If a person is born deaf, what language do they think in?

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  • Deuce
    BARRELED IN @ SBR!
    • 01-12-08
    • 29843

    #1
    If a person is born deaf, what language do they think in?
  • ttwarrior1
    BARRELED IN @ SBR!
    • 06-23-09
    • 28439

    #2
    the language that they read
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    • shari91
      BARRELED IN @ SBR!
      • 02-23-10
      • 32661

      #3
      Edit - I'm an idiot obv.

      I've wondered a few times though what a person born blind dreams about since their brain can't really create visions of things they've never seen.
      Comment
      • Deuce
        BARRELED IN @ SBR!
        • 01-12-08
        • 29843

        #4
        Originally posted by shari91
        Wow. I have no clue. I've wondered a few times though what a person born blind dreams about since their brain can't really create visions of things they've never seen.
        Exactly. Brutal. Thanks be God.
        Comment
        • samgurt
          SBR MVP
          • 05-31-10
          • 2980

          #5
          Originally posted by ttwarrior1
          the language that they read
          I agree...The question I wonder is what language does a multi-lingual person think in? The person has to speak all the languages fluently though
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          • Deuce
            BARRELED IN @ SBR!
            • 01-12-08
            • 29843

            #6
            Originally posted by samgurt
            I agree...The question I wonder is what language does a multi-lingual person think in? The person has to speak all the languages fluently though
            I have thought this as well.
            Comment
            • iifold
              SBR Posting Legend
              • 04-25-10
              • 11111

              #7
              Deuce, you need to be worrying about picking winners tomorrow and how to get in Shari's pants...

              This useless shit will get you nowhere in life...
              Comment
              • shari91
                BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                • 02-23-10
                • 32661

                #8
                When I was living in Italy, I actually thought and dreamed in Italian after about a year there. But then again I was immersed in the language so I guess that makes sense a bit.

                I wonder what someone who is bilingual in English and Spanish would think in if they were living in a country where neither language was spoken at all. For example, some remote Asian or African place. Would they revert to the one they first learned as a child? What if one parent spoke English and one spoke Spanish so they learned them at the same time and were equally proficient in both?
                Comment
                • THE PROFIT
                  SBR Posting Legend
                  • 11-27-09
                  • 17701

                  #9
                  I assume the language you speak most fluently or were born hearing

                  As far as deaf people they still read in a language, whether they hear it or not

                  The blind dreams is an interesting one. Who knows someone born blind??? That would be a great thing to ask them & get back to us
                  Comment
                  • shari91
                    BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                    • 02-23-10
                    • 32661

                    #10
                    Answer from somebody who has been blind since she was fairly young:

                    "Yes, blind people do dream. What they see in their dreams depends on how much they could ever see. If someone has been totally blind since birth, they only have auditory dreams. If someone such as I, has had a measure of sight, then that person dreams with that measure of sight. I still dream as though I can see, colors included. For people I've met since, their faces are just blurs or how I imagine they look. To me, someone like my mother looks forever 30. "

                    Another answer:

                    Yes, blind people do have dreams. However, those blind since birth or very early childhood have no visual imagery in their dreams. Instead, they experience a very high percentage of taste, smell, and touch sensations in their dreams.

                    The breakdown is as follows:

                    There are no visual images in the dreams of those born without any ability to experience visual imagery in waking life.

                    Individuals who become blind before the age of five seldom experience visual imagery in their dreams.

                    Those who become sightless between the ages of five and seven may or may not retain some visual imagery.

                    Most people who lost their vision after age seven continue to experience at least some visual imagery, although its frequency and clarity often fade with time.
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                    • ttwarrior1
                      BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                      • 06-23-09
                      • 28439

                      #11
                      if anyone read my blogs, my sister was born blind and yes she does dream. I don't think nightmares though. Usually about music.
                      Comment
                      • ttwarrior1
                        BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                        • 06-23-09
                        • 28439

                        #12
                        Yes, blind people do have dreams. However, those blind since birth or very early childhood have no visual imagery in their dreams. Instead, they experience a very high percentage of taste, smell, and touch sensations in their dreams.

                        The breakdown is as follows:

                        There are no visual images in the dreams of those born without any ability to experience visual imagery in waking life.

                        Individuals who become blind before the age of five seldom experience visual imagery in their dreams.

                        Those who become sightless between the ages of five and seven may or may not retain some visual imagery.

