William asks…
How do you sign the unknown sign you don’t know how to spell?
When communicating with deaf and hearing-impaired via sign language, I know the manual alphabet is used to sign a word you don’t know the sign for, but how do you sign a word you don’t know how to spell for the unknown sign? I hope you know what I’m saying.
admin answers:
Try to spell it? Draw a picture? Ask someone who can hear how to spell it?
Daniel asks…
Are learning to play the guitar and sign language difficult?
I want to learn how to play the guitar and I don’t know if it will be REALLY difficult. Same with sign language. I know about 10 words so far. I am going to start learning at least 5 words a day, to avoid cramming. I want an acoustic guitar, but want to learn before I actually buy one. Is that even possible?! Plus, I can’t afford a guitar yet.
admin answers:
I have a hearing-impaired student ( high school) that requires an interpreter. The other students ask her how to say things to talk to the deaf student.
She became an interpreter because she had a deaf friend and HAD to learn to communicate. So I guess it’s not hard if you are motivated.
I also have observed the deaf student going to websites and watching videos that use sign language-I don’t know the websites.
Guitar can be easy AND hard. It depends on the type of mastery of the guitar you are interested in.
Strumming chords–NOT HARD.
Picking out melodies is a little harder.
I like to go to Youtube and watch people teach how to play, and watch those that play really good. Pretty inspirational.
James asks…
How can one think without knowing a language?
When you think, you hear words in your head (sometimes). Does not knowing a language impair thought processes?
Very good answer so far, which explains that language is not needed for lower-level thoughts, but what about higher-level thoughts?
admin answers:
Excellent question. The answer is yes and no.
Remember that many millennia ago, there was a long period of time in which humans did not speak any form of language as we know it. Yet, it is easy to see that mental messages of physical needs – hunger, thirst, libido, etc. – are readily conceivable, as these drives did not co-develop with languages; they persisted ever since the rise of humans. Therefore, I argue that language is not an a priori requirement to thought.
However, as civilizations progressed, especially during the last couple of millenia or so, humans came to device elaborate epistemological structures. At the base of modern knowledge are abstract concepts: placebo, quantum, genre, and human rights, to cite a few. At this date and age, what is required of educated citizens are a level of processing that depends heavily on the use of language in guiding thought processes. So, in this sense, yes; without language, you could hardly contemplate on the relationship between language and thought (or this answer, for that matter).
That is to say, while representations of thoughts “Man, I’m starvin’ ” and abstract concepts (Humans and elephants have the relationship of hunter and prey) require some linguistic faculty, one does not need language to think. (I feel hungry whether I am deaf, mute, or mentally challenged; I hunt and I know how to, but I do not ever need to put that it words in order to do so).
_____
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
Related Reading:
7*6*5*4*3
