Speeches+2010



Hi There

This term we have speeches. I chose to do my speech on Sign Language and Deafness. I did mine of the 9th of June and it went great. I knew my speech really well and interacted with the Audience. Hopefully I will get through to the next round which is when you do it to the Syndicate. Then you go on to the final round which is against the South Wairarapa. Here is my Speech and I hope you like it. If you want you can go up to Discussion and leave a comment. (It would be great if you did!!) ENJOY!!!!:):):):)

Shhhhhhhh How would you like to live in a silent world? Not being able to hear the world around you? Having to live your life with only 4 senses Well this is the life for deaf people.

Body:

Have you ever wondered how deaf people communicate? What would you do if you were in their position.

Well what about Sign Language. It is the one of the main ways deaf people communicate with everybody. As they can’t hear they communicate by using hand signals and facial expressions otherwise known as Sign Language. As you could see, I was Signing my words just then.

New Zealand has it’s very own sign language and is the 3rd official language of NZ alongside English and Maori. It became one of the official languages in April 2006. It is also part of the NZ school curriculum. The icon for NZSL is a butterfly as butterflies are deaf as well. Also every year there is NZSL week which is where people celebrate SL in New Zealand. This is where more TV shows will have captions for the deaf and they shine a light on the deaf and what their lives are like using sign language.

Guess what SL isn’t used just in NZ it is used all around the world. Each country that use it has their very own SL. That is over 140 sign languages. Now I wonder why they can’t have a universal sign language considering there are a lot of different SL’s around. I mean if you had just learnt NZSL and then moved to the USA. You would have to learn a completely new sign Language. I don’t know about you but that would confusing. But it is like saying there has to be a universal language like English so I rest my case.

Now you may think that just because people are deaf mean they have to miss out on normal things like watching TV and Movies or going overseas. A lot of TV shows have captions for the deaf and hearing impaired so they won’t miss out. Also some movies at the cinemas have captions for the deaf an dhearing impaired so they won’t have to miss out as well. The only downside of this is that if you aren’t deaf and were watching that same movie you would have to put up with the captions. In my opinion I would find that a little distracting.

Another thing deaf people don’t have to give up is going to your favourite holiday destination. This is because most airlines have staff who help people who are deaf or have a hearing loss. This means that they can still enjoy going on holiday. The only things is if you are travelling alone you could have difficulty communicating with the hotel staff and waiters in restaurants. So it would help if you were travelling with someone who can translate your signing or as a last resort pen and paper will do the trick.

Now I know you all know how to spell and write your name but do you know how to sign your name. Well I do and it goes like this..... (Sign my own name)

Hmmmmm Alice how do you spell your name: A L I C E well you would sign your name like this: (Sign Alice’s name)

Conclusion: You may think that deaf people are very different because they can’t hear. Well they are a bit different but they can still do normals things that you and me do so you might want to remember not to take hearing for granted because you could become deaf at any stage of your life.....................

I have just done my speech to the syndicate an dI am through to the next round which is against the South Wairarapa!!! I go next week!!! I am sooooooooooooo happy. If I am part of the top 6 in Year 7 then that night I will go compete with the other 5!!!!!!! Hey again, By the way I competed and came 3rd out of the whole South Wairarapa Primary schools!!!