Rose Immortal

Hi,

I hope nobody finds this an intrusive question, but what underlies your personal choices about which way you'd like to communicate? I don't mean what your parents or educators wanted you to do, but what you personally find best for your life. I'm not asking to start a debate, just to see different perspectives.

(BTW, I am hearing. And if I had a choice for myself, I'd choose telepathy, provided everybody had good reception. )

Deafness

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Teresh

I can speak English quite well (better than most hearing people), and I can sign OK... I prefer to sign, even if my ASL is weaker such that communicating the same point in ASL takes twice as long as it does in audio English.

It doesn't matter. It's easier to understand someone signing even if I don't know the sign than it is to understand someone speaking usually.

And to put this in some degree of context, I'm hard of hearing.

signer16

I prefer signing rather than speech. This sounds weird, as I'm a hearing person who only started learning ASL a little over two years ago. I still have plenty to learn with ASL, and my English is pretty good, so signing is definitely not my most articulate way of communicating...yet.
I'm not just saying that I like signing better to suck up to the deafies. I can't explain it, but there is a connection made, a deeper, clearer way of communicating when one uses sign instead of speech. Maybe it's body language, maybe it's being in the room with the person, (I've never done a VR convo, although I've even gotten somewhat of that feeling from some videotaped signed stories) but it's like the communication is going from heart-to-heart rather than mouth-to-ear. I think part of this is just because of the nature of ASL, I definitely feel more connected using ASL than Contact Sign (PSE) or CASE, (never used SEE) but with any signing it's just... I don't know...a stronger connection.

deafdyke

SIGN, definitly SIGN.....I've found that oral-only is just so limiting. My speech is NEVER gonna be as good as a hearing person's speech. Hearing people don't undy me all the time.....and it's frustrating as hell to talk verbally in challenging listening situtions.

Tashu

I use ASL as my primary communication. I usually had to write on the boards/papers, or gestures for the HH or hearing students in RIT where I was a RA. It gives me a total understanding of a topic.

Rose Immortal

Teresh--Might you say it's easier to pick up on the word roots of a sign you don't recognize, as opposed to a spoken word you've never heard before?

Tashu--I'm really sorry to be stupid, but where is RIT?

I ask some of these questions because I have only known one person who was hard-of-hearing in my entire life. She knew sign language, but spoke most of the time, and we generally had little trouble understanding each other, as long as I sat or stood on the correct side. She was my best friend for those 3 years, but I know one person's way of handling things certainly doesn't define a group.

Anyway, I will step out and let you guys have the floor.

apathrev

RIT-Rochester Institute of Technology, located in Rochester, NY.

Teresh

No... Just that video languages are a lot more universal than audio languages. This is evidenced not by my better understanding of signing, but by the fact that people who sign in entirely different sign languages have a lot less difficulty communicating than two people speaking entirely different languages.

To illustrate this, try putting two hearing people, one American, one Japanese in a room together. Make sure beforehand that the American person doesn't know any Japanese and the Japanese person doesn't know any English. Tell them both to converse but not to make any gestures. Most likely, they'll both get frustrated with each other and sit staring at each other until you tell them they can go. Then, tell them that they can gesture to each other to get the point across. You'll find they have a much more productive conversation if they can both see what is being said, since they don't understand the audio language.

Next, take two Deaf people, one American, one Japanese, and put them in a room together. Make sure that the Japanese person is not familiar with ASL and the American person does not use any of the several forms of JSL. With all likelihood, they'll be able to overcome the difference in sign languages quite quickly and have a much more productive conversation than the hearing people did, even with gestures.

This is not to imply that Deaf is any better or worse than hearing, but instead to acknowledge that sign languages are much more universal in nature do their iconographic representation of words and ideas, whereas spoken languages are entirely arbitrary. The word for baseball in one language will vary from language to language, but I'd imagine in most sign languages, it involves holding or swinging an imaginary bat or some other action that often occurs in baseball, such as pitching.

