How A Language Was Born (And How It’ll Die!) | Hatam Tamimi | TEDxPurdueU

TL;DR

A deaf man's family in a small village developed a unique sign language over generations.

Transcript

Transcriber: Yolanda Rivera Reviewer: David DeRuwe What would you do if you needed to communicate with a deaf person who also cannot read? What if you did not know sign language either? Around 60 years ago in a small farming village named Sadat Tawaher, there lived a man named Hanash - see him on the left. Hanash, like everyone else, was born heari... Read More

Key Insights

• 😚 Gesture-based language was developed by Hanash's family to communicate with him when he lost his hearing.
• 🤘 Hanash's family sign language contains signs representing nouns, verbs, and pronouns.
• 👪 The grammar of the family sign language differs from Arabic, the spoken language known by the family.
• 🤘 Hanash's family sign language evolved over generations and shows similarities to other established sign languages.
• 😑 Facial expressions and body movements play a crucial role in conveying meaning in the family sign language.
• 🤘 Language necessity drives invention, as demonstrated by the development of the family sign language.
• 🤘 Hanash's family sign language showcases the cooperative and collective nature of language development.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Hanash's family communicate with him after he lost his hearing?

Hanash's family developed a gesture-based language to communicate with him, with signs representing words and strict rules for creating sentences.

Q: Is Hanash's family sign language considered a fully-fledged language?

Yes, Hanash's family sign language possesses all the components of a language, including words, grammar rules, and the ability to convey complex thoughts and ideas.

Q: Did Hanash's family consciously create this sign language?

The sign language emerged naturally out of the need to communicate with a deaf individual, driven by both a natural desire for communication and conscious efforts to bridge the communication gap.

Q: How does Hanash's family sign language compare to Arabic?

Despite knowing Arabic as their spoken language, Hanash's family developed a new grammar and language in sign form, distinct from Arabic.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Hanash, the first deaf person in Sadat Tawaher, had no access to sign language or education.

• His family developed a gesture-based language similar to sign language for communication.

• This family sign language has evolved over decades and contains elements of grammar found in spoken languages.