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A Summary of The Article "From Hand To Mouth"

Vocal language became the primary mode of human communication for several key reasons: - It allows for communication over longer distances without needing direct line of sight like sign language requires. This made vocal language more practical for activities like coordinating hunts or communicating in crowded areas. - Vocal language can be used simultaneously with other tasks that require the use of hands or when vision is impaired, like when driving. Sign language requires the use of hands and line of sight. - Vocal language has a more developed grammatical structure than early sign languages, allowing for more complex communication of ideas and concepts through things like abbreviations and naming systems. This increased the information density possible in communication.

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Hanna Jane Maureal
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773 views2 pages

A Summary of The Article "From Hand To Mouth"

Vocal language became the primary mode of human communication for several key reasons: - It allows for communication over longer distances without needing direct line of sight like sign language requires. This made vocal language more practical for activities like coordinating hunts or communicating in crowded areas. - Vocal language can be used simultaneously with other tasks that require the use of hands or when vision is impaired, like when driving. Sign language requires the use of hands and line of sight. - Vocal language has a more developed grammatical structure than early sign languages, allowing for more complex communication of ideas and concepts through things like abbreviations and naming systems. This increased the information density possible in communication.

Uploaded by

Hanna Jane Maureal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name: Hanna Jane B.

Maureal Date: June 30, 2017


Subject: English for Academic Purposes Grade & Section: XII- Sparrow

A Summary of the article From Hand to Mouth

There are two ways for you communicate with someone, one is through actions or bodily
gestures, and another is through words or vocals. At the present time, the former is used only in
deaf communities, so you rarely see people using their hands in communicating with each other.
But, you will never see a spokesperson with idle hands, it is mostly in constant motion. Ever
wondered why? Thats most probably because the former is the platform which is the latter.
Based on the text, communication as we know it today begun in the hominid evolution and has
just recently acquired its grammatical structure around 2 million years ago. With that being said,
sign language may have been the first to arise, but it has been obviously replaced for certain
disadvantages.
In a hunter-gatherer environment, sign language is preferable to use because of its
silence, considering using vocal language could alert the prey. Nevertheless, vocal language is still
widely used by many hunter-gatherers because it provides arbitrariness and reduces confusion
on similar things or actions for they are able to name each object and identify where they differ.
For example, you are tasked to pick a bundle of lemongrass in a field of tall grasses without
knowing its distinct characteristics, do you think you can do it?
Besides that, sign language requires you to have a clear line of sight which may prove to
be difficult in some cases. In a crowded place, for instance a festival, when you try to
communicate with your friend at a certain distance, your visual path will likely be blocked by
passers-by so you will definitely use vocal language. Speech is not only advantageous when your
line of sight is blocked, but also when your sense of sight is useless especially in the dark.
Moreover, since vocal language doesnt really need vision for you to be able to
communicate, you can effectively do things simultaneously. Like when you drive a car while
talking to your friend. Removing your visual attention on the road or removing your hands from
the wheel could result in unfortunate accidents.
Evidently, vocal language can clearly function autonomously. In addition to that, it also
has a grammatical structure that lets you add texture and richness in your messages. Grammar
also entails abbreviating words which provides efficiency and convenience. In fact, abbreviation
may have even been a part on most of your conversations especially casual ones.
On the contrary, speech is kind of like a double-edged sword. Sound is preferable for
alerting people or attracting attention because of its noisy characteristic and you can also hear it
in a distance unlike sign language which needs a restricted region of space. Just like in a warzone,
the commander shouts his orders to his soldiers by shouting it for that reason. But if the
commander mistakenly shouted their war plan with an opponent present, they will be doomed
before they even began. Therefore, you should identify if what youre going to say is confidential
before attracting attention.
In conclusion, speech may be more advantageous than sign language but everyone should
still be able to use it especially the American Sign Language (ASL) for the sake of communicating
with and not alienating the mute-deaf communities. Besides, sign language is easier to learn in
initial stages of linguistic acquisition take the case of teaching a child to talk. Generally, the
evolution of communication has made our lives exponentially different, specifically in terms of
the development of pedagogy and cultural transmission, along with other things and it is these
developments that will help our world become a better place.

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