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
Role of Gestures and home signs
Third influence of ASL = use of gestures and home signs – brought to school by deaf children in rural areas
Use of gesturing
Before public schooling - deaf children used gestures and home signs with hearing families
Gestures
Body language used to communicate and label objects through mime or acting movements
Home signs
Created by deaf children to use with hearing family who don’t know sign
- Do not have consistent meaning-symbol relationships or formal grammar + not passed from generation to next
Linguits + Home signs
Linguists are intrigued with the study of home signs because it helps understand how gesture systems and home signs are created without an adult language model in the home
New language born + deaf schools
Wgen children meet other deaf kids and adules and congregate at deaf schools –> their home signs and grammar evoloves –> new language is born
How long does it take to standardize language
Takes two or three generations for standardization of language to occur
ASL + New England
ASL was also influenced by historical changes brought on by communities of deaf and hearing people who used signs in New England
Deafness in New England Towns
Due to recessive trait that came from England and subsequent intermarriage in America - the number of deaf people increased in three new england towns
***Hearing familes with deaf indiviual and other hearing people learned sign to help deaf people integrate into society
Martha’s Vinyard + Sign
Had its only language - Martha’s Vinyard Sign language - used from 18th century - 1950s by both deaf and hearing people
Use of Sign in New England
Used in Schools + Chruches + marketplaces –> languages were brought to schools and became standardized
Deaf schools + various languages
Deaf schools were the store hourses of all the sign language varieties of home signs + gestures + village signs
Sign varieties bleneded with French signing (which was used by teachers) –> Led to the evolution of ASL
How did ASL spread throughout US
ASL spread when deaf students and teachers went off to establish more schools – more and more students and adults began to use ASL
ASL Archeologists
Aim to trace history of signs + trace changes over time + gather evidence supporting claim that ASL is a heritage langauge for deaf people
ASL beyond US and Canadian Boarders
ASL has spread into other countries in Southeast Asia + Africa
Examples - Nigeria + Ghana + Gambia + Kenya + thailand - use of ASL and sign codes in English infleunces sign lnaguage used by deaf communities
HOW - due to efforts of missionaries and teachers who brought ASL to these countries
Issue about globalizing ASL
Some view the spread of ASL as a kind of sign language oppression where ASL is used to replace the natural signs of the countries instead of respecting the sign of the local deaf community
***Spread = resulted in death of many indigenous languages
Lexicostatistics
Enables Liguists to look for similarities across sign languages and study the roots of vicabulary
Example - Thai Sign and ASL share 57% of their cognates –> many Thai Signs look like ASL BUT also found 7 distict sign languages in Thailand and Vietnam that belong to three language families and look different from ASL
Andrew Foster
Deaf African American who brought ASL to Africa
Most widley used sign language
ASL is beleived to be the most widley used sign language around the world
International Sign language
Gestuno - not universally used by Deaf people (show you cannot make up a language)
- No country has adopted Getuno as their language
***Gestuno was made for international conferances
Can you make up a language
You can’t make up a language - languages evolve within communities of users
Culture + language are tied – they are inseperable
How many Signed languages are there
136 sign languages
7,105 spoken languages
Where are signed laguages found
Sign languages are found in Euorpe + Latin and South America + Africa + New Zealand and Australia + Asia + Middle East
What do all Sign languages have
All have Phonology (sound system) + Semantics (vocab) + Syntax (grammar) + Morphology (study of word parts) + Pragmatics or discourse (conversations)
Each signlaguage has it own history + own way it spread + own vocabulary _ own grammar
English Speaking countries + Sign
English speaking counrties do not have the sam sign language
Bristish Sign and ASL are different
***In the same way mesican sign and Spanish sign are different waith diferent dialects even though they are in counrties that share the same spoken language
Canandian Sign language
