Fact

A language was born in front of researchers in the 1980s

Deaf Nicaraguan children were brought together, given no sign language, and invented one.

1 min read

When Nicaragua opened schools for deaf children around 1980, students arrived with only home-made gestures. Within a few years they had developed a communication system, and the younger children who arrived later regularised it into a full language with consistent grammar. It is the closest thing to watching language emerge from nothing.

Leave a thought

Your email address is not published.