sign language

One day, a kid passed around a bundle of cards with pictures of how to sign the alphabet with our hands. Amazing how fast kids will learn a new language when it isn't a requirement. I think just about all of us had the alphabet down within the week and were signing secret messages across the class rooms.

As I understand it - and I'm no expert - there are several sign languages that use the hands to communicate. There is one that is more literal in that the hands communicate word by word the same vocabulary and grammar that is spoken verbally by the community. So if you want to ask, 'how is your car engine behaving this week?' you sign every word of that sentence. There are also sign languages that fly on their own. They don't use words that are in the spoken language, except perhaps to communicate the names of people and places. Instead, the hands use motion and signals to communicate direction, feelings, whether something is past or ongoing. This is hand poetry, a wordless complexity and simplicity. With this visual art in motion, the body perhaps communicates on more levels than words can usually reach.