scholarly journals Głusi i język migowy — spór o język i kulturę

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-184
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Figiel

The article tries to describe phenomena that have so far largely not captured the attention of the Polish social sciences, that is the process of crystallization and manifestation of the cultural identity of the deaf. The controversies presented here concern mainly two questions. The first is whether the sign (visual-spatial) language may be treated on a par with a phonic one as another type of human language. Secondly, whether on the basis of this linguistic differentiation one can speak of the cultural and linguistic identity of the deaf. In such a case the destruction of the sense of hearing would not be treated as a physical disability, but as a characteristic of cultural otherness. Moreover, one can be culturally Deaf even if one  c a n  hear — the factors that constitute the minority Deaf Culture are above all: the use of sign language, the recognition of its primacy over the artificial systems of sign language and a phonic language as well as the protection of the cultural heritage of the Deaf in a society capable of audition where the Deaf are discriminated against and “discultured” (for example by the system of education or the imperative of curing deafness by cochlear implants).

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norma-Jane E. Thompson

Currently, the World Wide Web allows web pages to be produced in most written languages. Many deaf people, however, use a visual-spatial language with no written equivalent (e.g. American Sign Language). SignLink Studio, a software tool for designing sign language web pages, allows for hyperlinking within video clips so that sign language only web pages can be created. However, this tool does not allow for other interactive elements such as online forms. In this thesis, a model for an online sign language form is proposed and evaluated. A study consisting of 22 participants was conducted to examine whether there were differences in performance of preferences between sign language forms and text forms, and between two presentation styles (all-at-once versus one-at-a-time). The results showed that there was no clear performance advantage between sign language and text; however, participants were interested in having online questions presented in sign language. Also, there were no advantages in performance or preferences between presentation styles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Mauldin

This article takes as its entry point the borrowing of coming out discourse in Disability Studies. It first discusses the limits of using such analogies and then investigates its fit when considering the specificity of the Deaf experience. The research is based on five personal histories garnered through in-depth interviews with individuals primarily discussing their processes of coming to identify as Deaf, but also some discussion of coming to identify as gay/lesbian. Their stories indicate that unlike its deployment in broader disability studies, the discourse of coming out in relation to adopting a Deaf cultural identity does not resonate. Instead, the narratives show that while these Deaf individuals did use a sign for "coming out" to describe their process of identifying as gay/lesbian, they did not use it to describe their Deaf identity development. Their narratives of coming to identify as culturally Deaf instead predominantly use a phrase that can interpreted from sign language as "becoming Deaf," although some of the same processes and features of identity development are present. It concludes with a discussion of the tensions between Deaf and disability studies, the limits of analogizing disability with other categories and particularly the limits of coming out discourse regarding the Deaf experience, as well as a discussion of the universalizing view of disability studies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Emmorey ◽  
Stephen McCullough ◽  
Sonya Mehta ◽  
Laura L. B. Ponto ◽  
Thomas J. Grabowski

Biological differences between signed and spoken languages may be most evident in the expression of spatial information. PET was used to investigate the neural substrates supporting the production of spatial language in American Sign Language as expressed by classifier constructions, in which handshape indicates object type and the location/motion of the hand iconically depicts the location/motion of a referent object. Deaf native signers performed a picture description task in which they overtly named objects or produced classifier constructions that varied in location, motion, or object type. In contrast to the expression of location and motion, the production of both lexical signs and object type classifier morphemes engaged left inferior frontal cortex and left inferior temporal cortex, supporting the hypothesis that unlike the location and motion components of a classifier construction, classifier handshapes are categorical morphemes that are retrieved via left hemisphere language regions. In addition, lexical signs engaged the anterior temporal lobes to a greater extent than classifier constructions, which we suggest reflects increased semantic processing required to name individual objects compared with simply indicating the type of object. Both location and motion classifier constructions engaged bilateral superior parietal cortex, with some evidence that the expression of static locations differentially engaged the left intraparietal sulcus. We argue that bilateral parietal activation reflects the biological underpinnings of sign language. To express spatial information, signers must transform visual–spatial representations into a body-centered reference frame and reach toward target locations within signing space.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norma-Jane E. Thompson

Currently, the World Wide Web allows web pages to be produced in most written languages. Many deaf people, however, use a visual-spatial language with no written equivalent (e.g. American Sign Language). SignLink Studio, a software tool for designing sign language web pages, allows for hyperlinking within video clips so that sign language only web pages can be created. However, this tool does not allow for other interactive elements such as online forms. In this thesis, a model for an online sign language form is proposed and evaluated. A study consisting of 22 participants was conducted to examine whether there were differences in performance of preferences between sign language forms and text forms, and between two presentation styles (all-at-once versus one-at-a-time). The results showed that there was no clear performance advantage between sign language and text; however, participants were interested in having online questions presented in sign language. Also, there were no advantages in performance or preferences between presentation styles.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-77
Author(s):  
Lalit Goyal ◽  
Vishal Goyal

