Understanding the Importance of Sign Languages

Sign languages are languages. For much of the past century, however, they were considered a visual representation of a spoken language or an incomplete form of communication, closer to mimicry, without rules—in other words, lacking grammar. Early studies on sign languages established their linguistic status by demonstrating, for example, that signs are constructed with sub-lexical elements. Furthermore, sign language is not universal. This misconception is related to the belief that they are artificial languages created to replace or compensate for spoken language. It has been shown, however, that sign languages have emerged and developed independently within each Deaf community. These communities often arise in places where Deaf individuals live in proximity and interact, rather than tying their origins to a spoken language. For this reason, it would not make sense to expect someone proficient in Argentine Sign Language to perfectly understand someone using Spanish Sign Language, even though both Argentina and Spain use spoken Spanish. It is crucial to protect these forms of communication, as they enrich our cultural diversity. Hopefully, the importance of these languages will be recognized, and their study and preservation will be encouraged.

The houses in the village have thick walls. The main street climbs toward the church, a road of stones and mud. No asphalt in this forgotten place. […] Dawn begins to break, and the hens sing in the yards. In the gypsy camp, everyone sleeps except for the man who wonders where his wife and daughter might be. He doesn’t move. He thinks about it and grows furious at himself for worrying about her whims. He won’t go looking for her. She’ll turn up. He has no doubt the two of them will return, until morning comes and the men step out of the wagons, the other women get up, and he knows it’s time to leave. The gypsies don’t wait. They can’t wait. They must keep moving. He, dragging his feet, delays the departure. The old uncles come and ask him about his wife and daughter, but he doesn’t know and says it doesn’t matter; she decided to leave, to go look for her people. She took the child. What should we do? they ask, and he answers, What can we do? We’ll look for them along the way. We have to go. I’m not holding us up.