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elcomputo

Apr 20, 2004, 2:16 PM

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Deaf Mexicans

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Today, riding the bus up to the Tianguis from central San Miguel de Allende, I sat behind two Mexicans in their thirties, a man and a woman. I soon noticed they were speaking to each other in sign language. They both must have been deaf. (And I mean deaf, NOT hearing impaired; I'm hearing impaired.)

The strange thing was, I don't think they knew each other. (And you seldom see people signing here in Mexico; theirs must have been a truly serendipitous meeting.) The reason I say that is because I think the guy was trying to hit on the woman. After some minutes, he pointed to her, then pointed to himself, and drew in the air a heart. She shook him off, though. Soon she got up and got off at the next stop without looking back at him. His eyes followed her off the bus and up the street. I knew exactly how he felt.

The language for this conversation looked nothing as sophisticated as American Sign Language. For instance, they did no spelling out of words. And it was almost simple enough for me to understand. I wondered whether each language has its own set of signs for the deaf. What do deaf people from different countries do when they get together? Can they converse, or do they bring a "bi-lingual" signer with them?

Carol Schmidt

Apr 20, 2004, 2:34 PM

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Re: [elcomputo] Deaf Mexicans

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In the U.S., a sign language designated "American Sign Language" is used, so I'm guessing other countries have their own sign languages? I don't know about using sign language interpreters for more than one language in mixed groups--sounds logical. ASL has a lot of symbols which would not seem logical to many other countries--the symbol for woman depicts a bonnet strap under the chin, I think I remember, from the days when U.S. women wore bonnets routinely. That would not compute here! Some sort of symbol for a rebozo, perhaps? Interesting questions.

Carol Schmidt

esperanza

Apr 20, 2004, 3:52 PM

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Re: [Carol Schmidt] Deaf Mexicans

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My closest American friend is a University-professor linguist who specializes in sign language, both American Sign and Mexican Sign. They are indeed two totally different languages. It's always fun when, on one of her frequent visits to see me, she meets a deaf person in Guadalajara, Morelia, or wherever we are traveling. There is great glee on both their parts to find another person who understands.

And yes, as she has explained it to me there is a good deal of 'homemade' sign among the deaf in Mexico, primarily among people who have not been schooled in Mexican Sign Language.

So she is fluent in four languages: English, Spanish, and both sign languages.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

tonyburton

Apr 20, 2004, 4:19 PM

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Re: [esperanza] Deaf Mexicans

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The sign languages are definitely different. However, interestingly, the letter signs used in both languages for spelling out words (like proper names etc.) are essentially identical.

elcomputo

Apr 20, 2004, 8:32 PM

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Re: [tonyburton] Deaf Mexicans

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It has been plaguing me all day about the outcome of that conversation. Why would the fellow have been so forward as to say "Me, You, Heart," if they had not known one another? It was obvious when the woman got off the bus that she had not been happy with that conversation. The only rationale I can come up with is that the fellow was mentally impaired.

Having working with the mentally retarded, I know they are often ignorant of social conventions, and males may go up to women they don't know, hug them, and say "I love you." I'm wondering if that is what happened here.

Further evidence: I think he was trying to tell her how old he is. He wrote a "3" on his right palm with his left index finger, then hesitated for a bit before writing a "1." Evidentally, he was not sure how old he was.

Even more evidence: I have read that the incidence of mental retardation and mental impairment is higher in Mexico because of the extent of childhood malnutrition. More reason for getting involved in a program like "Feed the Hungry."

It can be just as much fun going through life as an observer, coming up with narratives for what is going on, as it is going through as a participant. I can recommend both.

Carron

Apr 21, 2004, 1:43 PM

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Re: [elcomputo] Deaf Mexicans

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I too spent most of my adult life in Houston caring for the mentally handicapped. Once I was on a small, crowded colectivo from my job in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, going up to the Zoque Indian village where I lived. The village also housed a convent for nuns who cared for elderly nuns.

One afternoon a very prim nun, middle aged and old enough to know better, was talked to by one of our local mentally ill men as we all rode the colectivo up to the village. He was fascinated by the bright gold religious medal she wore pinned on her thick, stiff, brown habit. The medal dangled just over her left breast and heart.

He reached out to touch it (the medal), obviously in awe, and she reacted like a virgin who was about to be savagely attacked by a rapist. All of us on the colectivo knew the man and felt sorry at his subsequent confusion and privately condemned the nun to hell for her over-reaction to a sincere gesture. None of us would have dreamed of treating him in such a rude manner.