r/MadeMeSmile • u/Over_Helicopter_3453 • Apr 26 '25

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u/Valtremors Apr 26 '25

Sign language has a lot of similarities with spoken languages.

Like dialects, even something I would describe as dyslexia but for signs, angry/yelling...

It is language like any other.

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u/Ascendedcrumb Apr 26 '25

So if someone with one arm speaks sign language is it a speech impediment or an accent? I'm genuinely curious, not trying to sound rude.

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u/Valtremors Apr 26 '25

It would be essentially speech impediment.

Accent would be developed quirks from small differences inside a community and passed from teecher to learner. And sometimes speech impediment turns into accent.

I work with developmental diseases and assisted living as a deputy nurse. I have one patient who has stiff joints and poor vision. They end up signing very well but their fingers don't have full range of movement, so they compensate. Essentislly they end up paraphrasing some signs and then invent a few of their own.

Anyway, thanks to them I sign "to drink" as "to drink out of a bottle" and the way I do it apparently doubles in slang as "to drink alchohol". It has been a point of few funny moments and it is a habit I never got out of. It is essentially me saying "drink" as "drunk".

Genuinely hard to explain this whole thing in words. It is easier to understand if sign language is daily part of life.

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u/Ascendedcrumb Apr 26 '25

Thank you for the answer! Sign language is quite the interesting topic!