Canda has two sign languages - ASL and Lague des signes Quebecois – each have its own culture (has own laanguage + literature + social identity + common beleifs + values + traditions + history)
How do most sign languages spread
Most sign languages spread when children and adults use it at schools for the deaf BUT not all sign languages are passed down through formal schooling
***In many countries deaf students graduate from their schools and come back as teachers
How did middle eastern signs spread
Middle east = have numerous sign languages used by Arab deaf communities
Deaf children are born into tribes and stay isolated from other deaf children
Unlike US - the various sign languages in the middle east have remained isolated from each other due yo close knot families amnd tribes + wars + delayes in establishment of formal schooling for deaf children
Number of deaf children in middle east
Due to arranged marriges leading to high levels of consanguity + high frequencey of recessive traites + poor nutrition/health care + head injuries during occupations and warfare –> there is a high incidence of children who are deaf
Standardizing sign in middle east + china
In an attempt to stanrdize sign Saudi Arabia + china published doctionaries of signs – but the givernment signs have not bee accepted or used by deaf communities
ASL Stats
500,000 Deaf amiercans use ASL
4% of deaf popultion learn ASL from deaf parents
When do Deaf children with hearing parents learn ASL
Deaf children with hearing parents may learn ASL at different times
Heretidity of ASL
ASL is spread horizonally from deaf child to peer or adult NOT vertially from parent to child (EXPECT when deaf parents use ASL with child from birth)
ASL as first language
EVEN when deaf adults learn ASL later - they are likley to consider ASL to be diminant prefered/first language
Some consider ASL to be their first language because it is the first language that is fully acessible to them BUt others consider english their first language
Deaf children at deaf school or defa families
Deaf children who attened schools for deaf pr have deaf familes = aquire ASL as first language through everyday conversations - “Social ASL”
***Social ASL = depends on social situation + is contextual (Example - talking about plans for evening)
Academic ASL
Language of instruction in classroom
Includes study of ASL grammar (use of space + classifiers) + can include learning ASL poetry or literature
***Math + Science + Social Studies = can be expressed using academic ASL
(Example - photosynthsis or evolution for science classes = Academic ASL)
Why catagorize into social and academic ASL
Because it helps us Understand how language is used in different settings
How long does it take to learn ASL
Takes many years of Study and practice to become a sign interpreter + invloes learning more than basic signs + it means learning facial expressions and use of space
Hearing people using ASL as second lanuuage vs. Deaf people using it as primary language
There are more hearing people who learn ASL as a second language than Deaf people who use it as their primary language
ASL over past 10 years
Over the past 10 years because of internet + vlogs + videophones - ASL has spread
ASL in classroom
ASL is used in classes with all ages of deaf and hearing people
ASL signs are taught to hearing babies and hearing chidlren while learning to read + hearing children with cognitive and learning disabilities (Autsim + downsyndrome + cerbral palsy + nonverbal conditions + commuication disorders)
***In these settings - ASL vocab is taught but not necesarily grammar)
ASL as a foreign language
ASL can be taken as a foreign language credit
ASL = considered forign because it is used by Deaf Americans who have a different culture
ASL in hearing schools
High scholls with ASL programs increased 4,000% 1996 - 2005
45 States recognize ASL as a language that can be taken for foreign language credit
Interst in learning sign language has cvaught on internationally - sign of different countries are taught as L2 in schools
Sign taught globally
Even though countries differ in their accpetabnce and recognition of sign - still there is a surge of sign laguange classes taught globally due to legistaltion in countries giving sign status as a lamguge
Why do hearing students want to learn sign
Often enroll in sign classes because they think it is cool
Some think it will be easier than learning a different foreign language – NOT true (ASL is demanding)
- ASL is a truly forgein language – means english speaker would take an average of 7 years of full immersion to become fluent
Issues hearing people have with ASL
Found that hearing students have difficulty with facial expressions and NMS
ALso hard time with learning to make and differentiate different handhsapes + using space + understaning ASL grammat + reading fingerspelling + eye contact + swicthing between ASL and english
