Guest Post by Ella Winslow, Davidson College
Communication through language has been integral to all human societies. But how does language develop and how do our minds influence language development? Dr. Molly Flaherty, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Davidson College, seeks to understand the development of the mind through early language acquisition and works to help shed new light on the importance of sign language accessibility for deaf individuals. We had a chance to interview Dr. Flaherty on a recent episode of the show. (You also can find a written transcript here as well.)
Dr. Flaherty studies one of the youngest languages known to science: Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL). Emerging in the late 1970s, NSL grew out of the isolation of deaf Nicaraguan children being grouped together in deaf schools for the first time. The children began to communicate with one another through gestures, leading to the birth of a new language. Today, NSL has rapidly developed– so much so that like any other language, older generations often claim the young are ‘ruining it’ with the shortcuts they have created.
Studying this young and youth-developed language provides Dr. Flaherty with the unique opportunity to examine how developing minds influence and understand language. However, as Dr. Flaherty explains, the circumstances that led to NSL’s creation are good for learning about language development, but they also signal something bad for humanity.
She heard this phrase first from Dr. Marie Coppola, a professor of Psychological Sciences and Linguistics at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Flaherty explains that language deprivation, the isolation of deaf children before they were able to find community in deaf schools, created a perfect environment for scientists to study how NSL began and how it has changed over time. Concurrently, deaf students were unable to communicate before being put together in school, a reality that is true for too many deaf individuals worldwide who might not have access to deaf communities. As Dr. Flaherty says, “the human experience is so full of language, to be a human being without being able to talk or sign or communicate is not something you would wish to replicate.”
Language is critical to humans, especially a first language. To hearing individuals, learning a first language is simple and inevitable. As long as an individual is exposed to language in early childhood, they will be able to learn it. But past this critical period, language learning becomes much more difficult and not having a first language cannot be fixed later. For deaf children, having a first language is not always the norm. You need a community to share language with, and if you are deaf you need a deaf community, something that is not always accessible.
So what is the solution? Turns out we’ve known it for decades, and it’s fairly simple. Deaf children need access to sign language and deaf communities. Beyond the many cognitive benefits to sign language, it is important to realize that sign language is not just “acting things out.” Sign language communities can provide just as much richness of culture as any spoken language, complete with poetry, storytelling, and all forms of communication which make us human. This does not mean that advancements in technologies like cochlear implants aren’t a great option for many, but they require a ton of therapy, time, and resources. For individuals who do choose to get a cochlear implant, the best outcomes come from those who learned sign language either at the same time or first. In a perfect world, Dr. Flaherty wishes that medical schools took the time to inform the pediatricians they teach about the benefits of sign language and deaf communities so doctors can refer children to sign language resources at the same time they receive their diagnosis. Beyond that, ideally, all deaf kids could have access to a deaf community and/or free signing preschool, setting them up for success through an accessible first language.
Dr. Flaherty’s work on understanding the development of NSL has taught her a lot about sign language and the Nicaraguan deaf community, but she also makes sure to acknowledge the privilege she has to be working with this community as a non- Nicaraguan, hearing researcher. Dr. Flaherty hopes that others take the time to learn more about the diversity and intricacy of the human experience, and feels “extremely grateful to be a fly on the wall.” For us at The Measure of Everyday Life, Dr. Flaherty’s research serves as a reminder that while “everyday life” can look different across cultures, what makes us human, our need for community and ability to share with one another, is universal.
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