How Do Deaf People Think?

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In this video:

Those who were born completely deaf and only learned sign language will, not surprisingly, think in sign language. What is surprising is those who were born completely deaf but learn to speak through vocal training will occasionally think not only in the particular sign language that they know, but also will sometimes think in the vocal language they learned, with their brains coming up with how the vocal language sounds. Primarily though, most completely deaf people think in sign language. Similar to how an “inner voice” of a hearing person is experienced in one’s own voice, a completely deaf person sees or, more aptly, feels themselves signing in their head as they “talk” in their heads.

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[TodayIFoundOut]

Now that you know how deaf people think check out this video and find out How the Blind Dream:

[DenisRyan]

Bonus Fact: It is now recommended to use basic sign language with infants, as it had been shown that it helps them communicate earlier. They can sign simple words, like milk, food, more, up, all done or help before they can speak them. This gives the Infant a means to express their basic needs at a very early age, resulting in much less frustration for all.

Bonus Fact 2: Babies born to deaf parents have been shown to babble in sign language! They move their hands in ways not typical of babies of speaking parents, mimicking in a general sense their parents hand motions, even if the babies themselves are not deaf!

[noahsdeafeyes]

Hi. I'm Deaf. I have an answer. I think in either ASL (American Sign Language) or images.

[davidschartung]

Omg I thought this was a joke... I had my Bluetooth speaker hooked up in the living room so no sounds were coming out of my phone. I thought it was a silent video to show how deaf people think

[ZenekandSashasHearing]

I'm the father of two deaf children. I was partly expecting to hear some inaccurate information in this video, because that's the internet, but I didn't. Everything you said about the benefits of sign language is spot on. We're going through this right now.

Our two kids have cochlear implants, and we had been going about the oralist method. But now that our son has started school, we've realized that it's failed us. He is 4 and a half, and we can't even ask him his favourite colour. He just doesn't comprehend the question.

We always dabbled with sign language, but now we're making a concerted effort to learn and teach them. In just the few months we've been doing this, we've been astonished by how fast they pick it up, and more so by how signs turn into speech! It's incredible.

This summer, we're moving closer to a school for the deaf so our son can go there.

[Voxann]

I am profoundly deaf and think in visual words and sometimes visual imagery. I use ASL (American Sign Language) and I can write/read English. I rarely use my voice to speak because I dislike speaking. It doesn't feel very natural to try to talk and I am comfortable using sign language because it's visual. I can't hear so it's natural to depend on my eyes for information I need to acquire through sign language, facial expressions, behaviors. When I am around hearing people, I use paper/pen to communicate or if available, chat programs or email like at work.

[aetherseraph]

please add CC. I very much want to share this with my wife who is profoundly deaf. but I cannot rely on the auto generated captioning to properly convey the information.

[DarkAurora]

Thank you! My best friend is deaf and I have severe tinnitus and it's nice to see ACCURATE information about deaf people

[MasterigPokemon]

Now I want to know how blind people dream

[lorenzwinterhoff]

As a deaf person in a hearing family, along with other factors, I retreated to literature. For many years my inner voice was closer to an inner literary monologue where the words appeared physically in my dreams. Not in thought or speech bubbles, but as actual objects that also reflected their emotional meaning to me, IE bullies words would form and often 'felt' painful as much as the words had in reality.

[LydiaTereK]

Deaf person: (getting angry about something) (mental sign laNgUAGE INTENSIFIES)

[justinkendall]

My father in law has been deaf from birth. He can talk mostly normal besides the "deaf accent". He is now a manager of a walmart store and a very intelligent individual. The amazing thing is he dreams in sign, where everyone signs everything they say.

[jjramos]

Simon, could you do a video about the etymology of when people started calling lovers "baby" and why?

[samtt]

Man i love this channel so much! Just the facts and no messing. Doesn't treat everyone like idiots but explains everything in the greatest possible detail, while remaining interesting and engaging and not rambling on to make the video longer. maybe even my favourite channel right now!

[dantheman]

I'm deaf and I think in the written language.

(3 year update: I completely forgot about this comment and lied lol. I'm not deaf.)

[madlucian]

do animals have different languages like dogs from France can't understand dogs from Spain

[lestranged]

I have read that deaf babies who are signed to from an early age are able to sign back appropriate answers earlier than hearing children learn to talk. Signing is apparently easier to learn at a very young age than speaking coherently. So it's like they learn their language younger than average or 'normal' babies. A hearing child may not be able to answer when you ask them why they are crying or what do they need, but a deaf child can answer it in sign. Some people even teach hearing children how to sign so that they can communicate their needs sooner than they could by speaking. this reduces their frustration. Like you have probably seen babies making babbling in the cadence of speech but it sounds like gibberish, and they get frustrated when you can't understand them- in their brain they know what they want to say, they understand the language, but just can't make the words yet. But their hands can make the signs before their voice can make the words.

[marirose]

I've typed as a medical transcriptionist for over 30 years. I find myself typing conversations in my mind while listening, really odd

[xxTheCatsMeow]

I knew a woman who was born deaf and also had schizophrenia. When she would self talk, she would use sign language with her hands to her sides.

[jasonarmstrong]

Imagine if a deaf person has schizophrenia...all of a sudden they think they heard something and then they realize "oh yeah that's right I can't actually hear"