How languages changed my life:
My name is Martin Bernacer and as a Spanish national I spent the first 29 years of my life living in Spain and conversing in spoken Spanish.
I then moved to Scotland to be with my mother and, at that time, I had absolutely no understanding of English either spoken or written neither had I seen or used British Sign Language (BSL)!
Naturally my mother was keen that I settle and encouraged me to go and find work but, of course, that was much easier said than done because I just didn’t know where to begin and didn’t have the necessary language knowledge either. My mother tried her best to help and educate me but we both found that very tiring and so she suggested that I went to a College, specifically for Deaf learners, in Doncaster. The sheer amount of Sign Language being used was so overwhelming at first; wherever I went there were people signing, at great speed, and with such confidence that I was totally out of my depth.
Gradually I started to learn the essence of the language, the nuances and the meanings of the signs and gained more confidence.
I remember on one occasion, when I was in the pub, a friend of mine made a gesture towards the back of his head and, never having seen that sign before, I promptly asked him what it meant, to which he replied, ‘it doesn’t mean anything – I just had an itchy head!’ Now that brought me down a peg or two!
Over time I started to broaden my language learning and my horizons along with it.
Today, I feel so comfortable with my language use: BSL is an integral part of who I am and has had a life changing impact upon me.
A consequence of that, of course, is I only use BSL now and my Spanish has dwindled dramatically!
For me the power of BSL is immeasurable! The difference between the struggle of trying to understand unheard spoken words to watching the richness, fluidity and flexibilly of BSL is incredible. My life is so full now, my wonderful wife, my family and my friends all sharing this wonderful rich and amazing language.
Martin Bernacer
- Photographer, Silent Eagle Photography
