Do deaf people write differently?

-BA- said:
Please don't misunderstand if you think I am stating all deaf people type like that. I absolutely am not stating that. I am however stating that I have had plenty of contact with deaf clients and colleagues to recognise the grammatical irregularities.

Not all deaf people are afforded the same attention in school and of course there are plenty of people on these forums who have a definite lacking when it comes to grammar, so it is by no means exclusive to the deaf community.
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Of course not. :) I'm just trying to say that just because someone is deaf it isn't a certainty that they'll be rubbish at English or English grammar.

Justin said:
Are you completely deaf? How do you communicate with others of you don't sign? I always thought it would be crucial to learn to sign if you were deaf.
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Yo Justin. I'm not completely deaf. I'm listed as moderately deaf and I wear hearing aids. Normally I communicate with others by using my mouth and talking. It's quite complicated at times and a bit of a tongue twister but I manage to get my head around it! :p

When I was at school in Luton I'd spend some of my time in the deaf unit there and I was the only kid who wasn't 100% deaf and could talk. The others were all so deaf they heard virtually nothing, even with hearing aids. They could sign, I couldn't. I was never taught. Perhaps its something I should have been taught, it doesn't matter how deaf you are, you're deaf so you should know sign language perhaps? I mean what likelihood is there that someone who's only a little bit blind wouldn't be taught, or at least offered the opportunity to learn, braille? Of course I have picked up some basic sign language that I use if I feel they get across my feelings and emotions quicker, or more effectively, than speech. However if I were to post pictures of the "sign language" it'd get classed as swearing and you'd have to ban for for a bit. ;)
 
Might be able to shed some light here. My brother was deaf from birth, and I mean properly 99% kind of deaf. If he's wearing his hearing aids, he can just about hear high-pitched noises like sirens or whistling, but not shouting or other loud noises.

He writes in a similar style, as with sign language there's a tendency to miss out small words like 'the', 'is' etc. This can make the writing aspect a little more challenging, as he's only learnt sign-language, and when he was first learning English, there was an emphasis on just getting basic communication sorted, rather than ensuring that every little word is there - the meaning can be interpreted well enough.

He's currently at 6th form college, and in classes he has to have a signer interpret the teacher's instructions.

I think that those who are deaf on here aren't completely deaf, and so there's a lesser reliance on sign language, and you could learn English in a similar way to non-deaf children? If so, then it's not entirely surprising that your written English is not noticeably different.

Often his writing appears childish in structure, or in the wrong order, but the meaning is there. Much like the message posted here:

because on my ***** blog BAD BOYS make tear at me and u are not nice, u not be like child you must grow up don't tear at me u very 16, 17, 18, or older must be grow up please u make nice send me not word for me u know im heard nice boys said leave tom alone he is special deaf our know about me that why mean NICE BOYS vs BAD BOYS BE FIGHT im dunno it ok please u not bully for me because im don't please please u must be nice boys for me
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Essentially translates to: People are very rude on my blog, and are unpleasant. You behave like children, not the young adults, or older, that you are. Please grow up, and leave constructive posts, or don't post at all. I know that considerate people have asked you to leave me alone, as I'm deaf (I think he said Tom, as in himself). Can you just be nice to me?

It's not hard to decipher, so I wouldn't get worked up, or immediately jump to conclusions. It's when people post similar stuff, but have no real reason for it that's a chance to go all out...
 
Poor sod wouldn't last long in the blood bath that is GD.

First language or not, he's trying to communicate the best he can. The fact people moan on the internet isn't something new.
 
I used to know a deaf guy, couldnt hear nothing at all and yeah he did write diffrently sometimes i struggled to understand what he was saying
 
Didn't know there where so much people that are deaf on these forums. So I guess that means they don't write differently.
 
Limpnoodle said:
i know, he's from scotland huge language barrier there,

just messing :) iron bru ***!
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Haha.

"I mock your regions dialect but it's alright, I'm exempt from a beating because I love your brand of fizzy drinks, they're spot on". :p

YOUR BLUE AND WHITE FLAG IS **** BUT UP WITH BRANNIGANS!
 
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Tom0 said:
Haha.

"I mock your regions dialect but it's alright, I'm exempt from a beating because I love your brand of fizzy drinks, they're spot on". :p

YOUR BLUE AND WHITE FLAG IS **** BUT UP WITH BRANNIGANS!
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To be fair irn bru is the only non deep fried thing the Scottish have ever gotten right.
 
trigger-happy said:
isn't there the "inner ear\voice" in an individuals mind?
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There is, but it can only speak in a language that you have some understanding of. If you're deaf/dumb, then the "voice" exists, but it won't be speaking English unless you've learnt English in some way, and even then it might not be how you innately think.
 
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I learnt sign language from a Deaf Lady at college.

Yes the grammar is different but I always found her writing completely understandable. In sign you tend to miss out the small "unimportant parts" of language.

IE
"My name Tom"
"I live Luton"
"I work computers"

That guys sounds like a retard tbh.
 
freak2002 said:
I learnt sign language from a Deaf Lady at college.

Yes the grammar is different but I always found her writing completely understandable. In sign you tend to miss out the small "unimportant parts" of language.

IE
"My name Tom"
"I live Luton"
"I work computers"

That guys sounds like a retard tbh.
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But how deaf is deaf? There are different levels. I'm guessing that if she was teaching you sign language, she could hear, and speak?
 
I'd go with he's dyslexic aswell as deaf, I'm dyslexic but I don't write anywhere near as bad as him but I have seen very similar patterns in what he wrote and how I write.
 
I know someone who is deaf and dumb, I sort out any pc problems that she has

Sentence structure just isn't there, but you can easily grasp the meaning

It would just depend how they've been taught tbh
 
Marvin said:
But how deaf is deaf? There are different levels. I'm guessing that if she was teaching you sign language, she could hear, and speak?
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She was deaf from birth and she could speak. However we had a feeling she had a slight hearing of loud noises as she reacted to a door slamming once. That could have been the vibrations as it was very loud.
 
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