Many machine translation systems for spoken languages are available, but the translation system between the spoken and Sign Language are limited. The translation from Text to Sign Language is different from the translation between spoken languages because the Sign Language is visual spatial language which uses hands, arms, face, and head and body postures for communication in three dimensions. The translation from text to Sign Language is complex as the grammar rules for Sign Language are not standardized. Still a number of approaches have been used for translating the Text to Sign Language in which the input is the text and output is in the form of pre-recorded videos or the animated character generated by computer (Avatar). This paper reviews the research carried out for automatic translation from Text to the Sign Language.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 583-600
Author(s):  
Lindsay Ferrara ◽  
Torill Ringsø

AbstractPrevious studies on perspective in spatial signed language descriptions suggest a basic dichotomy between either a route or a survey perspective, which entails either the signer being conceptualized as a mobile agent within a life-sized scene or the signer in a fixed position as an external observer of a scaled-down scene. We challenge this dichotomy by investigating the particular couplings of vantage point position and mobility engaged during various types of spatial language produced across eight naturalistic conversations in Norwegian Sign Language. Spatial language was annotated for the purpose of the segment, the size of the environment described, the signs produced, and the location and mobility of vantage points. Analysis revealed that survey and route perspectives, as characterized in the literature, do not adequately account for the range of vantage point combinations observed in conversations (e.g., external, but mobile, vantage points). There is also some preliminary evidence that the purpose of the spatial language and the size of the environments described may also play a role in how signers engage vantage points. Finally, the study underscores the importance of investigating spatial language within naturalistic conversational contexts.


Webology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (Special Issue 01) ◽  
pp. 196-210
Author(s):  
Dr.P. Golda Jeyasheeli ◽  
N. Indumathi

Nowadays the interaction among deaf and mute people and normal people is difficult, because normal people scuffle to understand the sense of the gestures. The deaf and dumb people find problem in sentence formation and grammatical correction. To alleviate the issues faced by these people, an automatic sign language sentence generation approach is propounded. In this project, Natural Language Processing (NLP) based methods are used. NLP is a powerful tool for translation in the human language and also responsible for the formation of meaningful sentences from sign language symbols which is also understood by the normal person. In this system, both conventional NLP methods and Deep learning NLP methods are used for sentence generation. The efficiency of both the methods are compared. The generated sentence is displayed in the android application as an output. This system aims to connect the gap in the interaction among the deaf and dumb people and the normal people.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Barnali Talukder

The concepts of language and cultural identity of a speaker are entwined as they complement each other. However, translation poses a challenge to the identity language predominantly constructs. Therefore, translatable elements of language get the stage of universality while the untranslatable-s essentially bring forth the culture they are descended from. In this study, a short story collection from Bangladesh, Matijaner Meyera, where there is a celebration of diverse branches of Bengali language, has been brought to light to show how untranslatability of a number of culture-oriented vocabularies vibrantly tells about Bengali culture. The primary resource includes a lot many culture-oriented vocabularies as well as few phrases that English, as a language, cannot accommodate in it. Inability of other languages to penetrate such culture-rooted belongings of Bengali language showcases the power a language retains to protect itself from any invading force. This study has argued in favor of the untranslatable base of Bengali that English, due to cultural distance, cannot embrace linguistically. Therefore, such cultural difference eventually develops a distinct linguistic identity of Bengali through untranslatability that this study has attempted to divulge.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Hall ◽  
Wyatte C. Hall ◽  
Naomi K. Caselli

Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children need to master at least one language (spoken or signed) to reach their full potential. Providing access to a natural sign language supports this goal. Despite evidence that natural sign languages are beneficial to DHH children, many researchers and practitioners advise families to focus exclusively on spoken language. We critique the Pediatrics article ‘Early Sign Language Exposure and Cochlear Implants’ (Geers et al., 2017) as an example of research that makes unsupported claims against the inclusion of natural sign languages. We refute claims that (1) there are harmful effects of sign language and (2) that listening and spoken language are necessary for optimal development of deaf children. While practical challenges remain (and are discussed) for providing a sign language-rich environment, research evidence suggests that such challenges are worth tackling in light of natural sign languages providing a host of benefits for DHH children – especially in the prevention and reduction of language deprivation.


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