Sign languages are simply more universal by their iconographic way of rendering information. Some have argued that signing is slower, but I've generally found that that isn't true, and in many cases signing is faster... And even if it is sometimes slower... The words actually make more sense because they're in touch with the way's people think rather than being arbitrarily determined by some person in the past.

Miss-Delectable

When I'm around a hearing person who can sign, then I'll be speaking with voice and sign simultanteously.
With deaf friends, sign totally without voice.
In the hearing world, I use voice or ask for paper and pen.

I enjoy having choices.

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Rose Immortal

I feel the same about choices, though in my case the choice is between spoken English and Spanish. Odd side note--I found myself switching between the two in a dream last night. I woke up and thought that was interesting.

cental34--Thank you for the explanation. I can name almost any school in the SEC, but up north I'm clueless.

Teresh--I can see your point. Though I do think sometimes spoken words are partly determined by the concept themselves (not just onomatopoeia--sometimes, for instance, there seems to be a particular harshness in words expressing harsh concepts, vs. softer concepts), but it makes sense that the relationship is a LOT closer in signing.

CODAchild

I myself am hearing, and when I am talking to my foster son who is deaf, I will use my voice and sign at the same time, to enhance his speech skills. When we first took him in, he couldn't speak a word at all.
When I am in the deaf community, I sign not using my voice, as it is so much easier that way.
If I happen to be with a hearing person, and I meet a deaf person along the way, then I go back using the voice and sign, so neither the deaf or hearing will be left out of the conversation.
Choices are great when they need to be used at certain times.

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apathrev

If I could, I would use sign all the time. But, I can't. Many times I find it hard to change forms. Such as, if I start signing with someone in class or somewhere, and then I'll come home, and talk with my roommates. I'll start to sign. Has anyone else had this problem?

Tousi

*Sending smoke signals to Rose Immortal on an easterly wind heading for the nether regions of the SEC.

GalaxyAngel

I speak signs: ASL but people seeing when Im signing PSE.
I don't recoglize myself being PSE.
My beleive is strong speaks ASL.
Not even bother me at all..

I'm Deaf.

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Rose Immortal

Smoke signals...I love it. We're not THAT primitive down South--believe it or not, we actually got indoor plumbing a few years ago!

tegumi

Im hearing, my first language was English, but I also know Japanese and ASL. When I am with my hearing friends i will speak English, or Japanese, depending on who I am talking to of couse. When I am with my Deaf friends I will sign, and if I am with my Deaf and hearing friends, or at work with my Deaf friends and hearing co workers, I will voice and sign.

sr171soars

I just prefer to communicate in spoken English plain and simple. It is what I know best and I never learned to sign. I'm not adverse to learn sign but it is the use it or lose it proposition for me. Actually, I'd be more apt to learn another language like Spanish or German.

Rose Immortal

If you ever want to ask me about either of those, feel free! I know Spanish very well, and I might remember some first-year stuff about German if you're lucky.

javapride

i perfer both worlds to be fair in every way... but i dabble in french and spanish a little bit

signer16

HECK YES! Lol, welcome to the world of (at least dedicated) sign language students. I think this happens some with spoken language too, but it seems to happen more to people learning sign than other spoken language. I think using a different MODE of communication all together really changes your thinking.
I have had plenty of experiences where I've been signing for a long time and then either I go up to talk to a hearing person or a hearing person approaches me and I sign to them. I have NEVER had a time where I have tried to talk and not sign with a deaf person, except once when someone woke me up from deep sleep, and even then, it was one word that could be lipread. (WHATTTTTT?)
When I'm with deaf and hearing people, I always sign what I'm saying, and I always sign what other people are saying. However, especially as I have signed more often and become more fluent, I constantly find myself slipping into just signing and forgetting to voice what deaf people are saying for hearing people.

SJCSue

I was born with a mild hearing loss. I was raised oral but I prefer to sign. When I sign at work, I also voice the words. So, I can teach the constumers a few signs. If a person understands sign, there would be less stress on me with my speech.

Rose Immortal

I like the idea that you're willing to help others learn.

In general, do you find people are fairly receptive to that?