Strange question?

Question

Do people who use sign language see little hands in their head when they think about what somebody said,or do they hear the words in there head?

Answer 1

This is not a strange question. In fact it is one of the very few intelligent questions I've read. Thanks for posting.
I am deaf and I believe that Bronwyn above answered in the best way. We think conceptually. For example when I've dreamt of my daughter telling me "I love you, daddy" .. In my dream, I "know" what she is 'saying' without hearing words or hand sign language. I definitely do not see little hands signing!! I FEEL the concept of what a person is communicating.

Anyway, thank you for your question and I hope it makes people understand a little more about deafness.

Answer 2

It is not a strange question. They don't see anything in their head, like hands or hear words. Unless they were born hearing and even then they wouldn't be able to hear someone speak. They just think about what they read. That is all that sign language is to them it is their way of communicating with others, and making themselves understood. I have a friend who is blind and I asked her what she saw when she closed her eyes at night she said she saw the same things that she saw in the day, nothing but the voices were sometimes not recognizable.

Answer 3

If they were not blind from birth I think it would be possible to imagine hearing them in their head but if they had learned the written for the signed word they may "see" them. I imagine it would be best ask a a hearing impaired person. I don't think a translator between the hearing and non hearing people wouldn't see little hands in their head.

Answer 4

Good question - but I don't know the answer. I know shorthand and when I was learning I would see the symbols in my head when I tried to think how to write the words. It might be the same for deaf people until they are confident about sign language.

Answer 5

As a speaking person who knows a bit of sign language, I have to say I hear the words, then focus on forming my hands to make the correct symbol.

Answer 6

We all use sign language in one way or another. This at times comes naturally but those who rely on it most of the time tend to go through educational lessons.
As a baby I believe noone really told you that when someone is waving, that means they are going away. Noone sees little hands, instead they learn how to differentiate one sign with a particular meaning. When we go to foreign lands, we rely on sign language.

Answer 7

i dated a deafy and i had a tough time being a little dyslexic. i would see the letters and try to spell out as he signed out a word and if i switched two letters in my head i wouldn't get what he was saying at all. signing becomes automatic, you don't see hands, at least i didn't. if a person does a sign for cat you just picture a cat. that help?

Answer 8

i think it depends on whether or not they were born deaf, or whether they lost hearing at a later stage of their life. if they were born deaf, they probably imagine the hands as a way of communication. if they lost hearing, they probably hear the words in their head as it is signed. Thats what i reckon. Good question though!

Answer 9

Not really a strange question. I find that when I've looked at an A to Z, I see road maps before my eyes (if this can be classed as the same sort of thing).

Answer 10

It's the same way we think about words in any other language: we don't see the word in our head in order to know what it means, we just know what it means. If I said to you, "the dish is hot," you don't have to see those words in your head in order to distinguish the meaning--by knowing the language, you can interpret it into meaning.

Words are arbitrary, and we internalize these words to decipher what they mean.