Deaf World Journal

For class project: lyrics and story.

Love and Marriage

Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
This I tell you brother
You can't have one without the other

Love and marriage, love and marriage
It's an institute you can't disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say it's elementary

Try, try, try to separate them
It's an illusion
Try, try, try, and you will only come
To this conclusion

Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
Dad was told by mother
You can't have one without the other

__________


Where the Wild Things Are

One night, while Max wore his white wolf suit, he ran around the house making mischief of one kind or another. In his fun, he called his mother, “Wild thing! I‘ll eat you up!!” She was upset at his outburst and sent him to his room without supper.

That very night, in Max’s room, trees began to grow and grow until the whole room was a vast forest. The walls and ceiling were covered in vines and then Max looked and he was outside; floating in the middle of the ocean. He looked all around and found a small boat with his name on the bow. He swam to it and jumped in.

Max sailed across the vast ocean for a whole day. The day turned to night, then a week. Max sailed for almost a whole year before he found the place where the wild things are.

When he came on shore he was greeted by big, hairy monsters with mean eyes and sharp teeth. They roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws until Max said, “Be still!” He tamed the monsters by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking and those big monsters were scared of little Max. They called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all wild things!

Max cried out, “And now, let the wild rumpus start!” He and the tamed monsters played all day and all night. They ran, jumped, climbed trees, and danced until Max ordered them to stop. Max sent the monsters off to bed without supper and they did as he commanded.

Later Max, the king of all wild things, was feeling very lonely and wanted to go back home- where someone loved him. Then all around him, from far way and across the world, he smelled good things to eat so he gave up being a king where the wild things are.

The playful monsters did not want Max to go and cried, “Oh please don’t go! We’ll eat you up, we love you so!” When Max answered, “no,” the wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his boat and waved good-bye as he sailed off.

He sailed for almost a year until he was back into his very room where he found his supper, still hot and waiting for him.

I just realized that I failed to make an entry for my class this past Monday.

The class was packed with discussion and information. We voted on a song, “Love and Marriage” by Sinatra. We will sign this song as a group in class on a later date. The teacher spoke on many deaf-related points including WH (reflective) questions. Also the sign “very” is not used very often and is an indicator of a new signer: Facial expression is used in it’s place. Also when the days of the week are signed and EVERY (every Monday, every Tuesday, etc.) is used before the week day, the hand moves straight down from the right shoulder.

Sign Vocabulary

dolphin
science
disappointed
became
very
Halloween
pumpkin
trick-or-treat
ghost
boo
candy
costume
candle
witch
jack-o-lantern
black cat
skeleton (bones)
bats
monster
mask
cemetery (dead + place)
area
person
fence
air
I-don’t-care (touch tips of fingers on nose and extend them outward into the 3-hand)
fun
cute

The following section is from the book, A Basic Course in American Sign Language by Tom Humphries.

Lesson 10

Basic Sentence Structure: Using Modals.
The modals that can accompany other verbs in a sentence are: Can, should, must, will, finish, maybe. There are three (3) types of sentence structure with modals.

1. The modal is the end of the sentence.
2. The model precedes the verb.
3. The modal both precedes the verb and is repeated at the end of the sentence.

Using Negative Modals
Some negative modals are: Can’t, not-yet, refuse.

Example:

I can’t dance.
I dance can’t I.

Using Modals as Responses to Yes/No Questions.
The modals can be used as responses to yes/no questions.

Example:

Question:
Can you drive?
You drive can you?

Response:
Yes, I can.
I can I.

Vocabulary:

accept
appear (show up)
bake (oven)
between
born (birth)
can
can’t
catch (capture, arrest)
collect
compete (race, sports, competition, contest)
cry
divorce
engagement
establish (set up, found)
fail
fast
fault (responsibility, burden)
flunk
get (receive, obtain)
get-up
laugh
lecture (speech, presentation)
lipread (oral, speech)
marry (marriage)
maybe (might)
memorize
more (further)
most
must (have to)
not-yet
number
party
pass
president (superintendent)
protect (guard, defend)
put-down (write down, record)
recover (get well)
refuse (won’t)
restaurant
save (preserve)
should sleep
slow
take-up
think
try (attempt, effort)
wedding
win

The following section is from the book, A Basic Course in American Sign Language by Tom Humphries.

