[HN Gopher] Martha's Vineyard Sign Language
___________________________________________________________________
Martha's Vineyard Sign Language
Author : tbodt
Score : 46 points
Date : 2024-11-23 06:29 UTC (4 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.atlasobscura.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.atlasobscura.com)
| egberts1 wrote:
| This is a prime example of isolationism's contribution toward
| structured communication needed to function adequately in an
| agrarian society.
| NelsonMinar wrote:
| There's been a lot written about MVSL. Oliver Sacks' book "Seeing
| Voices" is a good introduction, it has a chapter or maybe a whole
| section about it.
| bcooney_info wrote:
| i thought this seemed familiar! read OS's book in university
| many years ago. i might have to go back and read it again
| throw0101a wrote:
| A list of the ones that are being used in different
| regions/countries:
|
| * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sign_languages
|
| * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sign_languages_by_numb...
|
| Also, for the very young:
|
| * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_sign_language
|
| Wonder if it'd be easier to create a 'universal' sign language
| than a universal spoken one (e.g., Esperanto, or an old _lingua
| franca_ like Latin).
| MrDrone wrote:
| It's been tried. There's International Sign Language (ISL) and
| it's about as successful as Esperanto. I've mostly heard it's
| used a little at large Deaf meet ups and conferences.
|
| American Sign Language (ASL) is often the second sign language
| non-Americans learn as it has a some international presence.
|
| But ultimately sign language users are no more likely to decide
| on and widely adopt a universal language than spoken language
| users.
| Mountain_Skies wrote:
| It's sad to see that British Sign Language and American Sign
| Language are different even though they both came out of
| societies with a (mostly) common language. I'm sure there are
| good reasons why it turned out this way but sad that people
| who already have a communication obstacle ended up with an
| additional one when it comes to these two large and highly
| connected societies.
| 1-more wrote:
| Even American Sign Language itself has a huge racial split
| due to the legacy of segregated schools for the deaf.
| https://www.lingvano.com/asl/blog/what-is-basl-black-
| america...
| NelsonMinar wrote:
| Until 200 years ago most places didn't think Deaf people
| were capable of learning. With no schools there was less
| Deaf culture and fewer codified signed languages. It's an
| awful history.
|
| ASL is more similar to French sign language. Thanks to
| Thomas Gallaudet, who founded a school in 1817 in
| Connecticut. Gallaudet was American but studied in Europe
| and learned about teaching Deaf people in part from a
| French school.
| vunderba wrote:
| When I lived in Russia, a friend of mine spoke Russian sign
| language and I asked how they managed to communicate in the cold
| winter months outdoors. They told me using a lot of facial
| expressions, body language, and that you can sign a surprising
| amount even wearing gloves.
|
| Mittens apparently are the equivalent of gagging somebody though.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2024-11-27 23:01 UTC)