Deaf polyglots: How this couple communicates in 6 languages without making a sound

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Most mornings, Turkish-Canadian Mujde Hasimoglu McGuire signs "je t'aime" in Langue des signes qubcoise (LSQ),Quebec Sign Language, to her husband before he heads out the door.

Ryan McGuire, who is Franco-Ontarian, always responds with "seni seviyorum" in Trk aret Dili, or Turkish Sign Language, which also means "I love you."

Both were born deafand grew up communicating in different sign languages, as well as writing.

After they met online, Hasimoglu McGuire learned ASL, or American Sign Language, so the pair could communicate thoughthey continue to use bits and pieces of the six sign languages they shareto get their messages across.

"People may be surprised to know that deaf people can be bilingual or even multilingual,"Hasimoglu McGuire told CBCover video interviews that involvedlip-reading, text and the occasional spoken word a combinationthe couple said they felt most comfortable with.

Hasimoglu McGuire saidjust likewith spoken languages, there can be communication mix-upsthatcan lead to some interesting situations.

For example, as with audible homonyms, there are signs that look the samebut have different meanings in different sign languages.

"In Turkish Sign Language, raising your hand under your chin means "OK," but in Quebec Sign Language that same sign means cochon or pig in English," Hasimoglu McGuire laughed.

With 300 different sign languages used globally, such miscommunicationcan crop up regularly.

"Sign language varies around the world, just like spoken languages," Hasimoglu McGuire explained.

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The couple wanted to capture that diversity and richness within deaf culture on camera in their short film The Voice in their Hands,produced with CBC Ottawa's Creator Network, while also spotlighting theirlives as deaf polyglots.

"Our story is not just about speaking differently. It's about understanding and embracing the varied languages of the deaf community," explained Mudje.

No signs allowed

Growing up in northwest Turkey, Hasimoglu McGuire didn't usea lot of sign language even at the deaf school she attended.

"If we used sign language we would be punished," she recalled, explaining that her school adhered to oralism, a belief that deaf people should learn to communicate by lip-reading and speaking, rather than through sign language.

In the late 1800s, thisconcept was championed by Alexander Graham Bell and went on to influence deaf educators around the world. Some countries, including Turkey, banned sign language altogether.

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Historians say though acceptance of sign language has grownin Turkey since the 1970s, some schools still prioritize lip-reading.

For deaf advocate Marie-Jose Blier, whose parents taught her to communicate using Quebec's sign language, that history is frustrating.

"They forced oralism on deaf children, day in and day out, and we as a population were so exhausted with this incessant expectation that we speak," theAssociation de l'Oue de l'Outaouais coordinator said throughan interpreter.

"Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and we signed exclusively to hearing people every day, and you had to try and figure out what we're signing."

At age 16, Hasimoglu McGuiresaidsheasked her friends to teach her Turkish Sign Languageso she could communicate withdeaf peers who used it.

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Since then,she's become passionate about raising awareness ofsign language and life as a deaf person in both Turkey and Canada. She shares challenges she's faced on social media, including experiences likenot being able to hear the teacher calling roll call or not knowing how to get an interpreter for a doctor's appointment.

Distinctly Qubcois

Growing up in a francophone household in Hawkesbury, Ont., near the Quebec border, McGuire saidsign language was the first language he learned.

His parents, who were not deaf, chose to communicate with him and his older brother, who is also deaf, using LSQ.

There are approximately 5,000 LSQ signers, which is the common language among Quebecers and Franco-Ontarians, Blier explained. Shegrew up in northern Ontario, but moved to Ottawa to attend the only school outside Quebec that teaches students in LSQ, Centre Jules-Lger.

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Blier describesLSQasa distinct language, separate from French Sign Language (FSL),used primarily in France.

"LSQ has a very distinct set of rules and structure different from French," she explained. "For example, in FSL you may sign verbatim: the brown dog jumps over the fence. But that doesn't exist in LSQ. We'd sign 'dog brown fence'and use the space to show where it jumps."

Because there are so few LSQ-signers, Blier saidthe community isconcerned that without effort, the languagecould become extinct. She advocatesfor parents of deaf children to teach their kidsmultiple sign languagesincluding LSQjust as a parent of a hearing child may teach their child both English and French.

McGuire now works towardpreserving the language as ateacher at the Association de l'Oue de l'Outaouais(ADOO) in Gatineau, Que., where he both teaches LSQ andadvocates for people who are deaf and hard of hearing.

WATCH: Mujde Hasimoglu and Ryan McGuire visit CBC Ottawa's radio studios for an interview with Alan Neal, using an interpreter:

ASL to audio: Mujde Hasimoglu McGuire and Ryan McGuires radio interview for CBCs All in a Day

15 days ago

Duration 20:41

A deaf couple share the story behind the video they made for CBC Ottawas Creator Network in a filmed radio interview on CBCs All in a Day, with host Alan Neal and using interpreter Roxanne Whiting.

A community beyond words

After meeting online, McGuire and Hasimoglu McGuire dated long-distance for years, meeting in different countriesbefore marrying and settling in Canada in 2016.

Last year, the pairdecided to start spreading awareness of deaf cultureonTikTok and YouTube, hoping theirvideos will showthatdeaf people are living full lives around the world, andthe role sign language plays in that.

"It's great for everyone to connect and understand each other better," McGuire said.

"We want people to realize that community goes beyond words and can be visually expressive and inclusive," Hasimoglu McGuireadded.