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Sign Language Typology Series
SIGN LANGUAGE TYPOLOGY SERIES The Sign Language Typology Series is dedicated to the comparative study of sign languages around the world. Individual or collective works that systematically explore typological variation across sign languages are the focus of this series, with particular emphasis on undocumented, underdescribed and endangered sign languages. The scope of the series primarily includes cross-linguistic studies of grammatical domains across a larger or smaller sample of sign languages, but also encompasses the study of individual sign languages from a typological perspective and comparison between signed and spoken languages in terms of language modality, as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to sign language typology. Interrogative and Negative Constructions in Sign Languages Edited by Ulrike Zeshan Sign Language Typology Series No. 1 / Interrogative and negative constructions in sign languages / Ulrike Zeshan (ed.) / Nijmegen: Ishara Press 2006. ISBN-10: 90-8656-001-6 ISBN-13: 978-90-8656-001-1 © Ishara Press Stichting DEF Wundtlaan 1 6525XD Nijmegen The Netherlands Fax: +31-24-3521213 email: [email protected] http://ishara.def-intl.org Cover design: Sibaji Panda Printed in the Netherlands First published 2006 Catalogue copy of this book available at Depot van Nederlandse Publicaties, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Den Haag (www.kb.nl/depot) To the deaf pioneers in developing countries who have inspired all my work Contents Preface........................................................................................................10 -
A Lexicostatistic Survey of the Signed Languages in Nepal
DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2012-021 ® A Lexicostatistic Survey of the Signed Languages in Nepal Hope M. Hurlbut A Lexicostatistic Survey of the Signed Languages in Nepal Hope M. Hurlbut SIL International ® 2012 SIL Electronic Survey Report 2012-021, June 2012 © 2012 Hope M. Hurlbut and SIL International ® All rights reserved 2 Contents 0. Introduction 1.0 The Deaf 1.1 The deaf of Nepal 1.2 Deaf associations 1.3 History of deaf education in Nepal 1.4 Outside influences on Nepali Sign Language 2.0 The Purpose of the Survey 3.0 Research Questions 4.0 Approach 5.0 The survey trip 5.1 Kathmandu 5.2 Surkhet 5.3 Jumla 5.4 Pokhara 5.5 Ghandruk 5.6 Dharan 5.7 Rajbiraj 6.0 Methodology 7.0 Analysis and results 7.1 Analysis of the wordlists 7.2 Interpretation criteria 7.2.1 Results of the survey 7.2.2 Village signed languages 8.0 Conclusion Appendix Sample of Nepali Sign Language Wordlist (Pages 1–6) References 3 Abstract This report concerns a 2006 lexicostatistical survey of the signed languages of Nepal. Wordlists and stories were collected in several towns of Nepal from Deaf school leavers who were considered to be representative of the Nepali Deaf. In each city or town there was a school for the Deaf either run by the government or run by one of the Deaf Associations. The wordlists were transcribed by hand using the SignWriting orthography. Two other places were visited where it was learned that there were possibly unique sign languages, in Jumla District, and also in Ghandruk (a village in Kaski District). -
Sign Language Endangerment and Linguistic Diversity Ben Braithwaite
RESEARCH REPORT Sign language endangerment and linguistic diversity Ben Braithwaite University of the West Indies at St. Augustine It has become increasingly clear that current threats to global linguistic diversity are not re - stricted to the loss of spoken languages. Signed languages are vulnerable to familiar patterns of language shift and the global spread of a few influential languages. But the ecologies of signed languages are also affected by genetics, social attitudes toward deafness, educational and public health policies, and a widespread modality chauvinism that views spoken languages as inherently superior or more desirable. This research report reviews what is known about sign language vi - tality and endangerment globally, and considers the responses from communities, governments, and linguists. It is striking how little attention has been paid to sign language vitality, endangerment, and re - vitalization, even as research on signed languages has occupied an increasingly prominent posi - tion in linguistic theory. It is time for linguists from a broader range of backgrounds to consider the causes, consequences, and appropriate responses to current threats to sign language diversity. In doing so, we must articulate more clearly the value of this diversity to the field of linguistics and the responsibilities the field has toward preserving it.* Keywords : language endangerment, language vitality, language documentation, signed languages 1. Introduction. Concerns about sign language endangerment are not new. Almost immediately after the invention of film, the US National Association of the Deaf began producing films to capture American Sign Language (ASL), motivated by a fear within the deaf community that their language was endangered (Schuchman 2004). -
The 5 Parameters of ASL Before You Begin Sign Language Partner Activities, You Need to Learn the 5 Parameters of ASL