***features are not in English = harder to learn
Strategies to learn ASL
Hearing students will be exposed to different learning stategies such as Pictures + Actions + english tranlsarions
***Best to have native deaf signers as language models
***Intercating with deaf people through socials + state assiction meetings + residential schools = good way to meet deaf people and practice ASL
Classifier system
System of handshapes and rule govrned pantomime that provide information about nouns and verbs such as locations + action + size + shape + manner
English words vs. Gauladette dictionary
There are 470,000 words in English Dictionary
3,000 ASL signs in Gauladete dictionary
***ASL may have thousands more signs that have not been documented
***As deaf people enter gradaute and profesonal carrers the vocabulary expanded to meet needs for technical covabulary - signds for comupter technology + medicine + legal terminology have been developed
Expansion
Goal - translate english words that do not have ASL sign
What to do - Finger spell English word and then provide 2/3 signs to define the english word
***Concpet of expanion/tranlsation technqiues came from dead people not interpreters
Is ASL a language
ASL has been given academic status by linguists and other scientists who study cognition + linguistics + neuroscience
What can ASL convey
ASL can be used to convey all kinds of information
Can joke + tell stroies + talk about philopophy + abstract ideas
Interpreters providing acess to english
Interpreters can proviode acess to english through ASL using expansion and tranlsation technoques they kearn in formal training
Tranlsating ASL word for word
Cannot be translated word for word because menaing would be lost
Adults deprived of language early
Many deaf adults were language depreived early in life - impacted their educational abilities
***Many hearing interpreters can’t communiticate with them
***They have found success communicating with Certfiied Deaf Interpreters
CDIs
Certified deaf interpreter –> provide a cultural persective and specialized language tranlation skills – makes the interprerting process more accurate
***Skilled at breaking down specialized + academic concpetes
***CDIs often word with hearing interpretrs (Ex. Legal settings) – goal is to have CDI in all legal settings
Revolution in Feild of Linguistics
Revolution occured in linguistics when ASL received equal status and academic credability
NOW - have many reserach labs to study ASL and make ASL study materials
Stokoe
Professor at Agulaudette – noticed patterns in ASL –> Studied these patterns and wrote dictionary based on liguist elemnts of sign + founded the first linguistics lab for ASL
Saw unique patterns + structures in ASL
Example Linguistics Lab
- University of Texas - Scietists are studying gestures of babies
- Galaudete - Visual Langauge Learning Lab
- Gauladette - Brain Language learning lab
- USCD - Center for Reserach in Language
- Institute for Disabilities Reserach and Training - developing and marketing sign bilugiil multimedia materias + developing sign materials in morocco + developing gesture recognition capture software and hardwarre for finger/hand/arm movments – use in deaf education
What do labs study
Study how ASL is procesed in the brain + how children aquire and learn ASL + how communities use ASL + how new sign languages emerge + role of gesture in learning
ASLO develop eductaional applications (Ex. developmnet of electronic books)
How do you understand complexity of a language
To understand complexity of any language you study its structure
ASL vs. English phonology
English = made up of sounds and written symbols –> Lists orders in words + phrases + sentances + converstions in a sequence of sounds (Sequences of sounds)
ASL = made up of signs + movemnets + body language –> ASL organizes its elemnts in space and movement at the same time of in sequence (Sequence of space and movement)
How is ASL transmitted
ASL = transmitted with arms + bodymovents + lips + head tilt + eye gazes + eybrow raises + cheeck puffs + tongue protr=usions + face/head/mouth movments + mouth gestures
Iconic Signs
Signs that look like what they mean
Exampke - Eat
Breaking up signs
Signs are made up of parts that can be seperated into phonoes and morphology (word parts)
Phonemes
Small linguistic Unit (Smaller than word)
***Applies to ASL and spoken words
ASL vs. English time
ASL and spoken english express the same amount of information in the same amount of time – Signs take longer to form but ASL makes up for slower articulation with more compact pholonogic representation and by compining movements
How can we anyalyze ASL
