Test #3 - Culture Flashcards
Is Sign Language Universal
NO - each country has its own sign language
***Common belief = Sign is universal
How long does it take to learn ASL
A few words can be picked up quickly to say hello etc. but it takes years of practice to learn vocabulary and grammar and deaf culture
History if ASL (1500s)
History of ASL can be traced back to Spain in 1500s
Spain 1500s - signs and fingerspelling were used to teach deaf children of nobility how to read and write (so they can be literate – required by law to keep property in family)
Spread of ASL to France
From Spanish roots ALS spread to France THEN America
Age of ASL
ASL is less than 300 Years old
What is ASL made up of
by ASL is made up of old French Sign language + native American Sign + Village signs of three New England communities + Home Signs + gestures brought to schools deaf children who lived in isolated parts of the country
How did French Sign language get to US
Old French Sign arrived at US with Luarent Clerc and Gauledtte
Luarent Clerc and Gauledtte
First Deaf-hearing bilingual team in deaf education
First School for deaf in America
American School for the deaf - estblished by Luarent Clerc and Gauledtte with financial backing from Mason Cogswell (father of Alice)
Where did Gallaudet first go
He first went to England to visit leaders in school for the deaf but he was turned away
Thomas Braidwood
Set up schools for the deaf in Scotland and London – Followed Oral Approach
***Kept his teaching methods secret (Gallaudet was refused entrance to his school to learn oral method)
How did Gallaudet meet Clerc
By chance Gallaudet watched an exhibition of Frenhc defa students in London where Clerc was (along with other Roch-Ambroise Curron, Abbe Sicard and Jean Massieu)
***Frenchmen were more open than Braidwood – invited Gallaudet to visit their school in paris (used signs)
Braidwood vs. French Method
Braidwood = oralist methid
French = used signs
Abbe Charles-Michel de L’Epee
French monk who opened the first public school for deaf youths in Paris
***recognized teaching talent in deaf students and helped devlope them into teachers
Preparing Deaf teachers
Preparing Deaf students to become teachers of the dead provides role modeling in language and culture and taps into Deaf cultural capital
NOW - stradegies are being shared and documented with hearing
L’Epee and sign
Made French Method
L’Epee studied natural sign of Parisian youth and attempted to standardized this sign to conform to French grammar with invented signs for articles and grammatical markers - added them into french sentence in sign language
ASLO - used spanish manual alphabet
Juan Martin Pablo Bonet
Created Spanish manual alphabet (done in 15th century)
Sicard
De L’Epees sucessor - He simplified L’Epee’s language teaching approach and continued the method of using manual signs following the grammar of spoken French rather than natural sign language grammar of the Deaf community
Roch-Ambroise Auguste
Deaf eductor + former student of Sicard
Criticized French method - said the “add on” signs were akward – recommend that teachers use the natural sign language
***Still debate – should we use ASL (natural sign language) or methodological signs or manual codes of english
Native American Roots
While discovering America explorers from other countries recorded how they met Native Americans who used sign and gestures during hunting + rituals + trade + storytelling
Plains Indian Sign Language
Used by Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, Sioux tribes in Great plains regions = most widley studies sign from Native Americans
Loss of Native American Sign
After schools for the deaf were established - deaf members left their tries and dropped their Native American Sign to learn ASL
ALSO as Native Americans shrank - the sign language also began to die because no longer used
Native American Sign today
Today - Linguists try to save Native American spoken and sign language through scholarly studies + by creating libraries that record these language in digital format (avaible for students and future Linguists)
ASL vs. Native Sign
Structure of Native sign differs from ASL BUT they do share some features such as the use of iconicity (signs that look like object they represent) + use of space + use of movment