Think in sign?

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angelstar819

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I just completed a linguistics course last quarter in which I found to be very interesting, since the professor discussed how those who are Deaf and are fluent in ASL, think in sign. For all you ASL users out there, is this true? Whereas, hearing people think in words. Since I don't use ASL at all, I wasn't sure about this issue. Repsond please if you can!! Thanks!
 
I find that fascinating! Personally I think in words, but quite often I'll "dream" in sign.
 
angelstar819 said:
I just completed a linguistics course last quarter in which I found to be very interesting, since the professor discussed how those who are Deaf and are fluent in ASL, think in sign. For all you ASL users out there, is this true? Whereas, hearing people think in words. Since I don't use ASL at all, I wasn't sure about this issue. Repsond please if you can!! Thanks!
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Well, I'm HEARING, yet I catch myself thinking in signs very often! Sometimes I dream in signs too (and in those dreams I'm deaf). Yes, it's possible to think in signs, then what follows is talking to yourself in ASL....

Because I also am fluent in Spanish, I also catch myself thinking in Spanish and dreaming in Spanish, even though until age 12 I only knew English.
 
Even though I am profoundly deaf, I dont even think in sign. I think in words. I m a SEE user though, so that probably plays a role.

As for dreams, I dont sign. Weird. I wonder why?

For those who think in sign, how does it work? Do u picture yourself signing or random hands making the signs? I m just curious.
 
hootster said:
Even though I am profoundly deaf, I dont even think in sign. I think in words. I m a SEE user though, so that probably plays a role.

As for dreams, I dont sign. Weird. I wonder why?
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Interesting things can happen in dreams. Are you speaking in those dreams, or doing something else like "telepathy"?

I've had dreams where I do the latter, and that's the reason for my title. ;)
 
Rose Immortal said:
Interesting things can happen in dreams. Are you speaking in those dreams, or doing something else like "telepathy"?

I've had dreams where I do the latter, and that's the reason for my title. ;)
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Interesting. Actually, most of my dreams are wild/weird to where I dont have the time to speak. When I do communicate with people in my dreams, I speak to them rather than through something like telepathy.
 
hootster said:
Even though I am profoundly deaf, I dont even think in sign. I think in words. I m a SEE user though, so that probably plays a role.
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I can understand this because thinking in sign has NOTHING to do with whether your ears do anything useful or not.... It has to do with language fluency.

hootster said:
As for dreams, I dont sign. Weird. I wonder why?
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I don't know... Each person is different. But I'm curious.... My fiancee says she dreams as a hearing person sometimes, and other times she says she dreams in English, but "telepathically" receives what others are "saying" to her in the dream. I'm totally lost and can't figure this one out.... :confused: She has been deaf for 8 years. I'm hearing in my English and Spanish dreams, but in my ASL dreams I'm deaf (it seems my brain doesn't "waste" "resources" on "sound" when it's not needed) ;-) But I still can't understand the "deaf telepathy" thing she tells me about. :confused:

hootster said:
For those who think in sign, how does it work? Do u picture yourself signing or random hands making the signs? I m just curious.
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You know, I wondered the same thing until I started doing it about 4 months ago. I picture myself signing, and I "see" it from MY point of view (the "expressive" point of view) with my own hands (even if I'm not really moving them). When I remember what someone else told me in ASL, I "see" the message from the "receptive" point of view, usually with that person's hands. It was weird at first, but it's normal to me now. Just like when I'm thinking in English or Spanish, I "hear" my voice in my head (what it sounds like to me). Interesting question, though. :thumb:
 
Rose Immortal said:
Interesting things can happen in dreams. Are you speaking in those dreams, or doing something else like "telepathy"?

I've had dreams where I do the latter, and that's the reason for my title. ;)
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My fiancee told me about the telepathic communication too. I guess I can become as fluent in ASL as is humanly possible and be a culturally Deaf hearing person, but there's an interesting side of deafness I never experience simply because I am hearing. Sure, I can dream in ASL, think in ASL, and communicate in ASL, but I never understood this "telepathy" thing. All my English and Spanish dreams were auditory (that is, I heard and spoke "normally"), but I do at least once a week have a dream in ASL where I don't HEAR a thing, but everybody i know (even the "Hearies") was signing to me, and I signed back... And I thought it was weird when they started speaking Spanish to me in my dreams..... The human mind is an interesting specimen. ;)
 
Well, I am hearing so I have no idea how you would explain the "telepathy" quirk. Usually in those kinds of dreams others are speaking to me normally and I for whatever reason reply through thoughts rather than speech.
 
angelstar819 said:
I just completed a linguistics course last quarter in which I found to be very interesting, since the professor discussed how those who are Deaf and are fluent in ASL, think in sign. For all you ASL users out there, is this true? Whereas, hearing people think in words. Since I don't use ASL at all, I wasn't sure about this issue. Repsond please if you can!! Thanks!
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I do "everything" in ASL, dreaming, thinking, talking to friends, etc. Heh. I'm profound deaf, starting at age 6 months old.

I'm a "total-communicated" person, though. :thumb:
 
ChelEler said:
I do "everything" in ASL, dreaming, thinking, talking to friends, etc. Heh. I'm profound deaf, starting at age 6 months old.

I'm a "total-communicated" person, though. :thumb:
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I'm confused... What do you mean by "total-communicated"? :confused:
 
ChelEler - I'm curious about when you read words (like on this forum) do you "see" the signs in your head when you read? When I read words I "hear" them as I read them - I'm wondering if reading English (or any other language) is different to someone who "thinks/dreams" in ASL?
 
i guess i do think in word, see, sign and once in a while voice?!?! hehehe
 
gnulinuxman said:
I'm confused... What do you mean by "total-communicated"? :confused:
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Total communicated means that I can speak, using my voice, to communicate with people, and I can sign as well to communicate. Link for better explanation. Hope this answer your question.
 
neecy said:
ChelEler - I'm curious about when you read words (like on this forum) do you "see" the signs in your head when you read? When I read words I "hear" them as I read them - I'm wondering if reading English (or any other language) is different to someone who "thinks/dreams" in ASL?
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Ah, gotcha. Sometimes I "see" signs when I read. Sometimes I "see" just words. It's just depending on what I'm reading about. If the words I have never seen or heard, I just "see" words. Feel me? :)
 
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