The birth of Frontrunners
This is a mad dash accumulation of the last three weeks. I did not know website´ing and blogging could be such hard work? (This is me being sarcastic here.) Also note the pink coloured layout-another attempt at being sarcastic about the unbelievable amount of times I have been caught out in the colour Pink. One thing I will not be sarcastic about is Frontrunners. On the 1st of September 2005, Frontrunners came into the world as a dynamic new concept, one that I hope will model itself as a platform for future generations of Deaf Youth leaders. Fade out to the year 2023, a red carpet shebazzle set in the Hollywood Hills... one long and slender leg after another is extended from a white stretch limo. The night sky is filled with dazzling white flashes...paparazzi swarm like locusts around the group of Original Frontrunners...
Seriously, Frontrunners is something I hope every Deaf Youth will have the opportunity to experience. I will attempt to formulate a set of 'questions,' or points to ponder over the coming weeks…
Issue One: International Sign... is it the one true Deaf Language that has been untouched by the language of the hearing?
For example, New Zealand Sign Language uses the English language. We dont close our mouths while we say something, we incorporate the English words and concepts into our style. LSF (French) uses the French language as a prop, Belgium Deaf use the Flemish language.... (but of course it is important to add that our individual sign languages are definitely not merely copies of our spoken languages eg Signed Supported English (SSE) or Total Communication (TC). The point here is the amount of spoken language influence into the expression of our signs.) I realise that making this statement is a dangerous thing. i may be bombarded with emails saying what I said is WRONG! Forgive me, I am merely stirring the pot.
In the time I have been here, I have noticed what may be the 'pureness' of International Sign. It is a language that every Deaf person can understand once they are familiar with the format. It does not largely attempt to incorporate spoken language into its expression. We can express ourselves without moving our mouths and still get the message across. Of course, some sign languages use less mouth movements than others, this depends on the amount of time it has had to develop.
This is not to say that International Sign can be compared to ape-like gestures, heaven forbid this comparision is what we Deaf have been fighting against for the past century. Look at what happened to Esperanto... (Hearing people's attempt to universalise spoken languages into one language). This may have failed dismally. So International Sign can be seen as a success story...without imposing on the respective sign languages of individual countries.
However, I have seen many variations of International Sign here. It may be impossible to generalise it as ONE language. A person from an English speaking country may use English concepts more when signing in International Sign than say a person from France.
Asger Bergmann brought home the fact that when the WFD was established with Italia at the helm, International Sign was largely untarnished by ASL. Now, we can say that ASL makes up a large part of International Sign in the era of Scandinavian control...
So, this leads to another question, is International Sign being slowly eroded by English and ASL concepts? This is a never-ending debate so I will stop here...
posted by Amanda @ 11:38 AM
4 Comments:
Is International Sign being slowly eroded by English and ASL concepts?
Seeing as apparenly the 'offical' (or is it?) fingerspelling alphabet for ISL is the ASL alphabet, I think this is a valid question.
Also, the WFD is based in the US, so clearly ASL influences would be difficult to avoid 100%, but perhaps there should be active efforts to minimise the influence of ASL on ISL.
I think at the end of the day, ISL is like any other language. Everyone has their own little version of whatever language they use -- i.e. everyone signs Auslan, BSL, NZSL, etc differently.
A 'living language' is always like that and it is up to the international deaf community to develop the language more and to ensure it is understood by all.
Regards,
James Pole (Auckland, NZ)
I agree Amanda. I think it would not be fair to make International Sign Language one language for all. Otherwise, each country will lose their own cultures.
For example in Argentina, the Argentineans drink what they call “Mate” (lip-pattern pronounced as 'mat-tee'). It is like an everyday late-afternoon tea slurping boiling hot water out of a metal straw from a wooden cup. *no wonder why my lip gets burned all the time*
They have their own sign language for that because the Argentineans themselves enjoys drinking Mate and speaks the same (lip pattern accent) like no others in the world. Also ‘mate’ sign language makes it an automatic official language which is Lengua de Sordos de Argentina (LSA) so everyone else in the country who use sign language, can be understood.
Adding to the example, if ‘mate’ was introduced in other countries like Kenya, the culture and sign language of the sign, will fade because there will be a minority group of people there, who will continue to support by signing it and speaks a different language.
So please do not influence other country’s sign language with International Sign Language. This will become a ‘western-cultured’ sign language of the world. Leave ISL like another official language for travel, meeting new people with different cultures, receive experiences and share new ideas in different countries. By the time you acquire ISL, you have two or more sign language you can adapt when visiting countries. Now, isn't that exciting?
Remember sign language from any countries is the main part of our Deaf culture. So why not just make awareness and importance of being Deaf. People out there, especially 'other' people who are thick enough that can not even know how to use gestures, needs to understand that communication between cultures including Deaf and hearing world can be successful. Just need other people to open their eyes and learn sign language! That will convince them by changing their attitudes and support more Deaf people, break the barriers we had for such a long time. That’s what I will call equality.
Establish something like a yearly event where everyone celebrates pride in their own culture by using their own sign language and show that sign language is a valuable visual material that can be expressed in different ways, many ways or all at once. How about “World’s Sign Language Day”? That way people from around the world will accept other people’s identities.
*I think I rest my case for now*
hey Amanda,
glad youre enjoying the European Experience! ;)
James - WFD is based in Finland (so far i know of) - and its IS, not ISL - ISL usually mean Irish Sign Language anyway :o
Amanda, you need to look up Lorna Allsop's research on Int Signs - in her research, she said that Int Signs is usually 50% of your national sign language, 50% of the guy's national sign language, looking for iconic signs.
At the European Sign Writers Organisation conference, I had to use French Signs, Northern Ireland Signs, Irish Signs - but when the conference became more technical, I had to slip in a lot of ASL signs which is unfair as a lot of participants are not familar with ASL.
Shane of Belfast
Hey girl,
Just a wee note:
I admire what you're doing over there (and thinking you're insane too, hehe!) but just want to say, us kiwis are always thinking of you especially through your exams time. Good luck and best wishes for your exams. Do us proud. :)
Come on guys, not one Deaf person from NZ have taken up 2 university exam papers at the same time with big deaf event overseas. Show moral support & make our community strong by supporting one another.
Post a Comment
<< Home