Signals and Sign Language in India

何斌

Each North American Indian tribe had a different language， many Indians never learned any language except their own. How did Indians from different tribes talked to each other？ They had two ways of talking without sound. One way was by using sign language， and the other way was by using signals.

Sign language is a way of talking by using signs. Indians used sign language when they met strangers. In this way， they could find out whether the stranger was a friend or an enemy. In Indian sign language， signs were made with the hands. One sign meant “man”. Another meant “horse”.   To tell the time of day when something happened， an Indian pointed to the sky， he showed where the sun had been at the time.

Indians usually used signals when they wanted to send messages to someone far away. To make signals， an Indian might use a pony， a blanket， smoke， a mirror or fire arrows.

To signal that he had seen many animals， an Indian rode his pony in a large circle. Sometimes the Indian gave a signal like this and then went away to hide. This meant that there was danger.

The blanket signal was visible from far away. An Indian held the corners of a blanket in his hands. Then he began to swing the blanket from side to side in front of him. An Indian could send many different signals with his blanket.

Indians also sent signals with smoke. They made a small fire of dry wood， and then put grass or green branches on it. A blanket was held over the fire for a minute. When the blanket was removed from the fire， clouds of smoke told the message in code.

Now you can see that Indians didn't need to learn each other's languages. They could talk to one another by using signals or sign language.

1. This story tells about ____.

A. people living in India B. the Indians who had many kinds of languages

C. the Indians who didn't use their languages

D. how Indians communicated between different tribes

2. Sign language is ____.

A. a language only for Indians

B. a way to express one's ideas by making gestures

C. a way of talking by signing on paper D. a secret way of talking to strangers

3. Which of the following is TRUE？

A. When an Indian wanted to say “man”， he pointed to himself.

B. When an Indian wanted to say “horse”， he rode his horse.

C. When an Indian wanted to say “sun”， he pointed to the sky.

D. Indians used sign language to find out whether a stranger was a friend or an enemy.

4. Indians didn't need to learn each other's languages because ____.

A. they never met each other B. they could communicate in English

C. they could write messages

D. they thought they could easily make themselves understood