>I think it's criminal that children today are not /all/ taught
>sign language from birth. It has many marvellous uses even to the
>hearing (such as talking to someone across a noisy room or quiet
>restaurant), and the lack of universality makes the deaf people's
>handicap even worse.
I agree.. I took some ASL and loved it. The language, in itself is
beautiful to watch. almost like an art form. I've read that the Chinese
characters were derived from sign language done by monks who had sworn an
oath of silence. Interesting...