Tag Archives: ASL

ASL Head Movements: Critical Features in Interpretation — From Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Tom & Anna

DEOnIbookpage This is the sixth weekly installment featuring highlights from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith which is scheduled to be released in June by Gallaudet University Press. This chapter, “ASL Head Movements: Critical Features in Interpretation,” was co- written by Keith Cagle, Sharon Lott, and Phyllis Wilcox.

Can a simple nod or shake of the head contribute to misunderstanding of interpreted messages? Yes! As Sharon Lott explains in the video clip above, head movements are an essential prosodic feature of ASL, but ASL curricula typically do not devote much attention to their study. The authors contend that interpreters need to understand the different roles and functions of head movements in ASL in order to do their work effectively. Otherwise, Deaf people will continue to be confused by their interpreted messages.

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Posted in ASL, Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Features of ASL, New book, New book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, videos from book contributors and tagged american sign language, ASL, ASL interpreters, Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Grammatical Features of ASL, Head Movements in ASL, Keith Cagle, Phyllis Wilcox, Sharon Lott. Bookmark the permalink.

The Heart of Interpreting from Deaf Perspectives — From Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Tom & Anna

DEOnIbookpage This is the fifth weekly installment featuring highlights from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith which is scheduled to be released in June by Gallaudet University Press. This chapter, “The Heart of Interpreting from Deaf Perspectives” was written by Kim Kurz and Joseph Hill.

In the video above, Kim Kurz describes the motivation for conducting research with Deaf Professionals to discover their expectations and concerns regarding interpreters. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, they interviewed 10 Deaf professionals to identify what they would consider as “the heart of interpreting.” After analyzing their data, they found some common themes and concerns. These include:

1) A lack of bilingual skills (English and ASL) among interpreters 2) A less than effective use of fingerspelling to support the Deaf professionals 3) Skill in employing the elements of depiction in ASL, such as the use of space, classifiers, constructed action, and role shifting were found to be sorely lacking among many interpreters. These areas of concern, the authors feel, may be due to changes in the formation of interpreters from traditional cultural immersion to more emphasis on academic settings.

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Posted in Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Deaf Professionals, New book, New book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, videos from book contributors and tagged american sign language, ASL, ASL interpreters, Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Deaf Professionals, Deaf-heart, Joseph Hill, Kim Kurz. Bookmark the permalink.

Providing ASL Interpreters in College Classes Does Not Ensure Equity —— From Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Tom & Anna

DEOnIbookpage This is the 4^th weekly installment from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith, which is scheduled to be released in June by Gallaudet University Press. This chapter, American Sign Language Interpreting in a Mainstreamed College Setting: Performance Quality and Its Impact on Classroom Participation Equity, has three co-authors John Pirone, Jonathan Henner, and Wyatte C. Hall.

As John Pirone describes in the video clip above, their research shows it is an illusion to think that providing an ASL interpreter in mainstreamed college classes provides equity for the Deaf students. He enumerates several areas of concern regarding interpreters’ skills and actions, including lack of ASL fluency, less than adequate ASL receptive skills, intercultural incompetency and lack of professionalism. In the full chapter, the co-authors propose solutions to this troubling state of affairs for Deaf students in interpreted college classrooms.

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Posted in Deaf Education, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Deaf/hearing cultural differences, New book, New book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, videos from book contributors and tagged american sign language, ASL, ASL interpreters, Deaf community, Deaf Culture, Deaf Education, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Interpreted college classes, interpreters, John Pirone, Jonathan Henner, Wyatte C. Hall. Bookmark the permalink.

Accountability and Transparency: The Missing Link in Ensuring Quality from Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on May 6, 2018 by Tom & Anna

This is the third weekly installment featuring highlights from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, DEOnIbookpage edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith, which is scheduled to be released in June by Gallaudet University Press. This chapter, entitled Accountability and Transparency: The Missing Link in Ensuring Quality in Interpreting, has three co-authors: Chad Taylor, Ryan Shephard, and Justin “Bucky” Buckhold.

It focuses on how the new “professional” relationship between agencies, interpreters and Deaf consumers has resulted in a lack of accountability and transparency. Interpreting agencies assign interpreters to jobs without much attention to quality. Interpreters accept jobs without any accountability for their work. These facts have resulted in less than satisfactory experiences for many Deaf people involved in interpreted sessions. Expert interpreters are often embarrassed by the unprofessional, subpar work of their poorly qualified peers. The authors argue that both interpreters and interpreting agencies must be held accountable for their work and that increased transparency is long overdue for this profession. Chad Taylor, in the video clip above, suggests that using crowdsourcing reviews can return to Deaf people the decision making power and control they deserve when it comes to hiring interpreters, instead of just having to accept “a roll of the dice.”.

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Posted in Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, New book, New book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, videos from book contributors and tagged ASL, ASL interpreters, Chad Taylor, Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Gallaudet Press, Interpreting Agencies, Justin "Bucky" Buckhold, Ryan Shephard. Bookmark the permalink.

Deaf Dream Team: The DEAM Approach from Deaf Eyes on Interpreting

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Tom & Anna

DEOnIbookpage This is the second weekly installment featuring highlights from the 20 chapters in the new book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, edited by Thomas K. Holcomb and David H. Smith which is scheduled to be released in June by Gallaudet University Press.

In this chapter, Thomas K. Holcomb coins a new term, DEAM, which is a play on three English words: Deaf, Dream, and Team. He discusses how both interpreters and Deaf individuals often leave interpreted sessions feeling less than satisfied, even with the best interpreters involved. He proposes that the current standard practice is not adequate for Deaf people to fully understand the interpreted message and participate well in mostly hearing groups and suggests several ASL discourse techniques that interpreters can incorporate while interpreting lectures by hearing presenters. He also questions several long traditions in the field of interpreting, such as the 20-minute switch rule. Tom encourages both Deaf people and interpreters to explore these issues in depth to come up with solutions that will result in better experiences for both Deaf people and interpreters.

