Check out the book "Deaf in America, Voices from a Culture." Meet the deadlines below by READING and posting to the blog. For each blog post please include 2 quotes and a page number. Read what others have said. Your entry in that blog shows me you read that chapter. BONUS: Comment / Post to 7 of the 8!
There are many different ways that Deaf people can communicate just like there are many many languages that hearing people speak. For example, "ASL; English influenced signing has another name Sign English; and then there are various manual English systems" (71). I had no idea that there was something called Sign English! What it is is just English being signed word for word which would possibly be easier for someone who's first language is English to learn but it doesn't seem like Sign English is as popular as ASL I think with these different options it helps give Deaf people more of a choice of communication. In some plays for Deaf people the language that they used was not ASL it was more a performance kind of sign that focused more on acting instead of signing, this was easier because from a distance many signs look similar because of the handshape or placement. My favorite quote from this chapter is "In my third eye, the actors began thinking about signing not explanation but as object"(76). I really think that this was a great way to focus on performing because you can't just regergitate what the characters are saying you have to become the character and by focusing on who the characters are I think that everyone would have enjoyed the plays more. Many of the actors figured out that by combining words they could make a new word and people would understand without needing an explanation.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was very interesting to me. One of the first sentences that caught my attention was when the authors wrote, "...he thought signed language would gain prestige or respect by being associated with leading hearing figures" (57). The fact that users of ASL felt it was necessary to associate their language with the hearing committee in order for it to hold any value was sad to me. But it also provided a new perspective on things, and made me appreciate the creativity of the early
ReplyDeletepioneers of sign. The fact that many people used to think languages could only be transmitted by intellectuals, not "common people" quote was a very surprising fact to me. I know there are sticklers of the English language who believe that "true" English can only be transmitted through educated individuals. This made me think about how there are two forms of most languages, the slang "street" version, and the more formal unit. I find myself wondering if ASL has these two types as well. The "Silent Worker" describing sign language as "beautiful" and "an art" really stuck out to me because I have never heard a Deaf person describe the language that way, only Hearing individuals. I was also surprised to hear about "The Silent News", which is "a popular deaf newspaper published monthly out of New York City" (61). I didn't know there were deaf newspapers, and find myself asking if they are mostly in print or online. Later on, the book compares "students of the arts" to students of ASL. This was really interesting to me, since I consider ASL to resemble dance. The book spoke about signing sloppily, and how many people think that hurts the reputation of a language. This makes me think about grammar sticklers who become angry at those who use English language sloppily, using slang words or shortened phrases. Lastly, the book
speaks about how signing strains eyesight and your brain but other languages don't. I know when I learned French and Spanish, my eyes and brain felt strained, I find it weird that someone would consider only ASL to strain brains and eyes.
Some one wouldn't come to my house and say "hey, do you speak the kings english or some other dialect?" I would respond the same way as the man in the first few paragraphs did. "We didn't call it anything, we just did it. How can I call it one of those when we didn't call it any of them" (71). Language is something inbred into us. This was the theory of psychologist Noam Chomsky. You don't pick up a text book of your chosen language at age 2 and start learning from scratch. Language is something that is within you. It's something you use naturally. As social beings, humans have always relied on language to relate to the world around them. Deaf people are absolutely no different. They have had ways to communicate, some more primitive than others. It's only when hearing people came along and labelled it that we start to take ownership over the language as something invented for a minority. "To illustrate his point, Stokoe then published in 1965 a dictionary of 'American sign language'...(Note that...the fully capitalized American Sign Language would not appear until later)" (79). Deaf people have been using signed language for years and years and years before hearing people tried to establish set rules. And who are we to dictate another culture's language? Our own language alone has SOOOO many exceptions to our own rules. I think we are privileged as ASL students to be able to appreciate the richness of the language and the culture behind it.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this, I had no idea there were different types and names for ASL. I had I always just thought of it as ASL. "The natural signed language used in the United States is called American Sign Language. or ASL; English-influenced signing has another name, Sign English; and then there are various manual English systems, including those with pedagogically persuasive names such as Signing Exact English, or SEE" (71). I had never heard of these different typed of sign. i just thought everyone used ASL. Once the chapter fills you in a little bit about the terminology for sign language, it then goes in to explain poetry, songs and performances using sign language. This was very familiar to me as we signed songs and poetry in class. But our songs were very different than the ones described in the book. When we sign songs, we translate English songs into ASL. But the book gives some examples of songs entirely in ASL from start to finish. "Really, Really, ReallyReallyReally Excited, Excited, ExcitedExcitedExcited PAcking, Packing, PackingPackingPacking Farewell, Farewell, GoodbyeGoodbyeGoodbye Taking the train, Taking the train (or) MaybeMaybeMaybe Hitchhike, Hitchhike, HitchhikeHitchhikeHitchhike Hitchhike, Hitchhike..." (78). It may not make sense on paper and be all wonky, but if you sign it, it makes complete sense. It is obvious that the person is getting ready for a trip and going on it. There are no English lyrics or anything like we did. It is similar to the poems that we did where they are just describing an event that is happening with a beat.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was about the way that Deaf people view sign language. One interesting story was about signed performances and the changes to them over time.An example of of how signed performances used to be thought about is "Signing is for commentary, to explain where events are taking place, to record names of friends, buildings and parks, or to orient the viewer to the film's content"(76). This is in contrast to the more modern way attitude towards signed performances, "In My Third Eye, the actors began thinking about signing not as explanation but as object"(76). I though this change was interesting because it shows the shift towards examining Sign Language as more than just a mode of communication but as a language with many facets. This chapter also talked about ASL growing as a language independent from English, and signs switching to being characterized by their sign specific characteristics. Sign songs are an example of this as they aren't just songs translated from English. They are songs that are signs that tell a story of their own to a beat, and which don't make much sense in English but do in ASL when performed.