I read that quite some time ago. It's silly.
Any sign, if made incorrectly, can be seen as meaning something else. Reminds me of the professor at Gallaudet who was just learning to sign. One day he was late for class. Upon arrival, he apologized to his class, signing he had been working with his secretary. Unfortunately, he had the hand orientation reversed on his lower fist when he signed "working." Needless to say, the class cracked up.
The lesson from both stories is not to stop using signs that can be confused (we'd stop signing entirely and stop speaking for that matter), but to learn to use signs correctly.
Any sign, if made incorrectly, can be seen as meaning something else. Reminds me of the professor at Gallaudet who was just learning to sign. One day he was late for class. Upon arrival, he apologized to his class, signing he had been working with his secretary. Unfortunately, he had the hand orientation reversed on his lower fist when he signed "working." Needless to say, the class cracked up.
The lesson from both stories is not to stop using signs that can be confused (we'd stop signing entirely and stop speaking for that matter), but to learn to use signs correctly.
