I learned a tiny bit of ASL in college from hanging out with a few deaf people, then some more when we had kids and bought a bunch of kids’ sign language DVDs. Little kids are able to do some signing earlier than they’re able to manage speech, and I know that helped our kids to communicate when they were super young.
(You know all this, but I felt like saying it for the passers-by.) I know that a mistake hearing people often make is thinking that sign language is just a word-for-word substitution for whatever spoken language is primary where you live. It’s really a different language, grammar and all, definitely including those “combination” signs you’re talking about.
Baby signing is a really useful thing to have evolved from all this, as you are correct that young one’s can think in words much earlier than their vocal systems come on line. We’re such a weird species, to be born in such an under developed state, which development takes years, or a whole lifetime to complete. :-D
I learned a tiny bit of ASL in college from hanging out with a few deaf people, then some more when we had kids and bought a bunch of kids’ sign language DVDs. Little kids are able to do some signing earlier than they’re able to manage speech, and I know that helped our kids to communicate when they were super young.
(You know all this, but I felt like saying it for the passers-by.) I know that a mistake hearing people often make is thinking that sign language is just a word-for-word substitution for whatever spoken language is primary where you live. It’s really a different language, grammar and all, definitely including those “combination” signs you’re talking about.
Baby signing is a really useful thing to have evolved from all this, as you are correct that young one’s can think in words much earlier than their vocal systems come on line. We’re such a weird species, to be born in such an under developed state, which development takes years, or a whole lifetime to complete. :-D