Writing Signed Languages: What For? What Form? Donald A. Grushkin American Annals of the Deaf, Volume 161, Number 5, Winter 2017, pp. 509-527 (Article) Published by Gallaudet University Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2017.0001 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/648961 Access provided by University of Connecticut @ Storrs (9 Jun 2017 21:07 GMT) 18991-AAD161.5_Winter2017 2/9/17 2:54 PM Page 509 Grushkin, D. A. (2017). Writing signed languages: What for? What form? American Annals of the Deaf, 161 (5), 509–527. WRITING SIGNED LANGUAGES : W HAT FOR ? WHAT FORM ? IGNED LANGUAGES around the world have tended to maintain an “oral,” unwritten status. Despite the advantages of possessing a written form of their language, signed language communities typically resist and reject attempts to create such written forms. The present article ad - dresses many of the arguments against written forms of signed lan - guages, and presents the potential advantages of writing signed languages. Following a history of the development of writing in spoken as well as signed language populations, the effects of orthographic types upon literacy and biliteracy are explored. Attempts at writing signed lan - guages have followed two primary paths: “alphabetic” and “icono - graphic.” It is argued that for greatest congruency and ease in developing biliteracy strategies in societies where an alphabetic script is used for the spoken language, signed language communities within Sthese societies are best served by adoption of an alphabetic script for DONALD A. G RUSHKIN writing their signed language. Keywords: writing, written signed the development of a conventionally GRUSHKIN IS A PROFESSOR , D EAF STUDIES languages, biliteracy, Deaf education, accepted written system for signed lan - PROGRAM , C ALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY , orthography guages has yet to take place. Modern SACRAMENTO . Deaf 1 audiences tend to point to the vi - After years and years of study, sign lan - sual-spatial-kinesthetic nature of signed guage has proven to be extremely languages as a rationale for why they valuable. If we had used sign lan - believe it is not possible to encode guage, it would have been faster to de - signed utterances in a static format velop the written language . faster such as writing. What is often over - than the transfer of spoken language looked, however, is the fact that spoken to written language. languages, being transitory (speech sounds “disappear” almost in stantly —JEAN -M ARC -G ASPARD ITARD (1821, after being produced) and “invisible” quoted in Commerson, 2010) (one cannot see speech), are seemingly equally nonviable candidates for encap - Despite Dr. Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard’s sulation in the static, visible format of somewhat hypocritical private musings, written languages. Although speech is 509 VOLUME 161, N O. 5, 2017 AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DEAF 18991-AAD161.5_Winter2017 2/9/17 2:54 PM Page 510 WRITING SIGNED LANGUAGES exceedingly ephemeral, numerous so - their potential benefits. Following this as classifiers and spatial morphol - cieties have nevertheless developed a discussion will come an examination of ogy, that cannot be adequately rep - variety of ways to encapsulate the spo - the history of writing and the various resented in a two- dimensional ken word. types of writing systems that have been format such as writing. What is the advantage to writing? developed (for both spoken and Carl Sagan (2011) put it grandly when signed languages) to date. Finally, Although, in real time, signs may ap - he said, “Writing is perhaps the greatest since the American Deaf community pear to be occurring in time and space, of human inventions, binding together (like many, if not most Deaf communi - with multiple syntactic and semantic people, citizens of distant epochs, who ties worldwide) exists as a bilingual elements embedded within the move - never knew one another” (p. 232). community, the role of orthographic ments and facial/body grammar, Lid - More prosaically, writing allows the (writing) styles in the acquisition of dell (1984) and Liddell and Johnson easy recording, storage, and retrieval of biliteracy in biliterate populations will (1989) observed that there is actually records, history, and literature. Writing be explored, especially in relation to an element of sequentiality within allows individuals to communicate the impact of the congruency of styles signs themselves. Just as consonants across distance and time (in the form on acquisition of biliteracy in popula - are often followed by vowels in many of postal mail or e -mail), to share tions that are bilingual in both Ameri - spoken languages, sign movements thoughts trivial and major—shopping can Sign Language (ASL) and English. can be seen to have discrete compo - lists or grand treatises, news and gos - nents. For example, in even a simple sip, mental notes and manuals, books