a need for teaching both deaf and
hearing students the appropriate ‘dialect’, if you will, of sign language.
Further expanding on this idea of a ‘dialect’ in sign language is what we will dive into
now. Just like in America you have individuals who talk with a Southern accent, a New Yorker
accent, and even Californian slang, sign language varies on the different hand gestures for the
words or phrases attempting to be communicated. Sign language, contrary to what people may
think, has many different variations, just like hearing people have many different languages they
speak. Each ‘dialect’ of language has many of the same components, but they vary in the
language and most cultural aspects. A cultural example of the differences between sign language
would be with the sign language tool of finger spelling.
ASL uses a fingerspelling system that maps to English, and Nicaraguan Sign
Language (ISN) uses slightly different fingerspelling system to accommodate ll, n,
rr. Other cultural factors creep in, as well, including local (nonlinguistic) gestures
used by the local (hearing) society. The letter t as represented in ASL (a closed
fist with the thumb protruding from between the index and middle finger) is a
very rude gesture in countries such as Nicaragua, where the corresponding litter is
made similarly, but with the index finger extended (Senghas & Monaghan, 2002,
75).
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Finger spelling is just one area in which we look at as a key element of sign language. Other
areas would include natural sign languages, artificial sign languages, gesture, home sign, and
contact sign. Further looking into those areas of sign language will aid in our understanding of
the different components that make up sign language.
Starting to look at natural languages, “the fundamental distinction between sign and
spoken language is that the sets of articulators are different: … sign languages the hands and
body (including face) are used to encode both lexical forms and grammatical relationships
(Senghas & Monaghan, 2002, 74).” Natural language also conforms to natural boundaries
(Senghas & Monaghan, 2002, 74). An example of that would be the fact that German is most
commonly spoken in Germany and probably not as commonly spoken in Chile. Natural sign
languages conform to those same boundaries that natural spoken languages do.
Artificial signed languages are used as more of a teaching tool to teach sign language.
Those artificial signed languages are used to teach spoken languages to those who are deaf.
These are more commonly found in therapy uses. In addition individuals who have received a
Cochlear Implant (explained shortly) will also be going through artificial signed language
education.
Home sign happens when individuals make up their own signs for words or phrases
because they have not (yet) been exposed to American Sign Language. Home sign is not
historically documented, but very important. Is typically used in homes where a deaf child is
born to hearing parents. Inside Deaf Culture, mentioned earlier, is an example of an individual
who had been using home sign his entire life, without being exposed to ASL. Home sign is very
common in homes. Hearing families commonly adapt to communicate with their deaf child(ren)
through this form of communication. This form of communication should be leading to more
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individuals and families to be learning and embracing American Sign Language. More research
is being done on home sign and how it affects the family structure.
Gesture is often communicative and may even be considered systematic, but regular
linguistic traits such as grammatical agreement are not generally recognized as characteristics of
gesture. Gesture is an area of sign language that is transferred over into spoken language.
Humans use many nonverbal behaviors [to] send strong messages about self-image and
contribute to perceptions of warmth, attraction, and status (Brownell, 2010, 186). Nonverbals in
sign language are very similar to those when speaking. Nonverbals in sign language include
body posture, eye contact, rate, and so on. One nonverbal that is not necessarily present in sign
language would be pitch. Since pitch is related to the use of vocal cords, sign language does not
use it. Sign language does use rate and when communication takes place between individuals, to
make it known that this is a very strong point, extreme drastic hand movements are used. An
example could be a mother communicating to her child that the mother wants her child to stop
doing what they are doing, or acting in a particular way. The sign for stop is having a bottom
hand open with the palm up and then the other hand coming in perpendicular to the bottom hand.
When there could be just an annoyance about the situation there might not be as much force in
the hand coming down and then when emotions or frustration come into play there will be an
increase in the amount of force used when bringing the hand down. (Please see Appendix A for
an example picture)
One last area that we will discuss is contact signing. The following is from the article by
Senghas and Monaghan in which there is research in contact signing.
…early linguistic work on sign language focused considerable attention to
determine whether or not signing (ASL in particular) was its own “real” language,
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and researchers discovered that signers vary their signing depending on whether
or not hearing people are present. Through paradigms of pidginization or
creolization were originally invoked for describing or explaining variation in
signing owing to the presence or absence of hearing individuals, some scholars
find such characterization as not quite appropriate, and so what had once been
referred to as Pidgin Signed English (PSE) is now generally considered contact
language (2002, 74-75).
Contact sign language is interesting to look at from a listening aspect because of the adaptation
there is. After looking at the different areas of sign language, we will now discuss how we as
effective listeners are able to adapt to those who do communicate through sign language.
Adaption is important in every communication encounter we face in life. A quote by
Martin Luther King Jr. says that “Our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to
adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge to change.” This quote sums up
quite nicely how we as effective listeners and effective communicators need to look at ourselves
and the situations we choose to be in. When adapting to those communicating through sign,
remember their ability to interpret is directly linked to our own ability to communicate. While
those who use sign are able to understand us more than we think, noting that we have to go the
extra mile to make sure the message is interpreted appropriately.