The 5 Parameters of ASL Before you begin Sign Language Partner activities, you need to learn the 5 Parameters of ASL. You will use these parameters to describe new vocabulary words you will learn with your partner while completing Language Partner activities. Read and learn about the 5 Parameters below. DEFINITION In American Sign Language (ASL), we use the 5 Parameters of ASL to describe how a sign behaves within the signer’s space. The parameters are handshape, palm orientation, movement, location, and expression/non-manual signals. All five parameters must be performed correctly to sign the word accurately. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrkGrIiAoNE for a signed definition of the 5 Parameters of ASL. Don’t forget to turn the captions on if you are a beginning ASL student. Note: The signer’s space spans the width of your elbows when your hands are on your hips to the length four inches above your head to four inches below your belly button. Imagine a rectangle drawn around the top half of your body. TYPES OF HANDSHAPES Handshapes consist of the manual alphabet and other variations of handshapes. Refer to the picture below. TYPES OF ORIENTATIONS Orientation refers to which direction your palm is facing for a particular sign. The different directions are listed below. 1. Palm facing out 2. Palm facing in 3. Palm is horizontal 4. Palm faces left/right 5. Palm toward palm 6. Palm up/down TYPES OF MOVEMENT A sign can display different kinds of movement that are named below. 1. In a circle 2. -
Alignment Mouth Demonstrations in Sign Languages Donna Jo Napoli
Mouth corners in sign languages Alignment mouth demonstrations in sign languages Donna Jo Napoli, Swarthmore College, [email protected] Corresponding Author Ronice Quadros, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, [email protected] Christian Rathmann, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, [email protected] 1 Mouth corners in sign languages Alignment mouth demonstrations in sign languages Abstract: Non-manual articulations in sign languages range from being semantically impoverished to semantically rich, and from being independent of manual articulations to coordinated with them. But, while this range has been well noted, certain non-manuals remain understudied. Of particular interest to us are non-manual articulations coordinated with manual articulations, which, when considered in conjunction with those manual articulations, are semantically rich. In which ways can such different articulators coordinate and what is the linguistic effect or purpose of such coordination? Of the non-manual articulators, the mouth is articulatorily the most versatile. We therefore examined mouth articulations in a single narrative told in the sign languages of America, Brazil, and Germany. We observed optional articulations of the corners of the lips that align with manual articulations spatially and temporally in classifier constructions. The lips, thus, enhance the message by giving redundant information, which should be particularly useful in narratives for children. Examination of a single children’s narrative told in these same three sign languages plus six other sign languages yielded examples of one type of these optional alignment articulations, confirming our expectations. Our findings are coherent with linguistic findings regarding phonological enhancement and overspecification. Keywords: sign languages, non-manual articulation, mouth articulation, hand-mouth coordination 2 Mouth corners in sign languages Alignment mouth demonstration articulations in sign languages 1. -
Building Rapport in American Sign Language.Pdf
BUILDING RAPPORT IN… American Sign Language SMALL TALK/ ADMINISTRATION Hello Wave hello Nice to meet you NICE (place left hand with palm facing up and slide right hand across it) MEET (make two 1 handshapes and then touch them together so that thumbs are touching, like two people meeting) YOU (point out in front of you with index finger as if you were pointing to someone) My name is… MY (gesture to yourself by bringing an open palm to your chest). NAME (make H handshape with both hands; place left hand on top of right to form an X). Then, fingerspell your name. I am a genetic counselor I (point to your chest with your index finger) GENETIC (see below) COUNSEL (place your left hand in front of you with your palm facing down. Slide your right hand across your left hand from your thumb to your pinky starting with your fingers clenched together and opening up your fingers as your right hand slides across the left). Then, indicate “one who does” by placing your hands our in front of your chest facing each other and bringing your hands down in a swift motion. I know a little Sign I (point to your chest with your index finger). KNOW (tap bent handshape to temple). LITTLE Language (gesture a little bit by moving index finger and thumb together in a pinching motion). SIGN (make index finger handshapes and move them in alternating circles). LANGUAGE (touch L handshapes together at the thumbs and twist them as you pull hands away from each other). -
Language Choice and Identity: an Investigation Based on the Comparison of Language Attitudes from Two Different Localities