Lesson 9

Noun-Verb Pairs
There’s many nouns and verbs which are related to each other in meaning and form and differ only in movement. These are called noun-pairs. Some verbs have a single movement and the related noun had a smaller, repeated movement.

Example:

Verb: Sit
Noun: Chair

Other verbs have repeated movement and the related noun has a smaller, repeated movement.

Example:

Verb: Comb-Hair
Noun: Comb

Note that while verbs vary in movement, the related nouns are smaller and repeated in movement.

Using Subject as Topic
The topic marker may be used on subjects as well as objects. The marker is used to specify, and in some cases emphasize, the subject.

Example:

My bicycle, it’s broken.
Bicycle my break.

Vocabulary:

act (perform, performance)
autumn (Fall)
bawl-out
blond
California (gold)
cancel (criticize, correct)
comb-hair (comb)
cop (police)
down
fall (fall-down)
fly (airplane, airport)
give-ticket (ticket)
go-by-boat (boat)
go-by-train (train)
hair
kid
lead (guide)
left (direction)
library
lock (key)
look (appearance)
meet [group] (meeting, convention)
notice (recognize)
open-book (book)
open-door (door)
open-window (window)
person
place
put-in-gas (gas)
put-on-hearing-aid (hearing-aid)
put-on-ring (ring)
rain
right (direction)
sit (chair, seat)
steal
stop
summer
tell-story (story)
thing
to-bicycle (bicycle)
to-telephone (telephone)
tree
type (typewriter)
up
wonderful (fantastic, great)
wow

Last night’s class was super. Much information was learned. Two (2) videos were viewed by the class. One was on Deaf stories. The teacher played each story without audio and we tried to extract as much as possible from the signers. We saw four (4) stories with that video. The other video dealt with basic sign greetings. It was more of a review and it did not offer too much new material. I did enjoy it.

Two handouts were issued. One was a list of web sites related to ASL sites. The other was a list of “questions” signs.

Sign vocabulary

talk
chatting
Gallaudet
headache
hate (from chin)
awful (from eye level)
wish
California
New York
Florida
Washington D.C. (bring sign toward shoulder)
every-Monday, Tuesday, etc.
All Night (curve dominant hand under arm when signing the word “night”)
future (move outward from shoulder)
long ago (use two hands for remote past)
bacon
sandwich
recently (pull head/shoulders back if it just occurred)
sex (same as “recently” but signed forward- from right cheek down to chin)
institution (when signed refers to the institution of the current state)
week (palm facing up of dominant hand)
yesterday (do sign with or without thumb)

This weekend I attended a Christian gathering for the Deaf. I was surrounded by deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, as well as a few hearing persons. It was an experience to say the least. I sat and watched at first. Everyone was signing! People were ducking under (while signing the "excuse-me" sign) as they moved between signers. One lady was deaf and blind and she would hold another's signing hands in order to receive signs. I also witnessed the deaf singing with their hands! It was totally incredible. I loved it.

I was mostly lost since all I can do so far is basic greetings. My limited vocabulary did not allow me to capture more fully the experience of being among the Deaf. One thing I did notice was how important facial expression is in sign language. I mean, I can't (for now) express myself fully with sign but I can understand, to a point, the feeling of what's being signed via the signers facial expression. Facial expression is vital in visual language- that was clear as I sat, for over two hours, among deaf folks.

Everyone was so happy that I, a hearing person, was learning American Sign Language. I was encouraged to continue and help and guidance was in abundance! There is no doubt that I will return to the gathering next week. Now I will really learn!