ASL (like english) can be anylyzed at the word/sentance/conversation/discourse level
Stokoe Parameters of sign
- Dex (Hand configurtation)
- Tab (location)
- Sign (movement)
THESE are the phonemes of ASL
Phonologic level of ASL vs. English
English = vowels and constanents
ASL = handshape + palm orientation + location + movment + NMS
ASL morphology
Study of how a language creates new words or signs - shows how we can make new words (aka language productivioty)
Example:
English - adds plurality by adding word edings in sequential order
ASL - adds pluarlity by adding adjivtives or numvers
***ASL can also use movments and facial grammar to show other meanings
Forming compund words
ASL has rules for forming compund words
Example - Sister = compunt for signs Girl and Same
Incorporating numbers and time
English and ASL can incorporate numbers and time into word or sign
Example
English - Say Three weeks ago - three words in linear fashion
ASL - One sign for Three-Weeks-Ago
ASL vs. English number system
English = two numerical systens (Cardianal and ordinal)
ASL = more than 2- documented numerical systems
ASL Grammar
ASL uses sign order to show relationships among words + ASL uses space and movment
Changing meaning of sentance
Using the same sugns or words a person can compose two sentances with different meaning
English - change the word order = meaning is changed
ASL - change the movment = meaning is chnaged
Example - To indicate if cat is chasing dog or vica versa - set up where the cat is situated (CAT DOG CAT-CHASE vs. DOG CAT-CHASE)
***ASL has many grammatical processes that use space + movement + direction to show relationships among sign vs. english uses word order to show relationships
ASL verb system
Made up of Classifiered Predicates + Calssifier handshapes + locative verbs –> ALL dipicting verbs
Depicting verbs
Signs that use handshapes to designate things + size + shape + usuage
What can be shown in clasifiers
Objects + people + animals + vehnciles
ASL pronoun and detemriner system
ASL has a pronoun and determiner system (the, a, an) - systems are made up of pointing signs
Auxillary verbs
Auxilary verbs in ASL (Will + Can + Finish + Must + Should) - used at the begining and end of the sentance
ASL Preprositions
ASL does not use prepositions in the way English does – ASL usses depicting verbs while english uses preoposestions
English Morphemes vs. ASL
English uses Morphemes to expless time Vs. ASL uses signs to mark time and movement (layered in the sentance)
Order of sentances ASL vs. English
English: Subject - verb- object
ASL
***ASLis more flexible sign order - alwas signer ti place object before the subject
Verb Is in ASL
Some languages do not use the verb to be
Example - DOG SICK - just two signs (noun and adjective)
***ASL sentance DOES NOT inlcude IS - adjective SICK functions as a predicate (desribes the dog)
***Verbs + Nouns + adjectives can be preicates in ASL (English need to word is/was/were (not in ASL)
ASL discourse
Signer uses signs BUT also discourse
Discourse = eye gazes + blinkning + facial expression + body movment
Finger spelling in ASL
Fingerspelling is considered part of ASL because it uses handshapes of ASL BUT it is also thought of as part iof english because it cirrepsonds to english alphabet
Iconic fingerspell letters
Some letters are iconic (sugn for letter looks like letter in english)
Ex. C, O, J, L, M, N, U, V, W, , Z
Using FS in ASL
Can use fingerspelling to borrow english words and esxpand ASL using abreveviations for names + places + objects + two-word compounds + initilized signs + lexicalized + load signs
Lexical and loan signs
ASL borrows words from english - resulted in Lexical and loan signs
Example - TOO BAD - Sign = TB
Lexical and loan signs = provide evidence of the effects that ASL has when it meets with english and new signs evolove
History of fingerspelling
Use of fingerspelling has rich history - used in religou sorders for secrecu + used with speech to teach deaf children in spain + used to teach writting
TODAY - used in almost every deaf eduction classroom along with ASL to teach vocab + expand concepts + spell words + identofy people + places + things that have no signs
Children learning sign/fingerspelling
Deaf children as young as 13 months will aquire fingerspelling by learning words THEN learning to spell letters –> THEN chidlren will idetofy indovidual fingerspelled letters –> THEn they will break words into sequences of handshapes
- Preschool kids learn to fingerspell words using own unique rythmic patterns that are diffrent from english sequence sylubals
***Deaf children will babble using fingerspelled handshapes simaialr top weays hearing children babble sounds –> THEN deaf chidlren match fingerspelled handshapes to letters when they learn to spell and write
Adults learning ASL
