Poll: If you're not familiar with it, would you consider learning sign language in the future? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "If you're not familiar with it, would you consider learning sign language in the future?".
View the poll results »
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If I were to learn another language today, it wouldn't be sign language. I have no hard of hearing or deaf relatives or friends. In fact, two of my great-nephews were born deaf but were operated on (both parents are medical doctors) when they were very young and have cochlear implants.
[Edited at 2025-04-19 11:35 GMT]
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 01:45
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
It's a beautiful language and like any other language well worth being learned. Just imagine the number of people you could then communicate with.
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Brazilian sign language (LiBras) was one of the topics of my translation residency at college. I remember how lost I felt when trying to find the proper terminology used within deaf communities without falling into prejudices or “false friends” terms written by people who aren't deaf.
That was a true eye-opener for me about the many sign languages exiting, almost as many as spoken ones.
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| Yes definitely | Apr 19, 2025 |
I had an introduction to sign language by a student whose parents were deaf.
I don’t need it right now to communicate with anyone in particular - but who knows in the future.
I’d like to be able to interact with deaf or hard of hearing people in everyday life. Plus, I’m intrigued by the sign language itself.
| | | | | Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member for the following reason: duplicated post | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 01:45
French to English
If I could start again I would love to learn it. I don't ever remember there being any opportunity to do so.
It's a great way to communicate with babies, they can communicate with sign language long before they can speak intelligibly. I only found this out once my children could already talk, which was a real pity. All those times I had been frustrated, not understanding why my babies were crying, I feel that this is the kind of thing which should be taught far more.
... See more If I could start again I would love to learn it. I don't ever remember there being any opportunity to do so.
It's a great way to communicate with babies, they can communicate with sign language long before they can speak intelligibly. I only found this out once my children could already talk, which was a real pity. All those times I had been frustrated, not understanding why my babies were crying, I feel that this is the kind of thing which should be taught far more.
After all, more people are capable of using and understanding sign language than can hear properly.
Let's not forget that we can all lose our hearing too. Of all the elderly people I know, not one with a hearing aid actually likes using it. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:45
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Kay Denney wrote:
It's a great way to communicate with babies, they can communicate with sign language long before they can speak intelligibly.
My wife used a subset with our sons for that purpose when they were very small.
They used to sign "oishii" (meaning that whatever they were eating was good) by patting their cheek.
I don't know if that is common in Japan.
She does not sign otherwise and has had no reason to learn/use it.
Regards,
Dan
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 01:45
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
No, I don't have the time and money for that.
Kay Denney wrote:
It's a great way to communicate with babies, they can communicate with sign language long before they can speak intelligibly. I only found this out once my children could already talk, which was a real pity. All those times I had been frustrated, not understanding why my babies were crying...
I'm not sure if you're pulling our leg.
Sign language is a constructed language. Sign language used by teens and adults have nothing in common with signals given to you by babies or toddlers. Learning adult sign language will have had zero effect on your communication with your baby. That would be like if my wife and I had adopted a French baby, and we then went and learnt French in the hope that we'll understand the baby's needs better.
In the Netherlands we have sign language (Nederlandse Gebarentaal) and assisted sign language (Nederlands met Gebaren). Assisted sign language is meant for people who are not deaf but have trouble communicating. Useful for parents with children with severe autism. But both languages are constructed languages. To use assisted sign language on a child with autism you still need to teach the language to the child. Assisted sign language is quicker to learn because the grammar/syntax is closer to actual spoken Dutch. But it's not really meant to be used without also speaking the words out loud. Since assisted sign language is derived from sign language, many of the signs of assisted sign language are the same or similar to the signs of sign language.
I have looked into learning South African sign language one or two decades ago, but South Africa actually has several different sign languages that are only barely mutually intelligible. "South African Sign Language" is an official
language in South Africa, but it is largely an experimental language that mostly interpreters can speak, and whose designers hope that existing deaf communities would abandon their own sign languages and adopt the modern one.
[Edited at 2025-04-20 09:33 GMT]
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 01:45
French to English
Samuel Murray wrote:
Kay Denney wrote:
It's a great way to communicate with babies, they can communicate with sign language long before they can speak intelligibly. I only found this out once my children could already talk, which was a real pity. All those times I had been frustrated, not understanding why my babies were crying...
I'm not sure if you're pulling our leg.
Why would I do that? I'm not the Turkish baron! Why don't you look it up instead of surmising? I'll point you in the right direction: try searching "Baby sign".
I'm not saying that babies can use the full-blown sign language/s of the country you live in. Just that they can communicate with signs before they can articulate spoken words. They can learn and use signs to say things like "me hungry" or "me poo" or "me want cuddle" or "me frightened" They can also respond to questions from the parent along the lines of "are you hungry?" "do you want the potty?" "would you like some juice?". The parent can then act upon what the baby signs, meeting their needs more quickly and effectively.
Some parents make up their own signs to communicate with their babies. Just like hearing twins might make up their own spoken language to talk to each other. Those who know sign language mostly use it with their babies. Even if you use a made-up sign language, it makes it easier to learn official sign languages later, just as it's easier to learn a spoken language if you've already learned others.
Research has recently debunked the theory that babies cry in different ways according to whether they are hungry, scared or suffering from nappy rash. Mothers who say that they can tell, are either lying or basing their assumption on other cues, like sucking on their fist when they want to breastfeed, or squirming from the pain of nappy rash. In light of this research, baby sign language is obviously a great method to get messages across.
[Edited at 2025-04-22 08:44 GMT]
[Edited at 2025-04-22 08:44 GMT]
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