Personal Narrative: The Language Of Deaf Languages

I am no psychologist, nor do I devour books on the subject. In my twenties and thirties I was interested in the subject, but I found myself dissecting, scanning, dividing, and interpreting every word, every nuance, and every motive, mine and of others as well. Life became difficult. So, I stopped. However, I now try to understand myself and my close ones on a practical level.

I have found myself speaking loudly, the level of volume inappropriate in many situations. I am not deaf, nor do I believe others are deaf? Has my profession changed my way of speaking, which I don’t like? I am an educator, working in an overcrowded class, with students who are rowdy and not easily manageable. Have I raised the volume of my voice to project it so that every student can hear me? Then, how do I control my volume in my personal and social life? …show more content…
This creates a space between us and the person we are interacting with, an emotional space which only widens as our voice level raises. Guilty of that too. We speak to make ourselves heard and understood. Do we speak louder because we are afraid of not being heard and understood? Shouting and screaming are mainly used to signal we need help. Therefore when we raise our voices, is that an indication that we are signalling for help?

If we dissect our communications most are based on exchanging of thoughts and opinions (if we delete domestic dialogues). We expect respect and acceptance of what we say and think and if we do not receive it, we get upset. We feel rejected and diminished. Is it the reason we raise our voices?

Nothing is as deaf as a deaf heart. Are we scared of not being heard by the ones we love most, or respect? What makes us use high volumes? Do we feel voids being created and we react to them on the primal levels?

“Listen to me… Understand me…Love me… Be considerate… Look at