ASL Rose Newsletter
Vol. 1 No. 9
September 2007

It has been written that: "It takes a village to raise a child." This African Proverb is the basis of the picture above, which shows a gathering of Deaf Kenyans, all of whom communicate with each other using Kenyan Sign Language. One might also write that “It takes a deaf village to raise a deaf child.” In addition, the heartbeat of a deaf village cannot be without hands & eyes.

Not so long ago, people believed that sign language is a universal form of communication. More than that, many thought that signs are actually a primitive form of communication and as such, incapable of handling abstract topics. They categorized sign language as a non-verbal means of communication, mainly due to the belief in order for a form of communication to be considered a language, it must be verbal. A huge paradigm shift in recognizing signed languages as human languages probably started with Noam Chomsky. Chomsky challenged the traditional views of language espoused by the behaviorists with a prominent psychologist, B. F. Skinner at the helm.

Later, William C. Stokoe, Ursula Bellugi, James Woodward, and many others provided the necessary fuel to advance the recognition of signed communication as a language. Thanks to them, we can now say with much confidence that Kenyan Sign Language is equally as American Sign Language and other signed languages.

Although not surprising, it is amazing to see that there are so many different signed languages in the world. Signed languages exist everywhere-- even in remote places! Each one is unique: not all signed languages are in the same subset of handshapes for their language production and each one has its own system. There are some signed languages that have evolved from other signed languages, and yet they differ from one another.

We are thrilled to share two pictures (see below) that illustrate signs for "cat" and "dog" in six different signed languages. It is interesting to note how from random places in the world, through deaf minds, those signs are created—and how similar or different each sign is.

"Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book" (HYES DVD/Book - see below) offers a deep insight into the handshapes of ASL. That way you will enjoy when you have an opportunity to compare ASL handshapes with handshapes of other signed languages. You can get a copy of the HYES DVD/Book by ordering it through the website: www.aslrose.com.

Recently, a new book: "Talking Hands" by Margalit Fox about Al Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language was published. Curious what signs for "cat" and "dog" look like in that language? Check it out!