                        Most people who lost their vision after age seven continue to experience at least some visual imagery, although its frequency and clarity often fade with time.


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                        • Deuce
                          BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                          • 01-12-08
                          • 29843

                          #13
                          ttwarrior, may God bless your sister.


                          Watching intellectual documentary on netflix about life/death. Quite interesting. Did not know that during open heart surgery one does not have a pulse at all or lung function. There is no blood in the body either. Strange to think about.
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                          • ttwarrior1
                            BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                            • 06-23-09
                            • 28439

                            #14
                            shari u copy and paster
                            Comment
                            • shari91
                              BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                              • 02-23-10
                              • 32661

                              #15
                              Originally posted by ttwarrior1
                              if anyone read my blogs, my sister was born blind and yes she does dream. I don't think nightmares though. Usually about music.
                              The next time you get the chance, can you please ask her if she ever dreams of conversations, either real or imagined, with other people? Feel free to PM me the answer if you don't feel like sharing it on here. I'm just wondering because if she does dream of them then she may have nightmares as well. And the idea of dreaming about music would be absolutely lovely. I honestly can't remember a dream where music played a big part but I guess it goes back to what those quotes I posted said - people born blind dream with a higher level of the other sensations. Amazing!
                              Comment
                              • shari91
                                BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                                • 02-23-10
                                • 32661

                                #16
                                Originally posted by ttwarrior1
                                shari u copy and paster
                                Well they obv weren't my quotes!

                                Originally posted by Deuce
                                ttwarrior, may God bless your sister.


                                Watching intellectual documentary on netflix about life/death. Quite interesting. Did not know that during open heart surgery one does not have a pulse at all or lung function. There is no blood in the body either. Strange to think about.
                                Other than no blood in the body, don't they basically 'kill' you when you go under general anesthesia? When I had to have that little surgery a couple of months ago one of the nurses was explaining that they basically shut down your heart and lungs and regulate your functions via machine. Not sure why she told me that because it's not like that info was going to calm me down.
                                Comment
                                • Deuce
                                  BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                                  • 01-12-08
                                  • 29843

                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by shari91
                                  Well they obv weren't my quotes! Other than no blood in the body, don't they basically 'kill' you when you go under general anesthesia? When I had to have that little surgery a couple of months ago one of the nurses was explaining that they basically shut down your heart and lungs and regulate your functions via machine. Not sure why she told me that because it's not like that info was going to calm me down.
                                  Perhaps. It is scary to think about. My lady friends dad is an orthopedic surgeon. I'll have to ask him when I see him.
                                  Comment
                                  • THE PROFIT
                                    SBR Posting Legend
                                    • 11-27-09
                                    • 17701

                                    #18
                                    yeah, they stop your heart & start it back. Just like a fukin oil pump in a car, no different
                                    Comment
                                    • ttwarrior1
                                      BARRELED IN @ SBR!
                                      • 06-23-09
                                      • 28439

                                      #19
                                      if you ever get a chance to go to a blind school, go check our there musicals
                                      Comment
                                      • Indecent
                                        SBR Wise Guy
                                        • 09-08-09
                                        • 758

                                        #20
                                        I know reading isn't high on the list of things to do for most here, but really interesting article I read a few weeks ago that answers your question and then some... http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...f-people-think
                                        Comment
                                        • Not Matt Rain
                                          SBR Rookie
                                          • 07-05-10
                                          • 47

                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by Indecent
                                          I know reading isn't high on the list of things to do for most here, but really interesting article I read a few weeks ago that answers your question and then some... http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...f-people-think
                                          Good read.

                                          Sign language FTW
                                          Comment
                                          • BookTaker
                                            SBR Rookie
                                            • 05-07-09
                                            • 37

                                            #22
                                            sign language
                                            Comment
                                            • pavyracer
                                              SBR Aristocracy
                                              • 04-12-07
                                              • 82478

                                              #23
                                              Didn't know you needed to know a language to think. I guess dogs can't think since they don't speak a language.
                                              Comment
                                              • sickler
                                                SBR Posting Legend
                                                • 06-05-08
                                                • 15006

                                                #24
                                                Originally posted by samgurt
                                                I agree...The question I wonder is what language does a multi-lingual person think in? The person has to speak all the languages fluently though
                                                I would think their mother tongue or the language they use most often.
                                                Comment
                                                • jkilla990
                                                  SBR Wise Guy
                                                  • 08-28-10
                                                  • 713

