The Learning of Abstract Language
A common impression among educators of hearing-impaired children is that it is very difficult for a deaf child to learn abstract language. Nothing is further from the truth. Verbal abstractions are difficult for a deaf child to understand if
1) he/she is weak in verbal language, or
2) if the verbal abstraction is visually ambiguous, as in unsupported oral/aural communication. Signs for abstract concepts are learned readily by a deaf child through communication in signs, if the child already has a good foundation in some form of sign communication. Similarly, verbal abstractions are picked up readily by a deaf child growing up with Cued Speech, just as by a hearing child.
Consider the concept of time in the future, which can be learned naturally and easily through experience associated with clear language input. Mother answers the telephone and, after a brief conversation says, “That was Daddy. He’s coming in a few minutes.” A three-year-old deaf child, if he knows what his mother said, will know (the first time) only that the conversation was with Daddy. If Daddy arrives a few minutes later, the first seed of the idea of the future is sown. If the sequence happens repeatedly, the child soon knows that when Mother answers the phone and then says something like “Daddy’s coming,” they can expect Daddy soon.
Appropriate use of statements such as , “We’ll go in a little while,” and “We’ll go to the lake tomorrow,” can lead quickly to understanding of the concept of the future. In summary, the learning of abstract language is no easier and no harder for a deaf child than for a hearing child. In either case the child must have adequate language input and communication must be in a clear form.