Tonight's ASL class dealt with lesson four of the book. We reviewed the past two lessons since the class was cancelled last week. Final lessons were discribed:

11/24- children's book are due
12/1- A silent party will be held during class and our class will sign a song. Next week we will all choose a song for that project. The homework this week (beside the book lesson) is to find a song for that assignment.

The negative can be placed anywhere in the TENSE/TOPIC/ADJECTIVE/VERB structure. WH Questions: The signer must lean forward, have a puzzled expression and hold the last sign. It's best to place the "question" part of the sentence towards the end of the sentence.

sign vocabulary

motorcycle
help
shoes
socks
feet mouth
hands
octopus
purple
hat
mustache
glasses
tie (or bow/necktie)
potato
head
wrong
mistake
pilot
Pepsi
Italy
cold (illness)
pig (same as "dirty")
feelings
here (place)
wish (like "hungry" but w/ a short movement)
I love you (handshape)
I really love you (handshape)
I hate you (handshape)
nut ("not" sign but from teeth; not chin)
same as
taste (touch lip)
slavery (swing "work" sign)
running

The following is from the book, Sign Language Interpreting: A Basic Resource Book by Sharon Neumann Solow (1981):

Sign Systems and Situation Assessment
Chapter 2

Sign Systems

There are two languages among the various systems outlined (p12): English and ASL. All others are Systems of Communication; and some are naturally occurring and are contrived and most are based on both of the languages.

As interpreters, we must remember that our task is not the improvement of deaf people’s language (ASL or English), but rather communication between individuals. Sometimes a particular program will require the use of English or one of he systems of visualized English. In these cases, it is the responsibility of the interpreter to transmit into and from that specified system.

Situation Assessment

On the whole, there are several assumptions that the sign language interpreter can make in determining the mode of communication to use with each deaf audience he or she approaches. Every audience will require certain modifications in style, vocabulary and sign system to meet its unique needs. The skill of the interpreter rests in part on his or her ability to make the appropriate decisions regarding these choices.

For most mixed and/or large audiences, such as mass media viewers, or people attending religious services or a public forum, the interpreter would most probably lean toward ASL as the primary mode of communication, since the largest number of deaf persons would be served by that choice.

Where the audience is mixed, invariably there is the need for careful determination of a middle ground within the audience and to adjust the communication accordingly. Many people who can understand and use various forms of signed English can also understand ASL, regardless of their preference. These people are willing to sacrifice a desire for English for the sake of understanding and participation by the majority of the members of the audience with the use of ASL or Ameslish.

Pidgin Signed English (PSE), in whichever form seems appropriate, would fit the general needs of an academic classroom or professional conference, or a college or university. Many high schools and other educational institutions hire interpreters with the specific requirement that they use a particular style or system of MCE. The use of one of these specified systems would then be typically considered part of the contract, and to accept such a job, the interpreter must be prepared to follow the policy of the hiring institution.

If asking the clients involved which system they prefer the interpreter to use does not succeed, then the interpreter might consider observing conversation among deaf clients before the interpreting assignment, or conversing with the client(s) before the interpreting assignment, in determining the sign system that seems most comfortable for them.

Terms

ASL: American Sign Language, the language typically used among deaf adults. A language in and of itself, with its own grammar and vocabulary. It has a genetic relationship to French Sign Language.

Pidgin Sign English (PSE): The generic term for naturally occurring varieties which in corporate traditional ASL signs, some newer and contrived signs, and fingerspelling in flexible grammatical order. Popular nomenclature (names) for PSE includes Sign English, Signed English, Siglish, CASE, and Ameslish. Although CASE and Ameslish are distant from one another, they fit within the same category of the continuum.

Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE): The communication style characterized by the incorporation of traditional ASL signs, some newer signs, some contrived signs and fingerspelling, along with speech and speechreading, signed in English grammatical order to represent English visually. Signs are organized in English order with minimal changes, and English is mouthed exactly as spoken in the original English that is interpreted.

Ameslish: A term applied differently by different people.