                                                  #25
                                                  I speak both english and greek (was raised learning both) and i think mostly in english because thats what i hear the most of during everyday life since i live in the US, but i dream in both because when i visit greece i only speak greek therefore any dreams associated with that i will be speaking greek.
                                                  Comment
                                                  • gimme2dollars
                                                    SBR Sharp
                                                    • 12-02-09
                                                    • 356

                                                    #26
                                                    I had a Spanish cultural professor in college, and he told me that when he was in Spain that he actually thought in Spanish, even though he was an American raised in English.
                                                    Comment
                                                    • scoobs
                                                      SBR Hustler
                                                      • 09-04-10
                                                      • 89

                                                      #27
                                                      This is all very interesting.
                                                      Comment
                                                      • pavyracer
                                                        SBR Aristocracy
                                                        • 04-12-07
                                                        • 82478

                                                        #28
                                                        Originally posted by jkilla990
                                                        I speak both english and greek (was raised learning both) and i think mostly in english because thats what i hear the most of during everyday life since i live in the US, but i dream in both because when i visit greece i only speak greek therefore any dreams associated with that i will be speaking greek.
                                                        Wait what? You speak in your dreams?
                                                        Comment
                                                        • leeloo
                                                          SBR Sharp
                                                          • 04-11-10
                                                          • 312

                                                          #29
                                                          Originally posted by pavyracer
                                                          Wait what? You speak in your dreams?
                                                          Doesn't everyone speak in their dreams?

                                                          ...interesting read
                                                          Comment
                                                          • zam77
                                                            SBR MVP
                                                            • 11-03-10
                                                            • 3586

                                                            #30
                                                            Originally posted by Indecent
                                                            I know reading isn't high on the list of things to do for most here, but really interesting article I read a few weeks ago that answers your question and then some... http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...f-people-think
                                                            very informative... crazy to think about a person actually gesturing in sign as they dream. that would be freaky to see.
                                                            Comment
                                                            • jw
                                                              SBR MVP
                                                              • 10-25-09
                                                              • 3999

                                                              #31
                                                              Originally posted by pavyracer
                                                              Didn't know you needed to know a language to think. I guess dogs can't think since they don't speak a language.
                                                              Tell that to my dogs who wag their tails when they sleep ... they are dreaming and thinking about something ... I guess they "understand" language ... at least.
                                                              Comment
                                                              • Dutch
                                                                SBR MVP
                                                                • 09-21-10
                                                                • 4339

                                                                #32
                                                                Originally posted by zam77
                                                                very informative... crazy to think about a person actually gesturing in sign as they dream. that would be freaky to see.

                                                                My girlfriend is deaf in one ear, her brother is stone deaf in both. My gf teaches sign language..I've seen 'em both sign in their sleep. Her brother will doze off on the couch after thanksgiving dinner and start signing. It is kinda crazy looking.

                                                                These latest generations of deaf kids she teaches are being taught a new form of sign called SEE (signing exact english), they seem much more...I dont know...much more "normal" than older deaf folks who use American sign language. Signing exact english gives them the same body language as us or something.

                                                                My gf's brother has very poor writing skills and a very odd sense of humor. He and other deaf people are also very, very blunt. He's better than me at picking NFL winners tho'. Dude gets laid too.
                                                                Comment
                                                                • BookTaker
                                                                  SBR Rookie
                                                                  • 05-07-09
                                                                  • 37

                                                                  #33
                                                                  Originally posted by jw
                                                                  Tell that to my dogs who wag their tails when they sleep ... they are dreaming and thinking about something ... I guess they "understand" language ... at least.

                                                                  But dogs can hear and remember words they hear.
                                                                  Comment
                                                                  • Indecent
                                                                    SBR Wise Guy
                                                                    • 09-08-09
                                                                    • 758

                                                                    #34
                                                                    Originally posted by zam77
                                                                    very informative... crazy to think about a person actually gesturing in sign as they dream. that would be freaky to see.
                                                                    Glad you enjoyed it. Imagine my surprise when my crazy reading habits actually came in handy at SBR of all places.
                                                                    Last edited by Indecent; 01-02-11, 04:07 PM.
                                                                    Comment
                                                                    • HoldEmHook!!
                                                                      SBR MVP
                                                                      • 10-08-09
                                                                      • 2962

                                                                      #35
                                                                      one of the best threads I have read in a long time
                                                                      Comment
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