Words in Hand

Let's have a look at the tapes. And the first example from the group is about 'puffed cheeks'. You'll see Fiona talking about the Pope's visit to Ireland. She's signing and she's explaining about a lot of people that are there, but she adds something which you may be able to get hold of and see, and that's this: 'That there were a lot of people in Ireland.'

'I don't know, I wonder if deaf people will be there? There are many deaf people in Ireland, they must be there.'

You'll see John talking about, discussing, and again there's 'puffed cheeks'. Should he sign this way? But with the 'puffed' cheeks' it means 'It's easy to communicate with deaf people, one group to another, Roman Catholics to Protestant, communicating easily.'

'It's the same as the deaf, but hearing people, they're bitter against each other. But for the deaf, it's different, they can communicate easily: they're friendly.'

Again, John is talking about the expensive Ceefax televisions. Nobody is buying them because they're too expensive, if there are a lot of people buying them, if they're spread throughout the country, if they're spread, then the prices will go down, of the TV set.

'Always with something new, there's a new model or something new, they cost a lot; when you sell more, then the prices will go down and down and down.'

Now you're seeing the next piece of tape. It's about Muriel, in school, her school days, a long time ago when she was small. And she found it very difficult to see the teacher, so she became bored. And see if you can see something. See if you can get hold of something. It's the tongue. Now that tongue is in the second group.

'When I was at school the teachers would talk, this was when I was at school before when I was small, at school, the teachers would talk and talk and I didn't know what they said, I was staring at them, really couldn't be bothered. I lost a lot of interest in my work; went in one ear and out the other.'

Fiona again is finding it very difficult to concentrate on the teacher, so she turns and talks to her classmates, her friends in the classroom and she talks in this way: '... yes or just chatter. Yes, we didn't want to say, we would just chatter together.'

When Fiona went to see the doctor she had to go with someone and they went together. And they went into the doctor's room and she was waiting and waiting and waiting. Do you notice something there? She's getting annoyed. The two of them, who went together to see the doctor, but the doctor and the other person talk for a long time, so Fiona adds something in her signing; the tongue.

'I will never forget when I took my baby, Ailsa, I took her for a hearing test. We went in and it was tested and then the doctors talked and talked and talked, for say about 15 or 20 minutes! Never said what they were talking about.'

Now the third group, it's about the 'stretched lips'. If you are in school at that time, she found it very difficult to concentrate at school on the teacher and the speech, so you'll see something there; she signs and she shows how she's straining and concentrating.

'At school the teachers would talk, this was at school before when I was small, the teachers would talk, I looked, didn't know what they were saying, stared.'

And now we're talking about the two religions, one Roman Catholic and one Protestant. Can you see something with the 'stretched lips' about these two groups? Here's the example: 'Ian Paisley, he's a real troublemaker. He should allow Roman Catholics and Protestants to mix together, not stay bitter enemies.'

Another one is Muriel again, in school. She's saying that in school the children have to learn some signing and when they grow up they move, maybe to another classroom or outside, and again they have to use fingerspelling. What do you see? You see this: 'You learn Paget Gorman and now, when they go to another classroom, they have to change to our way of finger spelling.'

'It was hard work, they would have to learn the new Paget and then they would have to change again to learn, to be the same as us.'