Manually Coded English (MCE): The generic term for contrived systems for encoding English in manual form. These systems of visual English are attempts to precisely represent the English language, both its grammar and vocabulary, through the means of speech and speech reading, and the use of a combination of traditional signs, newer signs, contrived signs and fingerspelling. Contrived signs are generally based to some degree on ASL signs. Signs are usually selected on a :one sign one word” basis, deviating in some significant ways from the meaning of the original ASL signs. Sound and spelling are generally the deciding factors in sign selection, rather than meaning. MCE is a means of teaching children English grammatical forms. Examples of MCE are SEE, SEE (2,3), LOVE, Manual English, and Signed English.

Rochester Method: The communication systems utilizing fingerspelling, speech and speechreading to represent English manually.

Cued Speech: A system of organized gestures used to aid in lipreading. These gestures are used to distinguish between sounds that look alike on the lips, such as b, p and m.

Oral Method: The communication system that incorporated speech and speechreading only; no signs or gestures are involved in the oral method. This refers also to an educational philosophy emphasizing the exclusive use of speech and speechreading.

Reader’s Theater: A technique for presenting poetry, prose and plays using a certain amount of dramatic technique such as pantomime.

Pantomime: A more universal method of communication through gestures: A nonverbal system of communication.

Narrative Style: A form of ASL storytelling style, incorporating techniques from pantomime.

Classes were cancelled tonight.

The following is from the book, Sign Language Interpreting: A Basic Resource Book by Sharon Neumann Solow (1981):

Interpreter Role and Behavior
Chapter 1

The Function of an Interpreter

The service an interpreter provides can be summed up as follows: Interpreters attempt to equalize a communication-related situation so that the deaf and hearing participants involved have access to much the same input and output or can take advantage of the same resources. It is necessary that interpreters transmit all significant auditory input into visual form- environmental clues must be transmitted.

The interpreter must determine the relevance of a certain bit of auditory input within a given situation and then quickly decide whether or not to transmit that bit of information. There is, of course, no choice as to the information presented by a speaker, which the interpreter will always faithfully transmit.

Qualities of Interpreters

In interpreter behavior refers to actions while interpreting. Interpreting requires flexibility. Interpreters are constantly bombarded with new words, both in English and in ASL, and must be flexible enough to incorporate what is learned into their own systems. Flexibility is necessary in order for an interpreter to fit into any situation.

Objectivity is an essential quality of a professional interpreter. This quality requires the skill of showing no favoritism and of not revealing one’s own feelings while interpreting. By remembering the basic principle of the interpreter as facilitator only, it is possible to be objective so as to do an effective job.

Self-discipline is a quality that probably is the basis for most of the more specific items mentioned. Because interpreters work basically alone, with little or no supervision, interpreting is not an easy profession to monitor. It is thus the responsibility of the interpreter to set his/her own limits. The interpreter cannot be the sort of person who waits for others to enforce the rules, but rather must have an intrinsic set of values. As professionals, we are responsible for our personal growth, as well as for the growth of our profession.

Skill in both target modes, spoken and signed, is necessary, along with the ability to “meet the need” by being fluent in whatever is required so that the most appropriate system can be used for each occasion. Besides building our sign vocabulary, it is essential to build our English vocabulary and skills. It cannot be overly stressed that an interpreter needs skills in both languages (not just one) in order to function properly.

The interpreter must strive at all times to maintain a low profile, so that the attention of the participants is not focused on him or her. Punctuality and responsibility cannot be stressed too much. It is essential to the entire experience that the interpreter arrive on time so the communication, which the interpreter provides, can proceed.

The sign language interpreter acts as a link between hearing and deaf persons. The satisfaction derived from an interpreter’s work should stem from a sense of communication job well done and not necessary the repercussions to the client at some other level. We must value our skills in the area of seeing the client’s needs and doing our best to meet those needs in the communications sphere, such as picking the appropriate sign system and physical setting and establishing a comfortable, non-threatening atmosphere.