Baby

With clumsy toddler hands, 18-month-old Veja Lianga hands the book back to her mother, Lina Lianga, and makes the sign “again,” her right forefinger touching her open left palm. Her twin brother, Saulius, mimics her sign, getting comfortable for another reading.

“That’s their favourite sign,” says Lianga, “that and ‘more’ at mealtime.” The twins are not hearing impaired and they are learning to say more words all the time, but sign language is a regular part of their daily routine.

A teacher by trade, Lianga thought her toddlers would find sign language challenging and fun to learn, giving them a tactile version of some of the words they were being bombarded with. But she quickly saw another benefit. It helped them avoid some of the frustration of not being understood while they learned to speak.

Lianga started showing her children signs when they were about a year old. She only knew a few signs herself, but when she saw how quickly they picked signing up, she got a book to find out more. The family now uses about a dozen signs on a regular basis, including read, book, out, cry, please and thank you. Some of the words were learned through songs and games, others by consistent repetition of the sign with a spoken word. “We use signs every day without even thinking about it,” says Lianga. “For my kids, the concept is reinforced when they see people wave hello or goodbye, play peekaboo or sing a song with gestures. Coupling words with signs comes naturally at this age.”

Janette Platana began teaching her daughter Rosalyn, now 16 months, how to sign a bit earlier, at around ten months. She thought the idea of a baby signing sounded amusing and useful, allowing kids to communicate earlier and perhaps feel less frustrated. She was also intrigued by the aesthetic qualities of signing. As a writer, performance artist and psychotherapist, she found the idea of showing her daughter sign language compelling.

“Roz knows about 12 signs — all I have taught her — and uses four regularly (more, finished, thank you and eat),” says Platana. For some words, like hot, Roz has developed her own sign. Signing with babies and toddlers may not follow American Sign Language exactly. It has to be easy enough for them to understand and copy, even if it means creating new signs that only your family knows. If it helps them communicate and have fun, it serves its purpose.

“When Roz is excited, she will make a sign repeatedly,” says Platana. “‘More’ for her favourite snack is signed rapidly and repeatedly until she gets the snack, and then ‘thank you’ is emphatic, with definite paused contact between fingers and mouth, before moving the hand away from the mouth with a flourish. Then she will spin and swagger off.” Her signs are often coupled with partial words or other body language to communicate emotions that are sometimes intensely obvious.

“I once had her in a deep cardboard box, filled with pillows,” recalls Platana. “I was dragging the box behind me along the floor, saying to Roz, ‘Isn’t this fun?’, assuming that it was a blast. But when I looked in over the edge of the box, her arms were straight up, with the hands signing “all done” slowly and — to interpret — beseechingly: fingers spread and extended, and the wrists turning slowly and emphatically.” Says Platana: “I scooped her out in a hurry.”

“I continue to teach Roz new signs, even as she becomes more and more verbal,” adds Platana. When asked why, Platana reflects: “I suppose I have an idea in my head that learning more than one language, whether it’s a spoken language or a signed language, is good for the brain and good for an appreciation of the world. It’s about educating the imagination and making language a rich experience.”

Too much of a good thing?

Mothers and fathers see everything — don’t they? Your baby might not realize you can’t always see his signs, as Lina Lianga discovered: “One day I went into the kitchen to find Saulius signing ‘help’ to an empty room when he couldn’t undo a buckle.” It’s a cute story, but it raises a concern: Maybe it’s better not to teach emergency words like “help” in sign language. After all, if your baby’s in real trouble, you want to hear about it — even from another room!

Fall 2002