Available online at www.jlls.org JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTIC STUDIES ISSN: 1305-578X Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(2), 1032-1042; 2020 Language choice and identity: An investigation based on the comparison of language attitudes from two different localities Filiz Çetintaş Yıldırıma 1 a Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey APA Citation: Çetintaş Yıldırım, F. (2020). The Language Choice and Identity: An Investigation Based on the Comparison of Language Attitudes from Two Different Localities. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 16(2), 1032-1042.Doi: 10.17263/jlls.759361 Submission Date:14/02/2020 Acceptance Date:18/03/2020 Abstract This current research tries to compare and contrast the language attitudes of Arabic-Turkish bilinguals from Mersin and Hatay cities located in the East Mediterranean Region of Anatolia. The quantitative results of the language attitude surveys conducted in the two cities by two different researchers (Çetintaş Yıldırım, 2019; Kocaoğlu, 2019) are compared, and qualitative conclusions which can be generalized to the population of Arabic-Turkish bilinguals are obtained. Two different but related themes (language choices and the sense of belonging to a social/cultural identity of the two participant groups) consist of the main focus. Four sets of questions for the identity theme and seven sets of questions for the language choice theme were determined from the surveys and the means of each group for every question were compared and interpreted. The comparison reveals that Arabic-Turkish bilinguals from Hatay interiorize Arabic language more than Arabic-Turkish bilinguals from Mersin. The first group is more inclined to use Arabic in their professional career and transfer it to the new generations. -
Fingerspelling Detection in American Sign Language
Fingerspelling Detection in American Sign Language Bowen Shi1, Diane Brentari2, Greg Shakhnarovich1, Karen Livescu1 1Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, USA 2University of Chicago, USA {bshi,greg,klivescu}@ttic.edu [email protected] Figure 1: Fingerspelling detection and recognition in video of American Sign Language. The goal of detection is to find in- tervals corresponding to fingerspelling (here indicated by open/close parentheses), and the goal of recognition is to transcribe each of those intervals into letter sequences. Our focus in this paper is on detection that enables accurate recognition. In this example (with downsampled frames), the fingerspelled words are PIRATES and PATRICK, shown along with their canonical handshapes aligned roughly with the most-canonical corresponding frames. Non-fingerspelled signs are labeled with their glosses. The English translation is “Moving furtively, pirates steal the boy Patrick.” Abstract lated and do not appear in their canonical forms [22, 25]. In this paper, we focus on fingerspelling (Figure 1), a Fingerspelling, in which words are signed letter by let- component of sign language in which words are signed ter, is an important component of American Sign Language. letter by letter, with a distinct handshape or trajectory Most previous work on automatic fingerspelling recogni- corresponding to each letter in the alphabet of a writ- tion has assumed that the boundaries of fingerspelling re- ten language (e.g., the English alphabet for ASL finger- gions in signing videos are known beforehand. In this pa- spelling). Fingerspelling is used for multiple purposes, in- per, we consider the task of fingerspelling detection in raw, cluding for words that do not have their own signs (such as untrimmed sign language videos. -
Hand-To-Hand Combat, Or Mouth-To-Mouth Resuscitation?
BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2003) 26, 199–260 Printed in the United States of America From mouth to hand: Gesture, speech, and the evolution of right-handedness Michael C. Corballis Department of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. [email protected] Abstract: The strong predominance of right-handedness appears to be a uniquely human characteristic, whereas the left-cerebral dom- inance for vocalization occurs in many species, including frogs, birds, and mammals. Right-handedness may have arisen because of an association between manual gestures and vocalization in the evolution of language. I argue that language evolved from manual gestures, gradually incorporating vocal elements. The transition may be traced through changes in the function of Broca’s area. Its homologue in monkeys has nothing to do with vocal control, but contains the so-called “mirror neurons,” the code for both the production of manual reaching movements and the perception of the same movements performed by others. This system is bilateral in monkeys, but pre- dominantly left-hemispheric in humans, and in humans is involved with vocalization as well as manual actions. There is evidence that Broca’s area is enlarged on the left side in Homo habilis, suggesting that a link between gesture and vocalization may go back at least two million years, although other evidence suggests that speech may not have become fully autonomous until Homo sapiens appeared some 170,000 years ago, or perhaps even later. The removal of manual gesture as a necessary component of language may explain the rapid advance of technology, allowing late migrations of Homo sapiens from Africa to replace all other hominids in other parts of the world, including the Neanderthals in Europe and Homo erectus in Asia. -
Sign Language Ideologies: Practices and Politics
