Florie

Yes, sure. It's not easy to grasp the difference though because most people will still think of someone who can't hear and thus can't speak. Which is not right because deaf people can still use their voice and can even speak (their pronunciation might sound wrong sometimes...). So "deaf mute" should be avoided when refering to deaf people. It's offensive to them because it sounds like "deaf and dumb" which was also an often used term to describe deaf people in the past. Its origin came actually from Aristotle who thought if one can't hear then one can't learn at all.

There is a International Sign Language but just like Esperanto it's no use for communication if someone doesn't know it. So it's impossible to have a universal sign language - at least in our lifetime. It's the same with languages. Just because it's done with hands it doesn't mean the meanings are still the same everywhere. Every language is evolving on its own - this includes sign language as well.

I think sign language is much more than a "transcription" of the sounds of a language. Regular grammar doesn't work here, sign languages have their own syntax. Instead of "Have you ever been to Japan before?" it may sound like "You Japan before?" in sign language. Oh yes... notice that the term "deaf mute" is viewed by many deaf people as derogatory. Simply refer to them as "deaf".

I haven't seen a topic like this but while using the search function I saw some users expressing interest in etymology. I simply love learning about the origins of a word. Sometimes they can be so hilarious. Are you interested in etymology? Do you have favourite meanings? Some of mine are: daisy Old English dæġes ēaġe ("day's eye") due to the flowers closing their blossoms during night. orchid From Latin orchis, from Ancient Greek ὄρχις (orkhis, "orchid, testicle") (ostensibly from the shape of the roots). muscle From French muscle, from Latin mūsculus ("a muscle", literally "little mouse") because of the mouselike appearance of some muscles, from mūs ("mouse"). comet From Old French comete (French: comète), from Latin cometes, from Ancient Greek κομήτης (komētēs, “longhaired”), referring to the tail of a comet, from κόμη (komē, “hair”).

I guess those words are related to Reiki. Here is what I found on Wikipedia. Shoden ("初伝" in Japanese, meaning "Elementary/Entry Teachings") Okuden ("奥伝" in Japanese, meaning "Inner Teachings") Shinpiden ("神秘伝" in Japanese, meaning "Mystery Teachings") Gokukaiden means "Teacher Training" and the kanji is "極怪伝". I hope this was helpful.

Languages are like a secret code to me and I just love to crack codes. I remember when I was a child who could already read I found a English-German dictionary. I was quite fascinated by the strange sounding words. I learned the words but I didn't know you had to pronounce words differently and I didn't understand what IPA was. Awkward but hey I was still a child. I'm more interested in learning how a language works. Learning about other countries' cultures is just a positive side-effect. I can't imagine ever going to Spain for real but I like the language.

I know a bit German Sign Language. I'm hard of hearing and my mother is deaf. It always amazes me how most hearing people seem to think that sign language could be universal just because you're using hands. There is a little story I've invented because I heard the question so often: Once upon a time there was a island in the ocean - let's call it Island A. All the people living on it are deaf and are using sign language for communication. One day it happens that someone built a big boat enough to explore the ocean. They found another island which was uninhabited. They named it Island B and some of the people decided to live there. Their sign language was still the same but changed slowly as time passed by. When hundred of years have passed, there are two different sign languages with the same roots. And then it happened they spotted a ship coming from a far away island with deaf people on it - Island C. They've met for the first time. If you still think that sign language is practically universal, how do people from Island C know how to sign "We don't want to hurt you" with people from Island A or B? Maybe people from A or B might even understand "We will kill you all". Anyways - a good link for those interested in sign language: http://www.spreadthesign.com/ Just type a word and you'll see the sign in many languages.

Leave a dictionary in your bathroom. Might be helpful if you have to spend some time there. :speechless:

Hello everyone! I'm 25 years old and I'm from Germany. I've always loved languages from an early age but just realised I've never joined a language-themed forum before although I've always longed for someone to talk about languages in general. So better late than never. I'm especially interested in Japanese (I love learning new kanji!). I learned Spanish years ago but kind of neglected it so I forgot a lot but I want to give it a new try. Also recently I've become interested in Icelandic. It's a beautiful language. Etymology is also very important to me. My other interests include reading, drawing, postcrossing and writing stories. Nice to meet you all!