Hallelujah! At long last "mama" has crossed the lips of my dear child, and a sign has emerged to refer to me that does not look exactly like "milk." The sign came a few days ago in the form of a "1" sign produced around the cheek/jaw area. Del said "mama" for the first time just today ("today" was April 27th) while holding her arms for me to pick her up. I started celebrating like a fool but couldn't help it; there's just something magical about your baby calling you mama for the very first time.
I've gone through and made some lists and organized things a bit so they make more sense from a developmental point of view. I've categorized Del's ASL signs to date by handshape as much as possible so that it's easier to see the correlation between her fine motor development and her manual language bursts. Typically, the first handshape babies use when learning ASL is the "open hand" or "5 hand." This handshape can be manipulated as soon as the child is able to extend the fingers open from the palm.
Although it's not clear if motor development always drives language development or vice versa with respect to manual language learners (although I'm inclined to believe it works both ways, as with most things in this world), it's pretty simple to see that when babies start to use their hands to talk, the (proto-)signs used do not require a great deal of skill. As the signing child improves her nonlinguistic dexterity (for example, extending an index finger from a closed fist to perhaps pick a nostril), the handshapes that start to emerge for signing are naturally derived from these new and more complex physical abilities.
In that line of thinking, something that I am very curious about is whether children who sign tend to have accelerated fine motor development. For example, I wonder if children who are born into signing families master a motor milestone such as the pincer grasp sooner than children who learn only spoken languages. For a signing child, the motivation for such developments is doubled, meaning: the pincer grasp, in addition to being an excellent blueberry-nabbing tool, is also a linguistic handshape for many useful signs in ASL (a.k.a. the "G" handshape).
Now, back to the matter "at hand" (so to speak). . .
I've gone through and made some lists and organized things a bit so they make more sense from a developmental point of view. I've categorized Del's ASL signs to date by handshape as much as possible so that it's easier to see the correlation between her fine motor development and her manual language bursts. Typically, the first handshape babies use when learning ASL is the "open hand" or "5 hand." This handshape can be manipulated as soon as the child is able to extend the fingers open from the palm.
Although it's not clear if motor development always drives language development or vice versa with respect to manual language learners (although I'm inclined to believe it works both ways, as with most things in this world), it's pretty simple to see that when babies start to use their hands to talk, the (proto-)signs used do not require a great deal of skill. As the signing child improves her nonlinguistic dexterity (for example, extending an index finger from a closed fist to perhaps pick a nostril), the handshapes that start to emerge for signing are naturally derived from these new and more complex physical abilities.
In that line of thinking, something that I am very curious about is whether children who sign tend to have accelerated fine motor development. For example, I wonder if children who are born into signing families master a motor milestone such as the pincer grasp sooner than children who learn only spoken languages. For a signing child, the motivation for such developments is doubled, meaning: the pincer grasp, in addition to being an excellent blueberry-nabbing tool, is also a linguistic handshape for many useful signs in ASL (a.k.a. the "G" handshape).
Now, back to the matter "at hand" (so to speak). . .
Del's ASL as of April 27th, 2011 (13 months, 11 days)
"5"
"hi" "please" "tree" "cheese" "more(2)" "thank you" "bye-bye" "want(1)" "finish (all done)" "don't want" "sleep(2)" "high-five!"
"Open A"
"milk"
"1"
"daddy" "mommy" "water" "where?" "what's that? (pointing)" "sleep(1)" "more(1)"
"G"
"more(3)" "birdie" "pick up"
"Curved Hand"
"share" "change"
"Claw 5"
"basketball" "ball" "want(2)"
"Flat B"
"doggie"
The words with numbers next to them indicate either two different variations on a sign, or a sign that uses two different handshapes (such as "1" pointed into the palm of "5" to indicate "more," compared with two "G" handshapes meeting at the fingertips for the same meaning). The handshapes are produced in different locations with various different movements for the words listed. Some of her handshapes are not precise yet, such as her "claw 5," which is produced with slightly less "clawing" than seen in the photo above. However, the 6 handshapes that she uses so far are visually distinct from one-another, and are used consistently to communicate a surprising variety of words (26!!). There are a couple Del-invented signs that cannot be described simply, such as "poop" and "don't want." I will do my best to capture these more intricate Del-isms on video to share what they look like.
Del continues to link two signs together in multiple different ways, typically with "more (insert food or drink)" or "where (mommy/daddy/milk)?" She uses the head shake "no" as a linguistic tool, for example pointing to the fridge for me to open it and then waiting as I list things inside as she either points and smiles to indicate, "that's what I want!" or shakes her head no. My favorite new development is when we ask Del if she is ready to go to sleep. She will either shake her head no or point to the bedroom and sign "sleep." This has alleviated so much nap-time and bedtime drama in recent weeks, and the pure fact that she has a role in the decision seems to make her that much more eager to drift off to la-la land.
Speaking of la-la land, that's where I am heading! Until next time, happy signing/talking/singing/sharing/speaking/listening/loving! Good night.
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