Objections to and Potential sign like THANK YOU , the hand must first and folklore, and much more. As Benefits of Written Signed move away from the mouth before be - Hagege (1988) observes, Languages ginning its downward (and outward) Despite the advantages of writing, Deaf motion. Therefore, sequential compo - The intangibility of its contents and its communities worldwide have remained nents of signed languages can be iden - dissimilarity to oral language altered predominantly, if not staunchly, “oral,” tified and recorded in written form. many of the normal circumstances of resisting the notion of a written form discourse, creating long-distance dia - of their signed language as an impossi - 2. Signed languages are best re - logues where the usual proximity of bility. Over the years, I have seen vari - corded by video technology, since the communicators was lacking. Yet ous iterations of the same objections signed language is produced in precisely because of this, knowledge to the notion of writing signed lan - the visual modality; indeed, could become accessible to a far guages in various online forums such as video recording is sufficient for greater number of recipients—writ - the Sign Language Linguistics List instructional, linguistic, and so - ing possessed the advantages of both (SLLING-L, http://listserv.valenciacollege cial purposes. longevity and range. In spreading to .edu), Teachers of American Sign Lan - different areas and societies it allowed guage List (TEACHASL, http://listserv While it is true that video technology is for all the changes, input and varia - .valenciacollege.edu), “vlogs” such as probably the best medium for captur - tions that any culture would require, presentations on SI5s by Robert Arnold ing signed utterances exactly as they permitting the encoding of new (2013a, 2013b), and personal conversa - are produced, the same could also be words as well as of already existing tions with others in forums such as said for audio technology. Yet audio ones. (p. 72) Facebook and in person. These objec - technology is relatively little used in tions are encapsulated below, with each comparison to written language. For In the present article, I will not only followed by a rebuttal. example, there are audio-recorded advocate the development and dis - books. Even so, with the exception of semination of a written form of signed 1. Signed languages are not supposed blind people and drivers with long languages, but will also make a case for to be written; signed languages commutes, most people choose not the adoption of an alphabetically based are languages in a visual-spatial to listen to a book played on a CD or system over other potential ortho - modality in which elements are downloaded. This is primarily due to graphic formats. Before this can be presented simultaneously, or the fact that audio recordings are sim - accomplished, however, the typical ob - nearly so. Moreover, signed lan - ply not as convenient as their written jections to written forms of signed lan - guages have features that are not counterparts. One must listen to an au - guages must be addressed, along with present in spoken languages, such dio recording sequentially, investing a 510 VOLUME 161, N O. 5, 2017 AMERICAN ANNALS OF THE DEAF 18991-AAD161.5_Winter2017 2/9/17 2:54 PM Page 511 certain amount of time to hear the English. This premise has long been significant community of written message, at the pace the message has found to be false. Indeed, research has signed language users, there is no been recorded. With written works, consistently shown that, on the whole, need to learn and use a written however, one can skim or read faster Deaf children of Deaf adults (whose form of signed language. than one can listen to the recorded first language would presumably be a message. Moreover, audio recordings signed language) outperform their Deaf It is true that there is no conventionally are not easily searchable or scannable; peers in written-language skills (cf. Cor - accepted form of written sign language, it is difficult to fast-forward through a son, 1973; Geeslin, 2007; Humphries et and it is equally true that there is no sig - recording to find a certain word or to al., 2012; Meadow, 1968; Strong & Prinz, nificant community of written signed search a recording by using a search 1997; Stuckless & Birch, 1966). If know - language users. However, this argu - term to identify instances of a word or ing sign language were a deterrent to ment is somewhat circular: Effect im - phrase. With writing, however, one can learning the written form of a spoken plies cause implies effect. All writing easily skim and search through sec - language, then one would expect that had to be developed at some point, tions of a written work for those native signers would not be able to and had to find a community of desired words or phrases. (This is par - learn how to manipulate a written lan - adopters. Because of the utility of writ - ticularly true of works loaded onto guage.