In the past weeks, the focus of our essays has been on communication, particularly for deaf people. Like a campaign for a public office, I have long been obsessed by the communications milieu of the Deaf. Not only have I wanted Deaf individuals to communicate with grammatical clarity, but importantly, I have wanted us to communicate with pristine civility and politeness.
I have, time and again, penned down articles after articles, essays after essays, to tell the community about the essentials of communication, including why communication is so vital for our survival, for our relationship and emotional wellness, as well as for our and upward mobility.
Communication skills are the finest quality that we may possess as Deaf – individuals with a sensory impairment accompanied by little or inability to produce intelligible sounds.
But communication is more than talking and speaking. It is more than giving others the chance to express themselves, to let others communicate while we give them a “looking eye”.
Communication is the soul of the human spirit.
Yet, communication is the single greatest personal challenge that continually affects a lot of the members of the Deaf community- in particular pre-lingual and youth deaf individuals.
The moment we begin to make improvements in our communications, the instant we begin to realize the enormous potentials that lie within each of us.
However, it isn’t only the poverty of grammatical and communication skills that we may need to worry about; we might need to worry about our disturbingly-swift tendency to miscommunicate, misunderstand and misinterpret the words and information of others- a pattern that’s part of what explains the whys of a bunch of negative attitudes amongst us- aggression, emotional and behavioral imbalances in Deaf people.
A disturbing predisposition on the part of the Deaf to miscommunicate and misunderstand is an extremely pervasive culture in this community. This culture has not improved our image in the glare of the outside world. Our culture of mischaracterizing the ideas and values of others has made us be seen as highly confrontational persons to the hearing world.
But of course, the unpleasant practices of miscommunication and misinterpretation of ideas and information exist among many people- across gender, nations, and cultures, including among the disabled and non-disabled.
The Deaf, on the other hand, in particular, have been known to misunderstand, misinterpret and miscommunicate their own thoughts and the thoughts of others.
We simply fail to understand information the way that it is supposed to be understood. Consequently, we interpret information inaccurately. But from faulty interpretation comes faulty comprehension.
The resulting effects of this pattern include not only a radical shift from the mainstream- away from the way the world and the majority actually works, but also our show of irregularities, our demonstration of stiffness, and our display of abrasiveness.
It is bad for our image as the so-called differently-abled persons. It is bad for our relationships. It is bad for our future prospects- as a community of people who, day in day out, are hungering for inclusion in every system of the society.
Apart from our inability to hear speech sounds, many reasons can be used to support why Deaf individuals are too quick to misunderstand and mischaracterize the ideas and information of others, including lack of emotional stillness and emotional intelligence, lack of adequate knowledge of social dynamics, and lack of awareness of the way things so really work.
Research has shown that the pervasive attitude of Deaf people- an attitude that’s too quick to make a judgment, an attitude that’s too quick to draw conclusions, a culture that’s too quick to quarrel, too quick to make confrontation- all of which often come out of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of words and information, is a indeed as a result of a lack of communication skills.
Communication skills include an ability to make clear, coherent speech in writing and in verbal. Communication is the ability to construct grammatically clear English expressions- in writing and in speaking. Communication is speaking beautifully; it is speaking and writing artfully. Communication is being diplomatic- choosing our words with caution and aptness because we want to make sure that we are considering and respecting our listeners.
Yet, the greatest answer to the culture of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, mischaracterization, and miscommunication on our is to learn the art of communication. This art does not just teach how to speak and write correctly, communication teaches decency and culture that then allows us to exchange ideas, values and information with others with clarity and respect.
Effective communication is an art and skill that reduces friction and conflict and one that promotes understanding.
SEE-II and Effective Communication
One of the proven ways of achieving effective communication skills for Deaf people including doing a signing in exact English (SEE). Signing Exact English matches visual signs with grammatical structures of English, unlike ASL which has its own unique grammar system.
SEE II is an exact visual model of spoken English, it allows students with hearing impairment to access grammatically correct English, just as all hearing children receive in educational settings.
In Nigeria, ASL may have been undermining a majority of Deaf people’s English mastery—with the manner that words and sentences are signed without complete regard for grammatical order.
Another proven way is having access to language and literacy.
Language deprivation–the lack of access to language has robbed Deaf people of the ability to communicate effectively. It is important to make the language accessible to Deaf children as early as possible. Introducing sign language early to deaf children can help them to take advantage of the uniqueness in linguistic skills.
Overall, Deaf people can improve their communication skills by making deliberate personal linguistic improvement skills. Personal word stock or lexicography can be improved upon. Grammar and structure can be learned. And books and articles that interest us can be utilized. They contain excellent informational text that helps us to have a better mastery of English.