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Nicaraguan Sign Language..

A language that came from kids!

Where does language come from?

Do we learn it, or are we born with the rules inside us?

How a new language was created

Until 1979, there was no education for the deaf in Nicaragua. A school was opened for the deaf, and teachers tried to teach lip-reading, with little success. But out on the playground, children started communicating with each other, using their homesigns (a homesign is a basic gesture used with hearing families at home.) the teachers didn't know what the deaf children were saying to each other, so they called in JUDY KEGL, an American linguist who specializes in sign languages.

She found that the older kids who were just gesturing to each other did not have a language. However, the younger kids, who learned from the older ones, spontaneously developed something more fluent, consistent from person to person, rich in grammar and vocabulary. They had created a language!

This was the first brand new language that linguists have ever been able to study. It suggests that the rules for language are built into our brains -- we're born with them!

The original school for the deaf was in Managua, which is on the Pacific Ocean side of Nicaragua. Since then, the early signers have become teachers of their sign language, called Nicaraguan Sign Language, at a new school called Esquelita de Bluefields. Bluefields lies on Nicaragua's Atlantic coast.

In order to learn a new language completely fluently, you have to be pretty young when you start learning. That's why it's important that young deaf kids -- especially those who live far from the school -- come and life there as borders.

The school runs on money from donations, and they could really use some right now. If you would like to help keep Nicaraguan Sign Language alive, please make your check or whatever amount you can give payable to; "Nicaraguan Sign Language Projects" and send it to 52 Whitney Farms Rd., North Yarmouth, ME 04097. Donations are tax-deductable.

Your money will be used to pay for room and board for students, teacher training, and material and technical support for the school.