What’s your name?
This great article over on the BBC’s website about disabled people, their lives and experiences, looks at the phenomenon of sign names in the deaf community.
It seems that finger spelling someone’s name everytime becomes tedious and once someone is “deemed worthy” they are usually given a sign name. It’s a nick name of sorts that could be drawn from:
- an aspect of your personality, such as talking all the time
- something to do with your appearance, like wearing a lot of earrings or jewellery
- a play on your name, like Angel for someone called ‘Angela’
- a hobby or a job – such as playing a certain sport all the time, or being into drama or photography
Made me think, because it could get really interesting if we did just give people we know this sort of nickname. The difference is that one’s sign name may not be a “nice” one. I think of people I would name: ‘Longface’, ‘Showoff’, ‘Frizzy hair’.
Heh heh. Of course, I worry a little about the name I might get. Hopefully as innocent as ‘Freckles’. 