In Brownell’s book Listening: Attitudes, Principles, and Skills, the chapter on interpreting
nicely sums up how vital interpreting is. “Interpretation is key when you are concerned with the
relationship aspect of your communication (2010, 168).” Before the interpreting can happen, the
effective listener has to also realize there are different steps in the HURIER model of listening.
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This model of listening will now be discussed and applied to effectively listening and
communicating with those who use sign language.
The first step in the HURIER model is hearing. Hearing is a unique aspect of
communicating with sign language. Before the Cochlear Implant, the way deaf would hear
would be through reading lips or knowing the appropriate ‘dialect’ of sign language and they
would then respond appropriately. As medical technology advanced the discovery of Cochlear
Implants occurred.
A Cochlear Implant is a medical device that is surgically implanted into your brain. The
implant works by mechanically allowing the individual with the implant to experience ‘hearing’
through sound waves and vibrations. Cochlear Implants are typically implanted in children who
after surgery go through extensive listening and speech therapy. The road is not easy but when
the Cochlear Implant is a success, the hard work and dedication is worth it. Cochlear Implants
are also implanted into adults and the therapy is even more extensive because adults are fully
developed and have to learn for the first time how to utilize their vocal cords.
Now that there is a little knowledge about the hearing and the Cochlear Implant the next
part of the HURIER model is understanding. Understanding is related to an individual’s
personal knowledge base. “Your effectiveness in diverse environments depends largely upon the
quality of your listening and your ability to understand how others see the world, to recognize
how they ‘define’ a situation (Brownell, 2010, 107).” Through the understanding section on this
model communicators are faced with overcoming barriers to listening. Overcoming the hurdles
will only make an individual a better communicator.
Remembering is the next area in the HURIER model of listening. Remembering in sign
language is going to directly be related to how many sign movements or gestures an individual is
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able to remember. Remembering is an area of this model that will push the individual to develop
different skills to recall items or numbers. With the three different types of memory, immediate,
short term, and long term there are different skill sets that can be learned that will aid in the
success of the user. Some of those techniques are chunking, visual imagery, and repetition.
Those are just a few of the different techniques that can be utilized in order to remember how to
better communicate with people who use sign language as their form of communication.
Interpreting is the next step in the HURIER model. Interpreting was discussed earlier, so
in this section it will just consist of a brief review. While interpreting there are some key areas in
which you as a listener need to be mindful of. Be aware of the cultural differences. The cultural
differences are a major factor into how nonverbals should be interpreted. An example of this
would be eye contact. In the United States it is common and in most cases expected that eye
contact needs to be maintained in a conversation. In Asian culture eye contact is a sign of
arrogance. Eye contact is viewed as a way of showing superiority and power over a person,
where in that culture there is a group or unit harmony that is strived for. Eye contact ruins the
harmony in that culture. Interpreting a message is also through understanding the nonverbals
that are shown, or in some cases not shown. Keep in mind that Interpreting is something that is
happening through personal filters and biases. Make sure those views are acknowledged when
listening to an individual.
We have discussed the H, U, R, and I of the HURIER model, so we are now left with E
and the final R. The E is representative of Evaluating. Evaluating involves putting bias aside
and critically listening to what is being said. In sign language evaluating can be done through
just the sentences being signed to you. Evaluating what is being said leaves the emotions at the
door and involves both parties involved to respect what is being said and how it is being
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interpreted and evaluated. Through the evaluation process people need to be prepared to modify
views, based on newly presented information, as well as making sure they are using credible
sources as points of reference. In sign language ways to evaluate is to just constantly be asking
clarifying questions to make sure the point was correctly stated and then correctly interpreted.
Finally the last step in the HURIER model is responding. With responding there are both
appropriate responses as well as inappropriate responses. Taking the responding concept and
applying it to sign language it is important to understand what culture you are listening to. As
stated earlier with fingerspelling it is important to understand the language of the culture as well
as to understand the gestures of the culture and what is appropriate and inappropriate. In the case
with the fingerspelling there was adaptation that occurred.
Throughout all the aspects of the HURIER model it is important to see that the way in
which you are listening affects how you will be responding to what is said, or in this case signed.
Sign language is becoming more used in classes as a way of communicating with those who have
special needs. Universally things are not always the same. There are different grammar patterns
and signs for words are different in sign language, just like in spoken languages there are
different words for car. Regardless sign language is a known and accepted form of
communication. There are ways hearing communicators are able to adapt themselves to better
listen to those who do use sign to communicate. While there is a high chance the hearing
individual might not understand entirely what is being communicated to them, the signer also has
the ability to adapt their sign to the level of the listener. This entire process is a circle. This shall
end with a quote from Gandhi, “Adaptation is not imitation. It means power of resistance and
assimilation.”
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APPENDIX
A. The sign for "stop" is made by extending your left hand, palm
upward. Sharply bring your open right hand down to your left palm at a
right angle.
STOP:
1)
2)
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