Journal of Interpretation Volume 25 | Issue 1 Article 10 2016 On the Expression of Higher Mathematics in American Sign Language John Tabak none,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/joi Part of the Accessibility Commons, Applied Mathematics Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, and the Mathematics Commons Suggested Citation Tabak, John (2016) "On the Expression of Higher Mathematics in American Sign Language," Journal of Interpretation: Vol. 25 : Iss. 1 , Article 10. Available at: http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/joi/vol25/iss1/10 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UNF Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Interpretation by an authorized editor of the JOI, on behalf of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). For more information, please contact
[email protected]. © All Rights Reserved Tabak On the Expression of Higher Mathematics in American Sign Language John Tabak ABSTRACT The grammar and vocabulary of higher mathematics are different from the grammar and vocabulary of conversational English and conversational American Sign Language (ASL). Consequently, mathematical language presents interpreters with a unique set of challenges. This article characterizes those aspects of mathematical grammar that are peculiar to the subject. (A discussion of mathematical vocabulary and its expression in ASL can be found elsewhere (Tabak, 2014).) An increased awareness of the grammar of mathematical language will prove useful to those interpreters for the deaf and deaf mathematics professionals seeking to express higher mathematics in ASL. In this article one will, for the first time, find a model of mathematical language created for interpreters that identifies those aspects of the language that must be retained in any accurate interpretation.