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter discussed different classifications of sign language and the linguistics of sign language. One fascinating thing to me was the William C. Stokoe’s suggested classification of sign language. Rather than classifying sign language based on the English dictionary, “...he suggested that each sign can instead be analyzed as being composed of smaller units: its handshape, its movement, and its location on the body” (79). In doing so, Stokoe was able to prove that ASL is just as similar to spoken language, for spoken language is organized with phonemes just as ASL is organized by handshape, movement and location. Thus, ASL deserves every right to be considered just as much a language as any spoken language is. I also really liked reading about the signed theatrics and poetry. One poem described “is based on a handshape, that of the sign for the first person pronoun I” (82). Just as Stokoe classified ASL with handshapes, the classified handshapes were then used to create beautiful poetry and theatrical art. This is also similar to the poetry unit we have done in class, which I think is very cool that we are able to have opportunity to experience such a rich and diverse culture in such a hands on and interactive way.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter discussed different classifications of sign language and the linguistics of sign language. One fascinating thing to me was the William C. Stokoe’s suggested classification of sign language. Rather than classifying sign language based on the English dictionary, “...he suggested that each sign can instead be analyzed as being composed of smaller units: its handshape, its movement, and its location on the body” (79). In doing so, Stokoe was able to prove that ASL is just as similar to spoken language, for spoken language is organized with phonemes just as ASL is organized by handshape, movement and location. Thus, ASL deserves every right to be considered just as much a language as any spoken language is. I also really liked reading about the signed theatrics and poetry. One poem described “is based on a handshape, that of the sign for the first person pronoun I” (82). Just as Stokoe classified ASL with handshapes, the classified handshapes were then used to create beautiful poetry and theatrical art. This is also similar to the poetry unit we have done in class, which I think is very cool that we are able to have opportunity to experience such a rich and diverse culture in such a hands on and interactive way.
ReplyDeleteI think it is quite interesting that there are so many different signed language classifications. I think it's sad that there was a thought that "The term 'ASL' implies a particular history, one he was not sure he wanted to adopt," (72). It's upsetting that someone wouldn't want to label their own language for fear of being ridiculed for the history of it. Something that's interesting to me is that around this time, there was a change in signed languages because of William C. Stokoe, "he broke with the earlier tradition of describing signs as whole 'picture' units," (79). It's weird because I would describe ASL as a language that uses pictures in a way because each sign you use doesn't always correlate exactly to a word, but it relates to an idea or concept.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter was interesting and brought new information about ASL. It began talking about the man, David, who was complaining about a questionnaire that asked about the language he used at home. There were options of speech, ASL, and other types of signing, but none of these appealed to him as the language he used. He said “But we didn’t call it ‘ASL’ back then. We didn’t call it anything, we just did it. How can I call it one of those when we didn’t call it any of them” (71)? I personally have just thought of ASL as being the only type of sign language for Deaf people here in America, yes if people have come from other countries they may use things like BSL, FSL, etc., but I never thought about other types of sign language being used. The book mentions things like Sign English and Signing Exact English, which seem to be just other types of sign languages used, another dialect. Going back to David and the questionnaire, “his reluctance to rename something familiar, even taken for granted, is understandable” (72). Thinking about the English language, there are so many different words that can be used to describe one thing, for example some people say pop while others say soda. On a broad spectrum, this is similar to the thing David is explaining. One day an individual who calls it pop is not just randomly going to start calling it soda if they have been calling it pop all of their life, that would feel wrong. Though this is a very simple example, it is similar to David because he is not going to define his sign language as ASL if he has not been defining it as ASL throughout his entire life. The chapter then goes into explaining Deaf performances and the way things can be interpreted.
ReplyDeleteJust today in class, Estefany, Christina, Arline and I got into a very interesting discussion about language, and asked questions such as: what is language? how do we aquire it? what makes random sounds or signs mean what they mean? To me, a signed languagge actually makes more sense that an audible one. In signed languages, you can show shape, size, direction, and movement, rather than just describing it. I loved the part of this chapter that talked about breaking down signs to the five elements we've learned about in class, and focusing on the sign itself, rather than the person and meaning behind it: "... each sign can instead be analyzed as being composed of smaller units... Sings can be decomposed into smaller parts which are then combined in limited ways..." (79). This quote points the focuse to the bare movements of the hand, where it is, and why it moves that way. In any language, few take the time to really think about the core movement or sound they are making, and how that specific sound or movement has the power to communicate and relay actual meaning. The poetry and performances described in this chapter really showed what the authors confirmed - the Deaf have known this complexity all along, it just wasn't formally studied. I love how the authors close the chapter, emphasizing this point: "But it is important to repeat here, as we follow the history of signed performances, songs, and poetry, that Deaf poeple's deepened knowledge about their signed language has not been changed -- it has only been confirmed by sience and affirmed by artistic expression" (89). The study and expression of signed languages is something that has only increased in complexity over its many years of use, and something that will never be fully understood, only richly used. In my opinion, it shouldn't have to be studied, and it should definitely not be assumed that a culture lacks understanding of their own language and the rich potential behind it.
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