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Heriot Watt Pure Annelies Kusters, Mara Green, Erin Moriarty and Kristin Snoddon Sign language ideologies: Practices and politics While much research has taken place on language attitudes and ideologies regarding spoken languages, research that investigates sign language ideol- ogies and names them as such is only just emerging. Actually, earlier work in Deaf Studies and sign language research uncovered the existence and power of language ideologies without explicitly using this term. However, it is only quite recently that scholars have begun to explicitly focus on sign language ideologies, conceptualized as such, as a field of study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first edited volume to do so. Influenced by our backgrounds in anthropology and applied linguistics, in this volume we bring together research that addresses sign language ideologies in practice. In other words, this book highlights the importance of examining language ideologies as they unfold on the ground, undergirded by the premise that what we think that language can do (ideology) is related to what we do with language (practice).¹ All the chapters address the tangled confluence of sign lan- guage ideologies as they influence, manifest in, and are challenged by commu- nicative practices. Contextual analysis shows that language ideologies are often situation-dependent and indeed often seemingly contradictory, varying across space and moments in time. Therefore, rather than only identifying language ideologies as they appear in metalinguistic discourses, the authors in this book analyse how everyday language practices implicitly or explicitly involve ideas about those practices and the other way around. -
Relative Clause Constructions in Turkish Sign Language Dissertation
Relative Clause Constructions in Turkish Sign Language Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades des Doktors der Philosophie Fachbereiche Sprache, Literatur, Medien I & II der Universität Hamburg vorgelegt von OKAN KUBUS aus Ankara Hamburg, Juni 2016 Hauptgutachter: Prof. Dr. Christian Rathmann Zweitgutachterin: Prof. Dr. Annette Hohenberger Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 30.01.2015 Angenommen von der Fakultät für Geisteswissenschaften der Universität Hamburg am 11.03.2015 Veröffentlicht mit Genehmigung der Fakultät für Geisteswissenschaften der Universität Hamburg am 23.05.2016 ii Türk Sağır topluluğuna To the Turkish Deaf community iii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the relative clause constructions (RCCs) in Turkish Sign Language (TİD). TİD, a recognized natural language, has rich, distinctive linguistic properties, as do other sign and spoken languages. For the analysis of various relativization strategies and discourse functions of RCCs in TİD, the collected data is based on TİD monologues in a small corpus (consisting of approximately three film hours), which has been annotated with special attention to RCC types in various discourse modes (narrative, information, report and description), with a high incidence of narrative passages. The distributions of head noun position, the positions of relative and matrix clauses, the accompanying nonmanual elements, and the relative elements indicated three strategies: (i) head noun exhibited within the scope of nonmanual, (ii) distinctive nonmanual scopes of head noun and modifying clause, and (iii) non-overt head nouns (free RCs). The data reveal that restrictive RCCs strongly favor circumnominal-like constructions, which are generally accompanied by squint, whereas nonrestrictive RCCs in TİD use a variety of strategies. Even though the way that relative clauses in TİD are marked also show a great distribution, the two strategies that were observed the most frequently are (i) no overt relative marker and (ii) clause-final IX (nominalizer). -
DQP TISLR 10 Fingerspelling Rates
Rates of fingerspelling in American Sign Language David Quinto-Pozos Department of Linguistics, University of Texas-Austin TISLR 10; Purdue University Methodology Introduction Main points Signers: 2 deaf native users of ASL (Kevin & James) Information in the text (examples of items that were fingerspelled): • Faster rates than previously reported Fingerspelling used often in American Sign Language (ASL) • Where Don lived (various states and cities such as Idaho, Indiana, and Means: 5-8 letters per second (125 – 200 ms/ltr) • Morford & MacFarlane (2003); corpus of 4,111 signs (27 signers) Task: deliver an ASL narrative (originally created in English) about Dallas) and worked (e.g. Gallaudet University, Model Secondary School • 8.7% of signs in casual signing the life of a Deaf leader in the US Deaf community (Don Petingill) for the Deaf, etc.) • 4.8% of signs in formal signing • Donʼs involvement in the Deaf community including advocacy work • Signers can differ in rates: Some signers are faster • 5.8% of signs in narrative signing Three audiences per signer: school children (ages 9-10) (e.g. for the Texas Commission for the Deaf) fingerspellers than other signers plus two audiences of adults • Anecdotes about Donʼs life (e.g., Donʼs joke-telling & humor) • Padden & Gansauls (2003) • 10% - 15% of signs in discourse • “Long” words are fingerspelled faster than “short” • > 50% of native signers fingerspelled 20% of time words • non-native signers: lower frequency of fingerspelling General Description of the Data: Reasons for “short” vs. “long”