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Posted in Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, New book, New book, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, videos from book contributors and tagged american sign language, ASL, Deaf Culture, Deaf Eyes on Interpreting, Gallaudet Press, Thomas K. Holcomb. Bookmark the permalink.

Put the Power of ASL in Every Child’s Hands

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Tom & Anna

Hands Land Dvd

Tom:

In our last blog post, we showed examples of different ways that nursery rhymes can be rendered in sign language using ASL rhyming patterns. For me, that brought back a lot of memories of when my kids Tara, Leala, Cary, and Troy were small. We would often make up ASL rhythmic patterns for every daily activities like meal time, bath time, and bed time. It was a way to turn mundane daily routines into something more enjoyable. I had a lot of fun participating in language play with them, especially when they were very young. Watching those tiny hands forming rhythmic patterns is something I will never forget.

I am delighted that Tara and Chad are continuing this tradition of language play in ASL with their own children, Pax, Thoreau, and Clementine. They adore Aunt Leala for her creativity in creating ASL rhymes and using them at home.

Leala Holcomb in Hands Land DVD

Now I am thrilled that my daughter Leala has decided to start a new venture called Hands Land, with the goal of encouraging more families play with their children through ASL in their own homes. With the creation of new materials to support young children’s language development through ASL’s intrinsic rhyming and rhythm patterns (unrelated to English), it is hoped that more of these toddlers, especially the deaf ones, will be able to grow and thrive in a language-rich environment.

Watch this YouTube:

Check out this Facebook page: Hands Land: ASL Rhymes and Rhythms for Young Children

Hands Land Facebook

If you would like to support this venture, please go to this website to make your donation.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hands-land-asl-rhymes-rhythms

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Posted in ASL Nursery Rhymes, ASL Poetry, Families with deaf children and tagged ASL, ASL for young children, Hands Land, language play, Leala Holcomb, nursery rhymes, sign language. Bookmark the permalink.

Nursery Rhymes in ASL? As Easy as 1,2,3!

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Tom & Anna

Tom:

How can rhyming be portrayed in ASL? Is there rhythm in ASL? How do rhyming and rhythm support deaf children’s language development? There is a growing movement to promote language development among young children through ASL rhymes and rhythm. The following presenters supply information and demonstrations of different ways that rhyming and rhythm can be used to engage young children.

Barbara Wingfield and a Thanksgiving ASL Rhyme

Barbara Wingfield creates a Thanksgiving ASL Rhyme

In her blog Deaf Progressivism, Barbara Wingfield discusses the importance of making nursery rhymes accessible to deaf children through ASL and provides several examples. She says:

“It is crucial to engage young Deaf signers in ASL songs that they are able to re-chant and internalize the language and make their own. Historically, Deaf children who don’t have enough opportunity to “play with language and developing ASL phonemic awareness” tend to struggle more in academic performances. The use of drum usually engages them to follow the beats with repetition more effectively.

I’ve witnessed how Deaf children have taken with delight in the visual images and strong rhythmic character of ASL own version of nursery rhymes. Visual imagery and the rhythms indeed have a powerful effect on cognition.”

Austin Andrews demonstrates how to adapt Hey Diddle Diddle…to ASL in Youtube below

Austin Andrews (CODA and popular presenter also known as Awti and the Deaf Ninja Storyteller) provides a concrete example of how to adapt a nursery rhyme for ASL, utilizing the rhythmic beat of Gallaudet University’s famous “Bison Song.”

Leala Holcomb presents one of the Dr. Seuss’ classics, Hop on Pop, using ASL rhyming techniques to match the whimsical message of Dr. Seuss.

We look forward to seeing more and more of this kind of work in ASL for several reasons. One is the pure entertainment value of watching performers make nursery rhymes come to alive in ASL. In addition, we are excited about the prospect of deaf children having increased access to nursery rhymes through ASL.

What are your thoughts?

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Posted in ASL Nursery Rhymes, ASL Poetry, Families with deaf children and tagged ASL, ASL poetry, Austin Andrews, Awti, Barbara Wingfield, Leala Holcomb, nursery rhymes, Nursery rhymes in ASL. Bookmark the permalink.

Announcing New Resources for Instructors – sample curriculum and PowerPoint

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Tom & Anna

Tom and Anna:

We want to make it easy for instructors to use our materials and have just added a new feature to Deaf Culture THAT: a RESOURCE page where we will be adding items to give you ideas and support in making the most of our books and DVDs.

To start, Tom has contributed a Sample Curriculum for an entire semester of a Deaf Culture class, utilizing his textbook, Introduction to American Deaf Culture and our Workbook and DVD set, A SIGN OF RESPECT. He outlines 15 weeks of reading and homework assignments for a complete Deaf Culture class.

Anna is offering a Power Point Presentation entitled, CULTURAL SENSITIVITY FOR ASL STUDENTS that she presented at a national ASLTA Conference. It suggests exercises from her READING BETWEEN THE SIGNS WORKBOOK and our DVD, SEE WHAT I MEAN.

We plan to add more resources soon and would welcome your suggestions. If you have used any of our materials in a successful class experience, please let us know and we may feature your ideas.

Please check out our new RESOURCES FOR INSTRUCTORS page.

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Posted in Resources for ASL and Deaf Culture Instructors and tagged A Sign of Respect, american deaf culture, ASL, Deaf Culture, Introduction to American Deaf Culture, Reading Between the Signs, See What I Mean. Bookmark the permalink.