Adults learning ASL and fingerseplling learn letter by letter as they match them to english alphabet
***Quick to learn to make fs alphabet but it takes longer to be able to read fingerspelling fast
Modality
Refers to sensory path or chanel by which language is made and understood by the user
Types of Modaility
- Auditory-vocal (Ex. talk to a freind)
- Visual Gestural (Ex. sign)
- Tacticle (Ex. Signing into palm of hand)
- Written Language (Ex. Write name)
Mixing modalities
Sometimes modaloities can be mized
Example - Hearing biliuguals - Use two outputs (the vocal tract and hands for signs and two persception systems of audition and visual)
***Sometimes have ASL-English code - ASL signs at the same time as english is spoken
Modality impact on language
There are similarities and differences in how modaility impacts langauges
Example - Both sign and spoken lanaguge have shared properties such as vocabulary + both have dual patterning + both have productivity + both have syntactic structires (both have nouns + verbs + Adjictives) + both are aquries on similar timetables + both use left hemisphere of brain for grammar processes
Dual patterning
Meaningful units (words or signs) are built on meaningless phonologic units
Productivity
New words can be formed
Differences between english and sign
- Both have different in size of articulators
- Speech of signs vs. speed of speech (ASL signs are made at a slower rate compared to words) BUT the rate at which ideas are transmitted is the same
Articulators for speech vs. Articulars for sign
Speech - Tongue + mandible + lips + Velum
Sign - hands and arms
Braille
System of dots that enables blind people to read (depends on touch)
How do deafblind people communicate
Use tactile modality - make ASL handshapes into a hand OR can trace letters into palm of the hand OR use hands-on signing where they feel the sign by placing their hand over the signer’s hand OR may use Tadoma method OR use tacticle ASL OR tacticle fingerspelling
Tadoma method
Uses tacticle lipreading - person feels vibraryion of throat/face/jaw as speaker speaks
Tacticle ASL
A Dialect of ASL - has the same handshapes as ASL users sign with one hand and the deafblind signer places their hand on top to fee; the signs
***Same phnology as ASL
Tacticle communication
Follows english signs and english word order
***Can be used by deafblind people
Alphabet Scripts
Scripts based on spoken language
Only 200 languages have a written form - not unusual that ASL does not have a written form
ASL writting notation
ASL does have a writting notation called ASL gloss (used by linguists and educators to anylyze ASL + teach ASL)
ASL gloss
Writting system for ASL that uses English capital letters to represent signs
***Does not incorporate nonmanual elemnts = limited
Iconicity
A word is iconic when its forms look or sound like its meaning
***The fact that sign languages incorportae icnonicity may be one reason why deaf people may have easier time communicating with other deaf people who use different signs AND why babies can pick up functional vocab in a sign
***Featire shared by english and ASL
Language mixing
No language is pure (including ASL) - when a language comes into contact with another language –> language changes –> a new dialect emerges
***ASL has different dialects
ASL variations
ASL has dialects - may be realted to how old person is, socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, vision impairment
Example dialect - Black American Sign
Black American Sign
There are differnt signs used by Black Deaf Americans (Ex. birthday) + signing can differ in style
Black singing - dialect of ASL
Is ASL inferior to English
ASL has been stigmatice to be “broken english” BUT ASL is not infirior to english and Black ASL is not an inferior form of ASL
How did black ASL come about
For a long time black deaf children went to seperate schools - so black deaf children developed their own dialect
WHEN integration occurs - Black ASL was assimilated into ASL
What is most often used by deaf people
Deaf people often use contact signing - blend of ASL signs with english word order
Visual modes that mix ASL with contact signing
Many visual modes of communication have been made to make english more visible
Includes: Total communication + manual codes of English + Simultaneous Communication + Cued Speech
ASL Literacy
ASL has literacy and literature tradition
Literature of ASL is based on oral language or sign language stories and poems that were performed before they were written
ASL does not have written lanaguge BUT ASL does have storytelling + poetry + drama + humor + folklore taht is pasted down
