According to the United Nations (UN), Sign Language is an important language, used primarily by people who are Deaf. This language does not require the ability to speak or hear.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018 was declared the First International Day of Sign Languages by the UN. Someone on campus who is knowledgeable of Sign Languages is Dr. Celestino Limas, Vice President for Student Life.

Limas is fluent in English, Spanish, Hawiian and ASL. Limas taught American Sign Language (ASL) at the University of Redlands, Lafayette College and Heritage University.

“I think it’s fantastic!” Limas said about the First International Day of Sign Languages. “One of the things that I think individuals that teach Sign Languages or are familiar with Deaf culture always strive for is the understanding of the variances of different Sign Languages.”

Many people who know about ASL—the prominent Sign Language for individuals in the Deaf community in America—know that there are other Sign Languages based upon location. According to Karen Conrad, ASL professor at Elizabethtown College, “there are approximately 500 Sign Languages in the world.”

However, Limas explained that there are additional signing codes. One of which is called Manually Coded English (MCE). These codes are not their own language and are not connected to Deaf culture in the same way as ASL. They are often used by people such as families of deaf or hearing impaired individuals.

Limas explained that not only are there different Sign Languages, but there are different forms of the word “deaf.” “Little ‘d’ deafness” refers to “the pathology of deafness.” This includes individuals who have varying extents of hearing loss and varying causes for their deafness.

“Big ‘D’ Deafness” refers to “the culture of the Deaf community…people that are fluent in American Sign Language, frequent Deaf clubs, have Deaf friends,” Limas said. Not everyone who falls under one category necessarily falls into the other.

Here at Etown, students have a chance to learn ASL in Conrad’s course. She learned ASL in a high school located on the Gallaudet campus. Conrad first taught ASL to her children as babies, then decided that she wanted to teach other babies ASL. She worked at numerous daycares and eventually began teaching ASL at Etown in 2015.

Hannah Paymer, a junior currently enrolled in Conrad’s course, said that she enjoys learning ASL and described it as “very hands on and is actually integrated into the course.” Paymer also describes ASL as “another language, so it’s not the same as spoken English. It’s an expressive language.”

“If you live in huge Deaf/HOH population you may want to learn American Sign Language,” Conrad suggested.

Both Limas and Conrad said that 90 percent of parents of Deaf or Hard of Hearing children are unfamiliar with ASL and tend not to model the language for them, making it difficult for the children to learn this important form of communication. However, if more people knew ASL and were aware of its benefits, this issue may dissipate.

There are also benefits to hearing people who learn ASL including, according to Conrad, improved spelling, improved classroom behaviors, improved small motor skills, building overall communication skills and better vocabulary.

Not every person who signs is deaf. Sign Language is also used for some individuals that have certain disabilities. Limas, who has a Master’s degree in Special Education, says that “[MCE] is utilized a lot of times for students that have disorders…and it can be a very helpful resource.” In cases like these, students typically learn how to communicate individual words and ideas, not the entire language.

Other people who know Sign Language are interpreters. According to Limas, interpreters are often children of deaf adults (CODAs). CODAs learn Sign Language because, although they may be hearing, they grow up in the Deaf community that their parents are a part of.

CODAs, interpreters and hearing people who are interested in Sign Languages and the Deaf community, as Limas describes it, “[give] access to deaf people to part of the hearing world because hearing people that learn American Sign Language are…bridge builders.” Because hearing individuals with an interest in Sign Languages connect cultures, “the Deaf community…wholeheartedly embraces and encourages” them to learn.

He also noted that in each language that he is fluent in, learning has made him more culturally aware and empathetic. Although interpreters are important, “what’s just being communicated is content.”

“When you can actually communicate with someone in their language, the ability for you to understand emotion and connection is something that is so valuable because…the best way to describe it is trust,” Limas continued.

Exploring language can bring people together. This is why anyone who has an interest in any language should strive to learn more about it.