When I was 10 years old, I was introduced to the sign language alphabet. It was new to me and it was an odd thing to do since I never saw anyone did that before. I was told that those who are deaf and mute use sign language. Years after that, I stopped using sign language. Because not so many people know how to use that.
Then, back in my secondary school, I started to learn it again. This time, it was not just only the alphabet, but I started to know that we could say things by signing them. Using sign language of course. I watched a tv drama series about how deaf community deals with people like us. It's called, 'Switched At Birth'. My favourite show!
This picture was taken in one of my class, English for Workplace. We have to present something and I decided to present on ''How to communicate with deaf people.''
Why?
It's not because I'm deaf. It's because I'm not. Knowing that the deaf community and those who are mute are unable to communicate well with us,(the majority), I think that it is an obligation for us to learn it. We shouldn't expect them to improve themselves or to bear with it. In this case,it's not about the majority wins. It's about appreciating the minority. I used to live with my aunt and my uncle during my semester break. And I had met with some poor family who are deaf that live there. They were friendly and kind and I bet they still are. I communicated with them by using sign language and it was really fun to have the opportunity to practice what you learn in the real situation. But,it was a little bit confusing since I live in Malaysia,but I only learn the American Sign Language(ASL) instead of the Malaysian Sign Language/(MLS) From what I have observed,there are lot of similarities of words. But,there are lot of differences too!
If you know anyone who are mute,deaf or hard at hearing, do not isolate them. Approach them with kindness and learn sign language so that you can understand them more. Trust me. It's fun! :)
P/S: Thanks Nab & Elly for accepting my idea to use this topic as our presentation! You both did great and were awesome to learn the sign language alphabet in a short time. It was a fun experience to teach the whole class how to sign.(including our lovely lecturer,Madam Zuridah) :D
I miss her class. :')
