Birth of a Language

While enjoying the sights and sounds of the 2009 Lilac Festival this past weekend, my brother an I ran into an ASL interpreter from one of his classes. Since RIT is where the NTID (National Techinical Institute for the Deaf) is based, it's not unusual for the classes to have one.

I had the chance to ask about foreign sign languages, and how barriers were bridged at conferences and other international gatherings in the deaf community. The details are fascinating, but she brought up something that blew my mind surrounding the adaptability of human beings under extreme circumstances. Helen Keller is one widely known communication example that quickly comes to mind, yes. But how about a group of deaf Nicaraguan six year olds creating their own language. Completely on their own. Out of necessity, on the playground, basically. That's freaking awesome.

An ASL linguist from MIT was called in to figure out what the kids were saying to each other... since, obviously nobody else understood them. Well, when all those young minds without the ability to communicate with anyone were thrown together in a school and expected to learn their first spoken language (Spanish) through lipreading... you can see what barriers they needed to break through :) Some details at good ol wikipedia here.

I just watched the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still with Keanu Reeves. While not the best sci-fi flick ever by any means, it had its points worth discussing. It had premises i'm quite familiar with from Star Trek (think TNG and Q, for you trekkies out there)... that yes, we're destructive and violent and we suck as a race, but oooooobviously we're unique and worth saving because we have the potential to grow and love that no other race posesses! The "Hey, i've got news for ya, we're not the smartest kid on the block but dang, we're pretty much the best anyways cuz of ____" is what it always seems like ;-) Heck, even The Fifth Element got self-indulgent in that area. It makes you feel good about us as a species, especially for those who haven't found their worth through Christ yet (or a number of other faiths, even). I just find this commonality in sci-fi intriguing. Maybe I sound like I'm bashing it, but only because it seems to be the fallback anytime the possibility of other races being superior comes into play.

That's one side of the coin, but the concept provides something that any sci-fi fan can relate to, and I know you trekkies can relate to... hope. That even in our darkest hour, in the face of everything tragic about human nature, when the odds are just stacked up against ya, there's hope. The movie coincidentally sent the same message as a bunch of Nicaraguan first graders did, in it's own way. The professor put it best:

"Well that's where we are. You say we're on the brink of destruction and you're right. But it's only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve. This is our moment. Don't take it from us, we are close to an answer."

And that's the thing. When I eventually write that post on the book we're reading for lifegroup, it'll make more sense. But the point is that, normally, it's only in crisis that we truly change. It's only at the "precipice" in a manner of speaking. There's a lot to live by in really understanding that concept. There's a lot to be said about it. And I'll say enough.

For now, bedtime.