How to learn sign language? This question has long worried people, because deaf and dumb have been at all times.
It is more difficult for such people to adapt in society, it is more difficult to lead a full life. In the old days, in many countries of Europe, people with hearing and speech impairments were not considered normal. They were sent to psychiatric hospitals for compulsory treatment. Society treated them negatively.
Before answering the question “how to learn sign language?”, We will examine how the situation has changed over time and find out the background of the appearance of sign language education and fingerprinting.
Bonnet system
Fortunately for the deaf-mute, there were also positive-minded people who felt sorry for them and wanted to help. Such a man was, for example, the priest Juan Pablo Bonet. He lived in the early 17th century. Once Bon was hired as an assistant in one rich family, whose head was an important official. The son of this master was deaf, no one could teach him writing or counting.
Soon the priest created his own training system for this boy. He came up with a special designation for each letter in the alphabet. The question of how to learn sign language did not even arise with this deaf-mute boy. Bonn began to deal with the child with enthusiasm and great enthusiasm.
Very soon, the boy learned the whole alphabet. After that, rumors spread around Spain about the Bonnet system. The priest released a book in which he described his method in detail.
Michel Charles de Lepe School
Michelle Charles de Lepe was famous for having organized and opened the world's first school for the training of deaf-mute people. He took the book of Juan Bonet as the basis for his method. By the way, in Paris in those days there was already a semblance of sign language in Old French. However, Michel de Lepe adapted this likeness to the modern French language, and communication between the deaf-mute began to consist not just of separate words. Now people could communicate for real, build a smooth and coherent "speech".
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet School
Thomas Gallaudet, after attending de Leppe's school, returned to the States and opened his school. The method was borrowed from a French colleague. The school of Thomas Gallaudet held real "lectures" on how to learn sign language adapted to English.
And again, this method was very successful and popular.
Oralists opposed such a training system. According to their beliefs, this technique separates deaf people from the hearing society, and there is really no benefit from it.
Alexander Graham Bell and his School of Oralists
Here they taught writing and reading in a completely different system. Each sound of speech (depending on the position of the lips) was marked with a written symbol. Initially, this method was supposed to be used to correct diction. But in the process, Bell taught the deaf-mute in the same way.
The first sign language schools in Russia
In 1806, in Pavlovsk (near St. Petersburg), the first school of signopedics was opened. Taught here in the French system.
In 1860, such a school opened in Moscow. In the capital, the German method was taken as the basis for learning how to learn the sign language of the deaf.
Gradually, in our country, researchers and scientists began to appear who were interested in such a training system.
Lev Semenovich Vygotsky
At first, he did not particularly believe in the benefit of sign language, he considered it very limited. But after some time in one of his works he called the sign language an extremely complex and diverse
linguistic system. The scientist considered him richly developed, recognized his undeniable benefits for deaf and dumb people.
Rachel Boscis and Natalia Morozova
We studied Vygotsky’s works. In their work on the development of speech, they concluded that the grammar of the simple Russian language and sign language is different.
It was mistakenly believed that deaf people cannot learn sign language on their own, and also learn verbal speech.
Victor Ivanovich Fleury
He was a teacher, worked as a director of a school in St. Petersburg. He conducted an in-depth analysis of "deaf-mute speech" and came to the conclusion that sign language, Russian, can be learned by every person with hearing or speech impairment. In addition, he noted that in the affiliated companies and deaf societies, sign language has its own characteristics, differences and subtle patterns inherent in this particular society. Just as in “ours” (verbal speech) there is jargon and specific words, so in “speech” there is such a mute.
He wrote the book The Deaf. In this work, the teacher collected all the gestures and signs known to him.
There were other people who contributed to the Russian sign language pedagogy: I. A. Sokolyansky, L. V. Shcherba, A. Ya. Udal.
So how to learn a dumb sign language?
Let us examine this question in more detail. Below is a step-by-step instruction.
Acquaintance with Dactylology
First you need to get acquainted with fingerprinting. This is the name of a special form of speech. Dactylology includes the fingerprint alphabet. In it, each letter of the alphabet has its own designation - a sign made of fingers. These signs are called dactyls.
Many people are deeply mistaken that sign language and the fingerprint alphabet are one and the same. There is a difference: fingerprints convey words in letters, and in sign language - whole words.
Still there is a manual speech. With this form of communication, words are read lips, gestures only emphasize hard and soft, deaf and voiced consonants.
Finger technique
Studying the dactyl alphabet, one should not rush. You need to remember well and practice the technique of setting fingers. At first the hand will get tired. But after two or three workouts, the fingers begin to get used to, bending better.
Finger speed
Having perfected the technique of education with a finger, we proceed to the speed of setting the fingers. Letter by word in sign language pedagogy shows proper names, surnames, and georgaphic names.
The fingerprint alphabet can be found in the form of a picture or use a more visual video tool. By the way, sign language and fingerprinting in each country are different. Unfortunately, there is no single language for the deaf-mute.
Practice
Having mastered all the dactyls, you should practice. Learn basic words, names or titles. Video, films can help in this, there is even a special application for Android.
Score and numbers
When there is a little practice, it is worth mastering the score. It is advisable to immediately learn to show at least the simplest numbers. This will greatly advance sign language learning.
Learning sequence
We turn to the sign language itself. It contains about 2000 different designations. How to quickly learn sign language with so many characters? In fact, everything is not as complicated as it seems.
Learning gestures should start with the simple words “hello,” “goodbye,” “sorry,” “thank you.” It is worth memorizing them gradually, not chasing the quantity. It is better to teach a small number of gestures in one training session.
And the last recommendation. If you are seriously thinking about learning the language of the deaf, it might be worth looking for such courses in your city. They are not widespread, but you can still find. Such courses are good because here you can get the practice of live communication, hone your skills and language skills.