Sign Language: A Powerful Voice
The first language up for examination in this journey of exploration is sign language. Although sign differs from other languages in obvious ways, its importance as a world language is significant.
The structure and rules of sign are quite different from that of spoken language and differ from country to country. However, just as spoken language is not universal, neither is sign. The gestures upon which it is based as well as the methods employed to increase understanding, (such as mouthing words or fingerspelling), vary by area.
Additionally, sign is constantly evolving. Inefficient or outdated signs are being replaced by newer ones. And, “local signs†you would only see in a particular area are constantly being developed. Thus, although different in significant ways from other world languages, sign language is nevertheless a powerful voice.
Much of my material was taken from a PowerPoint that can be seen in html here: http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:93P8IGLPz3AJ:www.deafed.net/PublishedDocs/Comparison%2520of%2520ASL.ppt+sign+language+world+wide&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
The Journey Begins!
We are happy to announce that the way this blog is developed is changing! Last week’s post and the film, “Julie & Julia,†have inspired a new and exciting idea. Weekly posts will now be dedicated to researching and sharing information about world languages. While some will be about languages with which the majority of people are familiar, others will cover more obscure languages. Let the adventure begin!
The question upon which the idea was based is this: If one were to research a new language every week, how long would it take to cover every known language in the world? If you have a guess, please feel free to submit it as a comment to this post. It will be interesting to see what the timeline turns out to be!
So, Swahili?
Today there are so many languages in existence, I often wonder if a person were to research one new language per day how long it would take them to discover them all. Months? Years? Who can say? (Perhaps Wikipedia.)
As the Project Manager for Same Day, I am often asked what languages we cover. However, my broad yet true statement, “Just about anything!†is often interpreted as a challenge. So, people will try to shock and amaze me by bringing up some little-known language few people have ever heard of, let alone speak. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
One language that is often brought up in such instances is Swahili. It seems to be the measurement against which any language company with a claim like ours can be judged. Even people that don’t know a lot about language somehow know that there’s a language out there called Swahili and that not many people outside of Africa speak it. Thus, I’m very happy to announce that we do cover Swahili! And, here’s something interesting - according to Wikipedia, Kiswahili is the Swahili word for the Swahili language. One down, many more to go!