My last blog is going to be a reflection on the whole assignment. I thought this was a really good assignment and a good way to research different aspects of deaf culture. I think if I could do anything different, I would have started it a little sooner. I never felt pressed for time, but towards the end, my blogs were close together which I did not like.
I learned a lot through this assignment. I got to research a school I am interested in, a career I am interested, and many interesting aspects that come with the career path I may follow. Last year I chose to do the paper instead of the blogs. I am glad I chose to do the blogs this year for a couple of reasons. I liked being able to spread out the work. I also liked that I got to research several different topics as opposed to just one main one.
Overall, I thought this assignment was really good. It opened my eyes to deaf culture in many different ways. I used to think that just taking a sign language course was enough, but this assignment helped me to realize that there are a lot of things I will never understand about sign language and my respect grew due to all of my research.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
Deaf History
While researching Deaf Culture, I came across a timeline that explained some of the history of deaf culture. At first I wasn't too interested, but after reading a little of it, I was very moved. The timeline dates back as far as 1000 B.C. and some of the things that were done to deafs were just horrible.
The first record of deaf history occured in 1000 B.C. when deaf people were forbidden to own land. Also on the timeline, you see other forms of discrimination towards deaf people. Deafs were considered barbarians, were committed to asylums, rejected from churches, were thought to be possessed by demons, etc. Some of the things that deaf people endured and names that were given to them were just awful. People rejected the unfamiliar back then and were scared of the idea of someone not knowing how to speak or hear. They did not realize then that it is not unnatural for someone to be deaf, and that no one chooses what they are to be.
Also on the timeline, there are some good things that occur. For example, finally in the 1500's deaf education began to grow. It still took quite awhile for deaf education to become accepted, but there were a few famous names that stand out today for standing up for the deaf then.
The timeline that I used went from 1000 B.C. to 1996. It was fascinating to learn about some of the history of deaf life. I can't believe that deaf people were treated so badly at one point in time. Just because they were different, and people did not understand them, does not give anyone the right to ridicule and discriminate against them. I was also very happy to see that deaf education started much earlier than I thought. At first I believed that deaf education was fairly new to our world. However, I was mistaken and learned that there were many people that stood up for what was right and worked together to make the gap between hearing and deaf better so long ago.
The website I used for this post is http://www.aslinfo.com/trivia5.cfm.
The first record of deaf history occured in 1000 B.C. when deaf people were forbidden to own land. Also on the timeline, you see other forms of discrimination towards deaf people. Deafs were considered barbarians, were committed to asylums, rejected from churches, were thought to be possessed by demons, etc. Some of the things that deaf people endured and names that were given to them were just awful. People rejected the unfamiliar back then and were scared of the idea of someone not knowing how to speak or hear. They did not realize then that it is not unnatural for someone to be deaf, and that no one chooses what they are to be.
Also on the timeline, there are some good things that occur. For example, finally in the 1500's deaf education began to grow. It still took quite awhile for deaf education to become accepted, but there were a few famous names that stand out today for standing up for the deaf then.
The timeline that I used went from 1000 B.C. to 1996. It was fascinating to learn about some of the history of deaf life. I can't believe that deaf people were treated so badly at one point in time. Just because they were different, and people did not understand them, does not give anyone the right to ridicule and discriminate against them. I was also very happy to see that deaf education started much earlier than I thought. At first I believed that deaf education was fairly new to our world. However, I was mistaken and learned that there were many people that stood up for what was right and worked together to make the gap between hearing and deaf better so long ago.
The website I used for this post is http://www.aslinfo.com/trivia5.cfm.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Different Kinds Of Sign Language
As a double major in modern languages and business management, I am fascinated by different kinds of cultures and communication methods. I was researching the different kinds of sign languages around the world and was amazed by what I found. I went the the wikipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sign_languages and couldn't believe the length of the list that I found. I found Sign Languages from Africa, The Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, etc.
One thing that I found interesting was that not only do these places have their own sign languages, but they have several different ones. Africa alone has at least 25 sign languages. The other places that have lists on this site have close to that number as well. If you stop and think about it, it isn't that strange. Every country will have different slang, dialects, and accents. So, I guess the same goes for sign language. I'm sure many if not all of the 25 different sign languages in Africa are all similar and have the same signs except for a few here and there.
When I did my project last semester, I wrote a paper on linguistics. One of the topics I touched on was different kinds of sign languages. Some of the titles I used were French Sign Language (FSL), English Sign Lanuage (ESL), and a few others. Nothing was unexpected though. French is a completely different language than what we speak here so it was only natural to think that they have different signs and expressions for the sign languages used in their country.
When researching though, I never expected to see title such as Guatemalan Sign Language, Kata Kolok, Selangor, Taiwanese, etc. It is just strange to think that there are so many different kinds of communicating without actually using words. It is fascinating to know that so many different kinds of sign language exist and makes me want to research them some more!
One thing that I found interesting was that not only do these places have their own sign languages, but they have several different ones. Africa alone has at least 25 sign languages. The other places that have lists on this site have close to that number as well. If you stop and think about it, it isn't that strange. Every country will have different slang, dialects, and accents. So, I guess the same goes for sign language. I'm sure many if not all of the 25 different sign languages in Africa are all similar and have the same signs except for a few here and there.
When I did my project last semester, I wrote a paper on linguistics. One of the topics I touched on was different kinds of sign languages. Some of the titles I used were French Sign Language (FSL), English Sign Lanuage (ESL), and a few others. Nothing was unexpected though. French is a completely different language than what we speak here so it was only natural to think that they have different signs and expressions for the sign languages used in their country.
When researching though, I never expected to see title such as Guatemalan Sign Language, Kata Kolok, Selangor, Taiwanese, etc. It is just strange to think that there are so many different kinds of communicating without actually using words. It is fascinating to know that so many different kinds of sign language exist and makes me want to research them some more!
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