Thursday, November 16, 2006
I was on the way to my mother's office when I noticed five or six mute students who got in at UN Avenue. They caught the attention of all the passengers (including me, of course) inside the jeepney because they were doing the sign language to communicate.
They were simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of their hands, arms, and facial expressions to fluidly express their thoughts. They were able exploit the unique features of the visual medium by using only these signs. Their signs were arbitrary, it took only a single glance and they were able to understand what the 'speaker' wanted to 'say'.
We, the other passengers, were in awe of their marvelous ability to do what seemed to be difficult for us to do and understand. Almost everyone inside the jeepney had their eyes fixed to the students "talking" happily with each other. Well, the jeepney driver is an exception. His eyes are solely for the road, or else I wouldn't be able to post this blog entry at all.
I thought it was very hard for them to express what they really feel but still, smiles were visible in their faces. They were just like normal people, able to talk and listen to each other's thoughts. I even saw one of them smile at us, then I saw ourselves smiling back at them, too. Seeing those mute students doing the sign language with ease makes me think that it isn't that difficult to learn this certain 'language game' after all.
Perhaps its about time for me to learn a new language game.
They were simultaneously combining handshapes, orientation and movement of their hands, arms, and facial expressions to fluidly express their thoughts. They were able exploit the unique features of the visual medium by using only these signs. Their signs were arbitrary, it took only a single glance and they were able to understand what the 'speaker' wanted to 'say'.
We, the other passengers, were in awe of their marvelous ability to do what seemed to be difficult for us to do and understand. Almost everyone inside the jeepney had their eyes fixed to the students "talking" happily with each other. Well, the jeepney driver is an exception. His eyes are solely for the road, or else I wouldn't be able to post this blog entry at all.
I thought it was very hard for them to express what they really feel but still, smiles were visible in their faces. They were just like normal people, able to talk and listen to each other's thoughts. I even saw one of them smile at us, then I saw ourselves smiling back at them, too. Seeing those mute students doing the sign language with ease makes me think that it isn't that difficult to learn this certain 'language game' after all.
Perhaps its about time for me to learn a new language game.
Labels: language games, sign language
