In this article, you will learn about the International Day of Sign Language and the purpose behind celebrating this day. You will also know what benefits sign language gives us and why we should learn sign language.
International Day of Sign Language
The International Day of Sign Language, also called IDSL, has been celebrated since 2018. The entire world celebrates this specific event on September 23rd, the exact date on which the World Federation of the Deaf was established. It was established in 1951. The purpose of celebrating this day is to show that sign language is as important as spoken language because people with hearing issues are just like other members of society. This day also helps people with hearing issues know their worth.
What is sign language?
It is a language used mainly by people with speech and hearing issues. Other people also use it to communicate in a loud environment or in meetings where they cannot communicate verbally, in many other places, and different situations.
This language consists of hand gestures, body language, and facial expressions. In sign language, each world has different signs for it, but few words have the same signs, so people discriminate by the speaker’s facial expressions.
What is ASL?
ASL stands for American Sign Language. It is the most commonly used type of sign language. It is apparent by its name that this language belongs to America and the deaf and hard of hearing people of America, but it is used in many other states. More than half a million people in the US use American Sign Language as their native language.
Top ten benefits of sign language.
1. Communication with the Hearing Impaired
Every society has people with deafness and hearing impairment, and such people feel lonely because they cannot communicate with other people. Learning this language helps you share it with such people. Sign language enables you to make the hearing impaired feel like they are part of society and as important as other people.
2. Communication Skills:
Sign language boots your communication skills because fluency in sign language means fluency in communication. If you don’t know a specific word or sign for that word, you can fingerspell the word. Other person with get what you are trying to say.
3. Communication in silent or loud places
Sign language lets you communicate in silent or loud places. If you are sitting in a business meeting, classroom, or the library, you need to share with someone sitting at a distance. You can sign your message, and other people with get what you are saying without breaking the silence. On the other hand, if you are in a loud place like a concert and you want to talk to someone. They cannot hear you because the music is booming, you can convey your message through sign language.
4. It improves your body language.
As body language is part of sign language, you work hard to improve it and try to control your unimportant movements because it is how you improve your body language and make it clear.
5. Let’s you befriend people in the deaf community.
Deaf people prefer to be friends with others in their community, like people with hearing issues. Because ordinary people cannot understand what they are saying, and neither can deaf people understand what others speak. Sign language helps you to be friends with the people of the deaf community. You be friends with the person you can share your feelings with, and people with hearing issues can only share their feelings through sign language.
6. Instant reaction or feedback
Sign language needs you to focus on the signer and stand face-to-face with another person, so when you’re during a conversation, you instantly get feedback or reaction from the other person by observing their facial expressions. If you say something they don’t like, they will immediately give a sad response, and contrary to that, if you say something nice, their expressions will show how excited they have become.
7. Helps in training animals
By sign language, you can train your animals because humans and animals cannot understand each other’s language. When you need to prepare your animals, you can tell them what to do using gestures and signs. For example, you take out your index finger or fist, give it a down motion, and your pet sits. When you move this finger, your pets stand, and when you give it a circular motion, your pet rolls. It is how you use signs to train your animals.
8. Improves your spelling
In sign language, when you don’t know the specific sign for a word, you just fingerspell the word to convey your message. This practice makes you get better at spelling and even improves your vocabulary.
9. It helps you become a better listener.
To understand sign language, you have to focus on the signs of the speaker and observe their body language and facial expressions. While reading someone’s gestures and presentations, you need to focused and attentive because it makes you patient and helps you in becoming a better listener.
10. Helpful for children with ASD
Children with ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder cannot communicate with people or even make eye contact with anyone. Such children cannot speak loudly, so they can use sign language to communicate with people and express themselves. Autistic children find it easier to express their feelings by signs than verbally.
Related Article: Top Ten Activities to Celebrate World Braille Day
Conclusion
International Day of Sign Language is celebrated to spread awareness about the deaf or hard of hearing members of society and make them feel like they are part of society. On IDSL, the deaf community realizes that no matter what neighborhood you belong to, you’re living in this world and are as crucial to this world as other communities are. It also reminds us that sign language is helpful not only for people with hearing issues but also for us. We concluded that sign language and signers have their worth that no one can take away from them.
