Examples of baby sign language
WHAT IS BABY SIGN LANGUAGE ?
Baby sign language is a tool enhancing communication between hearing parents and babies who cannot talk yet. It is a transitional language using gestures to illustrate common words (eat, finish, sleep …). Baby sign language can help parents who want to facilitate communication with their baby aged from 6 to 24 months, before they are able to speak and at the beginning of development of oral language skills.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIGN LANGUAGE AND BABY SIGN LANGUAGE ?
- Sign language does not require oral language, and it is usually used by deaf and hard of hearing people.
- By contrast baby sign is not a language in its own right, but a support to interact with babies.
WHEN CAN YOU START BABY SIGN LANGUAGE?
It is possible to show signs to a baby from the age of 6 months. Even if babies are only able to start using sign language by the age of 10 months, beginning early enables them to understand and to integrate the meaning of the signs.
Also, it is crucial to talk and sign at the same time, because the signs must not replace the word. Expressions of the face and body are also important. Parents must avoid creating their own signs because otherwise their child would not be able to be understood by other people outside of their family.
BENEFITS OF BABY SIGN LANGUAGE
Providing a mean for babies to communicate before their vocal cords have developed may reduce frustration.
Moreover, using signs with the baby may be a good way to adopt the right behavior and attitude of communication. The parents need to look at the child, to bring themselves down to the child’s eye level and to talk slower. They have to be in « the here and now » and to focus on the present.
LIMITS OF THIS COMMUNICATION TOOL
A lack of scientific research, about benefits of baby sign language, has been reported in the literature.
Empirical reports have shown that learning baby sign language does not affect oral language developement. Those reports hightlight the cognitive economy process, that conducts children to talk instead of using baby sign language, wich requires more efforts than talking. Some reports show that baby sign language can have significant and positive impact on the overall development (Mueller et al., 2014). Other studies suggest that baby sign language does not accelerate linguistic development (Kirk et al., 2013). Very little was found in the literature on the question of possible negative outcomes. Future studies on the current topic are therefore recommended.
Words we have learned :
- To enhance : favoriser
- Gesture : geste
- Deaf : sourd
- Hard of hearing : malentendant
- Cognitive economy : économie cognitive
Sources
Kirk, E., Howlett, N., Pine, K. J., & Fletcher, B. (2013). To sign or not to sign? The impact of encouraging infants to gesture on infant language and maternal mind‐mindedness. Child Development, 84(2), 574-590.
Mueller, V., Sepulveda, A., & Rodriguez, S. (2014). The effects of baby sign training on child development. Early Child Development and Care, 184(8), 1178-1191.
Aurore LECRECQ & Cécile LEPAINTEUR