The Naked Scientists
  • Login
  • Register
  • Podcasts
      • The Naked Scientists
      • eLife
      • Naked Genetics
      • Naked Astronomy
      • In short
      • Naked Neuroscience
      • Ask! The Naked Scientists
      • Question of the Week
      • Archive
      • Video
      • SUBSCRIBE to our Podcasts
  • Articles
      • Science News
      • Features
      • Interviews
      • Answers to Science Questions
  • Get Naked
      • Donate
      • Do an Experiment
      • Science Forum
      • Ask a Question
  • About
      • Meet the team
      • Our Sponsors
      • Site Map
      • Contact us

User menu

  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • Help
  • Search
  • Tags
  • Member Map
  • Recent Topics
  • Login
  • Register
  1. Naked Science Forum
  2. Life Sciences
  3. Physiology & Medicine
  4. In what language do deaf people think?
« previous next »
  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Down

In what language do deaf people think?

  • 10 Replies
  • 15900 Views
  • 0 Tags

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline thedoc (OP)

  • Forum Admin
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • 510
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 17 times
    • View Profile
In what language do deaf people think?
« on: 13/01/2010 14:14:44 »
Hi, I've got a question about deaf people. How do they think? I mean, how to they make ideas on their minds? For example, my native language is Spanish, so most of my thoughts are made in that language. But how does this work for deaf people? Does every person have his own code?
Asked by Gerardo Garzón, via the Naked Scientists Facebook Page

               
               Read the naked scientists answer here
               
            
« Last Edit: 13/01/2010 14:14:44 by _system »
Logged
 



Offline thedoc (OP)

  • Forum Admin
  • Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • 510
  • Activity:
    0%
  • Thanked: 17 times
    • View Profile
In what language do deaf people think?
« Reply #1 on: 13/01/2010 14:14:44 »
We put this question to Mairead McSweeney:

Mairead -   Yes, so just as he thinks in Spanish and I think in English, so if you're a native user of British Sign Language, you would think in British Sign Language.  So then the question really is, well, what’s the nature of that thought?  What’s it like?  And so, it can be visual or it could be manual, so motoric, and so we can use different methods in the lab to try and get at that question by using different interference techniques.  And so, it seems to be a bit of both.  There seems to be more weight towards a motor representation that people use in their minds and their thinking in sign language.

Chris -   So they would literally see themselves doing the thing rather than think it through talking to themselves doing it like I might for example.

Mairead -   Well, no.  That would be a visual representation but there’s more weight towards the motoric representation would be more like feeling themselves do it.  It’s just like you feel you hear yourself speak, if you like.  A motor representation of the movement would be the type of representation that they might be bringing up when thinking.

Diana -   So it’s just like imagining eating chocolate in my head.  I can feel the sensations.

Mairead -   Yes, exactly!
« Last Edit: 13/01/2010 14:14:44 by _system »
Logged
 

Offline Bored chemist

  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • *******
  • 21159
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 485 times
    • View Profile
In what language do deaf people think?
« Reply #2 on: 13/01/2010 14:21:18 »
If you need a language to think in, how do you ever learn one?
Also, how does anyone come up with new ideas?
Since there wasn't a word "typewriter" in any language before the machine was invented, how did anyone think of one in order to invent it?
I don't believe that people think in any language as such; they think in thoughts.
Logged
Please disregard all previous signatures.
 

Offline chris

  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • ******
  • 7935
  • Activity:
    5%
  • Thanked: 272 times
  • The Naked Scientist
    • View Profile
    • The Naked Scientists
In what language do deaf people think?
« Reply #3 on: 13/01/2010 16:24:49 »
I was thinking about this and it's amazing how language-dominated thoughts are though isn't it?

As soon as we know words we use them to think...
Logged
I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception - Groucho Marx - https://www.thenakedscientists.com/
 

Offline Bored chemist

  • Naked Science Forum GOD!
  • *******
  • 21159
  • Activity:
    100%
  • Thanked: 485 times
    • View Profile
In what language do deaf people think?
« Reply #4 on: 13/01/2010 19:24:11 »
In what language do you think about the word that's "on the tip of your tongue"?
Logged
Please disregard all previous signatures.
 



