NationStates Jolt Archive

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42699000/jpg/_42699033_girl_sign416.jpg

Non-deaf people think in images and in linguistic form (written sentences and internal conversations).

I was wondering how deaf people think when they are using the linguistic variation. Do they use sign language in their mind? And is this not slowing down the think process?

Anyone knows the answer? :)

This is a question that has also fascinated me. And when they read, obviously they can't be sounding out the word in their head, so how do they picture it? And, on a related note, how do blind people tell when they've finished wiping?

I think it’s depending the situation. If they read something that’s not related with sign language then probably they see it in sentences. Else they would lose too much time in doing the translation. When I'm reading English then I'm not translating the words to Dutch. I process them in English until I detect new vocabulary or a complicated sentence. I assume it’s more or less working the same for deaf people. However, it’s just my humble opinion.

I know that deaf people think more in images, at such the input is different. But I don’t think they are on a cognitive level different. I assume they use more or less the same part of the brain to process the language.

Deaf people dream in sign language and sometimes they not only see it in their dreams but use actually the sign language moves. Which is comparable as talking aloud while you are sleeping.

How we think isn’t often that clear, even for non-deaf people
Often we are we in some twilight zone where emotions and images are on top. When we are more conscious about the thoughts then we transform it in a linguistic form.

This is a question that has also fascinated me. And when they read, obviously they can't be sounding out the word in their head, so how do they picture it? And, on a related note, how do blind people tell when they've finished wiping?

Smell the paper.

I think it’s depending the situation. If they read something that’s not related with sign language then probably they see it in sentences. Else they would lose too much time in doing the translation. When I'm reading English then I'm not translating the words to Dutch. I process them in English until I detect new vocabulary or a complicated sentence. I assume it’s more or less working the same for deaf people. However, it’s just my humble opinion.

I know that deaf people think more in images, at such the input is different. But I don’t think they are on a cognitive level different. I assume they use more or less the same part of the brain to process the language.

Deaf people dream in sign language and sometimes they not only see it in their dreams but use actually the sign language moves. Which is comparable as talking aloud while you are sleeping.

How we think isn’t often that clear, even for non-deaf people
Often we are we in some twilight zone where emotions and images are on top. When we are more conscious about the thoughts then we transform it in a linguistic form.


Well, language is necessary for thought, so they have to have some sort of self-communicative system with a grammar and syntax. I'm not sure how images themselves play into that.