sign language as a way to develop emotional integrity

as a way to develop emotional integrity

sign language & emotions

dove siete? io sono qui

The translation of the title of this beautiful italian movie

from 1993 is:

‘“Where are you?” , I’m here.’

The star of this movie is a deaf young man fully

functioning in the hearing world.

sign language & emotions

In the Gestalt Therapy, thanks to my teacher- Netta Kaplan - I

often use the Question : `where are you now ?’

Since years I feel that deaf people using sign language have

an advantage answering this question,

our course enable me to try and explain why.

** by hanoch piven

sign language & emotionsGestalt Therapy teach to listen to what we feel in the here and now, assuming that feeling it fully will

let the person move on.

Our body can assist us knowing what we feel.

In the course we saw a lady that smiled half face on command but fully when was amused and we learn that our face, at rest, show

our feelings. I believe, the body tell us too.

** by hanoch piven

sign language & emotions

In our society, staying ”cool”, be polite etc. is the expected behavior.

Cultural expectation causing people not be sure how they feel and what they want.

Even the word ‘depress’ in English sounds like “not moving much”,“being pressed”.

sign language & emotionsSign language was developed as a natural language of deaf people in each country. It was use by deaf parents with their children and pass through generations.

It was condemn for being physical and in restraint cultures physical activities were scarring, exposing, sexual etc.

** Rushing Bear demonstrating the sign for HOUSE, 1880. NAA Inv. 01310200 thanks to hand talk Amreican indian sign language site.

sign language & emotions

Hearing parents for deaf children used to preferred that their kids will learn reading lips and learn to speak. the common recommendation was not to teach them sign language.based on :Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign LanguageתDouglas C. Baynton university of chicago press 1996

*Rushing Bear demonstrating the sign for NOW, 1880. NAA Inv. 01309100 thanks to hand talk American indian sign language site.

sign language & emotionsHearing Aborigines and native Americans use sign language in addition to the spoken one in periods that they kept silence for ritual reasons and for other reasons.

**Mountain Chief, Montana Blackfeet, listening to song on phonograph and interpreting it in sign language to Frances Densmore, Ethnologist (1916). NAA MS 4720. thanks to hand talk American indian sign language site.

sign language & emotions

Today’s studies show that deaf children that were thought sign language from their early childhood have better results later in their studies.

For Mike May (“crashing through”), after his sightreturned to him at the age of 30, he could not distinguish female face from male face etc. If prevented from seeing in early childhood, some perceptions and understanding will be miss.

Could be that it is the same in learning language: Children that were not allowed to acquire first language, later have much difficulties in understanding language.

sign language & emotions The language capability is located in the neocortex.

For most of us is in the left hemisphere.

The Werncike’s area where comprehension is taking pace, gets inputs from the audio area as well as from the visual cortex.

sign language & emotionsBroca’s area manage speech, located near the motor cortex, to have an easy accesses for actually producing the sounds/signs.

A person using sign language with Broca’s aphasia will have difficulties to act out the signs, just like a hearing person will have problems to speak.

sign language & emotionsProducing language, vocal or sign, is a voluntary movement accompany by emotions that involves un voluntary movements like heart beat, blood pressure, sweat and digestions mescals.

**Lean Wolf in partial native dress, demonstrating the sign for FRIENDS, 1880. NAA Inv. 01309600. thanks to hand talk American indian sign language site.

sign language & emotionsNon voluntary movements involves also when we listening: We unconsciously imitate others in order to understand them.

Paralyzing some facial muscles for cosmetics purposes with Botox, cause somewhat shallowness in emotions.

When a person understand others he can also understands himself, which is a kind of ‘other’.

sign language & emotions

Physical expression of our emotions is a mutual process - once the emotion is expressed it’s physical expression is being perceived and the expressing-perceiving loop keeps or even might amplifies the emotion involved.

sign language & emotions

out of this loop?

Regulating the breath can calm anxiety attack, so does medicines that reduce heart rate.

so we use the voluntary movement to get a hold of our mental state.

Our emotions, our body, our conscious are an orchestra, trying to keep in tune.

sign language & emotions

distraction can also help but then might cause an other problem: whenever we are uncomfortable, we will shift to an other thing. if the teacher start talking and I’m afraid I won’t get it, I will run way from the fear by playing with my new pencil or chat or whatever.

How is the weather?

sign language & emotions

Communicating in signs does not enabled much distraction. not only because there are no noises like TV, talking around, cellphone ringing.. etc. , it is also due to the fact that the whole body is engaged in listening.

sign language & emotions

The below shows a conversation between a mother and her 2 years old daughter. both deaf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8Z2lzS764

sign language & emotionsOn the right hemisphere there are parallel areas to Werincke’s and Broca’s which related to understanding prosody.

My guess is that:

People that use sign language, are having a well developed understanding for others and for themselves.

group contains also people who ride horses and can feel the horse by their hips and by listen to it’s breath and others,

sign language & emotions

My guess is that People that use sign language, are having a well developed understanding for others and for themselves thanks to the engaging of the whole body in the communication.**Tendoi (Shoshoni) demonstrating the sign for QUESTION (ca. 1880). Basin Shoshoni Inv. 00866900