A New York Times article argues that volunteers who travel abroad using one form of sign language can affect the ability of locals to learn and use their own form of sign language. Do the benefits of helping people abroad outweigh the negatives? Read on and let us know.
Extract:
American Sign Language is rapidly spreading to mainstream American culture. Millions of Americans watch the ABC Family television series “Switched at Birth,” most of whose characters use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate. The number of people learning ASL has soared — now infants learn ASL from DVDs before they can talk.
As ASL spreads, volunteers with varying levels of ASL travel abroad to help the Deaf (the capital D signifies Deaf culture, not simply a medical condition). A nondenominational church in my hometown of Decatur, Indiana, for example, has led mission trips to Leveque, Haiti, where volunteers visit Deaf families to help paint homes, weed grounds and play with children.
That is noble, and good for Deaf people in the world. But I have found that these volunteers, even the most well-meaning, can often do harm as well as good.
The first issue is that many people who try to learn ASL overestimate their abilities. Slapping together signs does not mean that one knows grammar, syntax and everything else that makes a language. A slightly erroneous movement, a hand shaped incorrectly, or a sign made with the wrong facial expressions can distort the meaning.
Furthermore, ASL is an American language. It is not universal, and it’s not even necessarily used wherever English is spoken. Actually, ASL has more in common with French Sign Language than with British Sign Language. So volunteers who know ASL and venture to other countries may not be able to communicate with the Deaf.
Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/21/opinion/global/helping-hands.html?_r=1&
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16jh
February 25, 2013
I think the main problem lies in access to language. I completely agree with the fact that country’s native sign languages should be protected and that there are ways (such as attending that country’s deaf school) to learn their language. However for many volunteers, programmes involve going to the country they are volunteering in with skills learnt in their home country, volunteering and then returning home. This means they take home sign language skills with them- if there could be more access to other country’s sign language in your home country then people would be much more likely to learn it and take the skills out with them thus preserving that country’s sign language. Just like people who are going to France or Germany do when they can take spoken classes in those languages in their own countries. It all comes down to access- it’s harder to access sign language classes than spoken language classes and so accessing foreign sign language classes is pretty impossible!
Lana
March 1, 2013
Went to Bangkok 20 years ago and there was a mile long of Deaf people working at the market stalls and many used ASL but no English mouth patterns – mostly gestures and i don’t know if it is better nowadays??
sophie
March 12, 2013
Thanks for sharing this, Charlie.
It absolutely reinforces what we stand for at SL Volunteers; that all Deaf volunteers must learn Sri Lankan Sign Language!
I have shared this article with others who ask if it’s ok to teach BSL to Sri Lankan Deaf people- so thanks again. Really useful.