Offline chris

  • Naked Science Forum King!
  • ******
  • 7935
  • Activity:
    5%
  • Thanked: 272 times
  • The Naked Scientist
    • View Profile
    • The Naked Scientists
In what language do deaf people think?
« Reply #5 on: 13/01/2010 19:32:01 »
A whole bunch of synonyms; I actually experience the "feel" of the word in a visceral way; I can almost taste it; it's almost like synaesthesia; bizarre.
Logged
I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception - Groucho Marx - https://www.thenakedscientists.com/
 

Elastic

  • Guest
None
« Reply #6 on: 10/03/2010 00:20:47 »
Why would anyone assume that one has to think in a language anyway? Do you really think in language, rather than form the thoughts into language. That might be a hinderance. I think in two languages, or form thoughts into two languages depending on which language I have to speak; my mothertongue is sort of declining in that way, since I can't express my thoughts in it as well as I express myself in English; I often replace english words for complex ideas that I have no words for in my first tongue. That doesn't mean I'm stupid or unthinking, that just means I don't have words for the concepts I'm thinking about.
Logged
 

Bette

  • Guest
None
« Reply #7 on: 16/11/2010 11:17:53 »
This is the third article I've read on this subject, but the first that helped me understand how deaf people actually think. I had the impression that they thought "with their hands," not with the feeling of hand movements (if I got that right). Anyway, it's a fascinating subject, and I do appreciate the insight provided by this article.
Logged
 

Doug

  • Guest
None
« Reply #8 on: 30/12/2010 23:52:33 »
Deaf people don't think or dream in languages, the same as our forebearers before they defeloped language skills.  For that matter, my dog dreams and laughs and cries while doing so.

As a profoundly deaf man of 61 I can assure you that our thinking process is not language based but more like associations and pictures.  You don't think " I'm going to get a glass of water" you tend to visualize the glass of water and associate it with thirst.

BTW, learning a language as a deaf person is hard, not because we don't hear, but because English is a convoluted language full of double meanings, unlike sign language, which is visual.

Also, I know of no one who thinks in sign language, no matter what age they became deaf at.
Logged
 



Professor

  • Guest
None
« Reply #9 on: 28/01/2011 05:07:05 »
Wow - very interesting responses. First of all, I strongly recommend researching before even beginning to offer responses off the top of your head.  Start reading Fauconnier & Turner's "The Way We Think".  Second, hearing people are not qualified to make assumptions about deaf people and nor are they qualified to make decisions for them.  For your info, deaf people dream in sign language.  Even hearing people who learn sign language report having dreams in sign language and spoken language. However, we do not actually THINK IN LANGUAGE, BUT IN CONCEPTS. Linguistic form provides instructions for building our cognition and our conceptual mental spaces.  It does not matter whether or not the language is signed or spoken as all function the same way -   this is precisely the reason why ALL DEAF CHILDREN MUST BE EXPOSED TO SIGNED LANGUAGE FROM BIRTH.  It provides them with the necessary cognitive development and full linguistic acquisition necessary for the subsequent literacy skills.  So, before you jump into conclusions and make damaging remarks, DO YOUR RESEARCH!
Logged
 

Josh

  • Guest
None
« Reply #10 on: 28/01/2011 05:17:25 »
Please do a little research rather than making assumptions based on the way you think. An excellent starting point for understanding cognitive processes and language would be Turner and Fauconnier.

http://markturner.org/blending.html
Logged
 



  • Print
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »
Tags:
 

Similar topics (5)

Why will the same situation cause some people to choose a fight response and other to choose a flight response?

Started by thedocBoard Physiology & Medicine

Replies: 1
Views: 3702
Last post 08/08/2016 23:31:55
by evan_au
Why Do People Wave at and Wave From Boats ?

Started by neilepBoard Physiology & Medicine

Replies: 5
Views: 11763
Last post 14/07/2018 09:20:33
by Colin2B
Why are more people right handed than left handed?

Started by thedocBoard Physiology & Medicine

Replies: 4
Views: 6539
Last post 12/01/2018 07:12:19
by Monox D. I-Fly
Why do people with brown hair have brown eyes?

Started by Dana LippstreuBoard Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution

Replies: 5
Views: 11514
Last post 19/02/2009 10:30:11
by lyner
Why Are Some People Short-sighted and others Long Sighted ?

Started by neilepBoard Physiology & Medicine

Replies: 7
Views: 8328
Last post 21/10/2018 15:56:56
by Catastrophe
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
  • SMF 2.0.15 | SMF © 2017, Simple Machines
    Privacy Policy
    SMFAds for Free Forums
  • Naked Science Forum ©

Page created in 0.244 seconds with 58 queries.

  • Podcasts
  • Articles
  • Get Naked
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Subscribe to newsletter
  • We love feedback

Follow us

cambridge_logo_footer.png

©The Naked Scientists® 2000–2017 | The Naked Scientists® and Naked Science® are registered trademarks created by Dr Chris Smith. Information presented on this website is the opinion of the individual contributors and does not reflect the general views of the administrators, editors, moderators, sponsors, Cambridge University or the public at large.