<html><head></head><BODY bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><p><font size=2 color="#000000" face="Arial">The National (American) Theatre for the Deaf might be a good resource as in answer to your inquiry about translation of dramatic works into American Sign Language. They (the theatre company) are based in Denver I believe.<br>I have some experience performing Shakespeare with a couple of actors from that company using a method called "shadow acting" It was a very powerful and effective way to perform for both hearing and deaf audiences.<br>Hope this helps.<br>Take Care,<br>Susan Nelson<br>mssmith@boone.net<br><br>----------<br>> From: Scott or Pafra Catledge <<font color="#0000FF"><u>scplc@COMMUNIQUE.NET</u><font color="#000000">><br>> To: <font color="#0000FF"><u>ADS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU</u><font color="#000000"><br>> Subject: Re: Shakespeare in ASL<br>> Date: Tuesday, July 06, 1999 10:52 PM<br>> <br>> I would love to see documentation for some of these "careful studies," particularly any that have been published in juried language publications. I will not debate your assertion that principal linguistics groups would never submit "resolutions based on politically correct positions (although it gave me quite a chuckle); I will agree that no linguistics group to my knowledge--or any other such group--has ever admitted taking a position because it was politically correct although ASLHA came close when they moved their national convention one winter from NOLA in a state that licensed Audiologists and Speech/ Language Pathologists but that had not ratified the ERA to Detroit in a state that had ratified ERA but that did not license Audiologists and Speech/Language Pathologists "at the request of many members."<br>> <br>> ----------<br>> > Fortunately such stuff is being very carefully researched (and I meant to<br>> > raise no political issues, only to state a very well-agreed on linguistic<br>> > commonplaces among linguists who have devoted their lives to ASL research,<br>> > hardly anecdotal evidence, not would the principal lingusitics groups in<br>> > the US submit resolutions based on anecdotal or politically correct<br>> > positions).<br>> ><br>> > To call ASL a dialect of French takes a little piece of historical<br>> > information and makes far too much of it. That is at every level (phonetic,<br>> > phonological, morphological, not to mention syntactic and pragmatic) more<br>> > than a little off base. Morphological elements of ASL, for example,<br>> > pattern in a very different way from French morphology (of any historical<br>> > period or variety). In addition, ASL phonetics and phonology are hardly a<br>> > pretense, as many careful studies show.<br>> ><br>> > Applied linguistics, as always, is harder, since we may not have all the<br>> > variables in hand, but the fact that ASL learners do so poorly (on some<br>> > tests) would seem to be about like suggesting that I would do poorly on a<br>> > Chinese test. It's not my native language, and I have very little control<br>> > over it. I would turn out to be lower than first grade. If you want to know<br>> > someone's langauge proficiency, you must test them in the language they<br>> > know (not the one you think they should know, which does, at last, I<br>> > suppose admit some of the political fervor which surrounds much of this<br>> > debate).<br>> ><br>> ><br>> > dInIs<br>> ><br>> ><br>> ><br>> ><br>> ><br>> > >In Deaf Ed classes, we studied the basics of ASL, Signed English, and Signing<br>> > >Exact English. Of these, only SEE morphology, but not even it made a<br>> > pretense<br>> > >of phonology,, much less phonetics. All the languages studied had syntax,<br>> > >semantics, and pragmatics, of course. The morphology of ASL seems more<br>> > >complex than English to the naive English learner because ASL is a "dialect"<br>> > >from French, not English. I have yet to hear an explanation of why students<br>> > >who learn ASL are such low achievers when the few students who are fortunate<br>> > >enough to learn SEE do as well as if not better than their hearing<br>> > classmates.<br>> > >Unfortunately, it is politically incorrect to research such a point, and we<br>> > >are left with only anecdotes.<br>> > ><br>> > >----------<br>> > >> One can only hope that the gist of this does not lie in the direction which<br>> > >> I first understood. ASL, of course, is a fully developed, complex human<br>> > >> language (with a phonetics, phonology, morphology [much more complex than<br>> > >> English], syntax, semantics, and pragamtics). The idea that it is<br>> > >> Tonto/Tarzan talk is simply a misunderstanding of the phrase "sign<br>> > >> language."<br>> > >><br>> > >> Further, the idea that learning it (and becoming proficient in it) would<br>> > >> "retard' one's ability to read and/or write English is unfounded (similar,<br>> > >> in fact, to the popular notion that children's acquisition of a second<br>> > >> language might retard their advancement in their first or, more insidious,<br>> > >> that continued development in their first might retard their acquisition of<br>> > >> a second, the apparent foundation of "English Only" and anti-bilingual<br>> > >> education measures roundly condemned by every responsible professional<br>> > >> linguistics organization (e.g., LSA, AAAL).<br>> > >><br>> > >> dInIs<br>> > >><br>> > >> PS: One nice thing (among many others) about being from the South Midland<br>> > >> (i.e., Hillbilly) area is that nobody wants to translate Shakespeare into<br>> > >> our variety, since the popular press has told us that us shit-kickers<br>> > >> already speak Elizabethan English.<br>> > >><br>> > >><br>> > >><br>> > >><br>> > >><br>> > >><br>> > >> >Just pretend that you are Tonto/Tarzan. Why do you think that deaf<br>> > students<br>> > >> >graduate with an average achievement level of 3rd grade, as I was told in<br>> > my<br>> > >> >graduate Deaf Ed classes at UNF.<br>> > >> ><br>> > >> >----------<br>> > >> >> Is anyone familiar with translation of dramatic works into American Sign<br>> > >> >> Language? I am assisting a dramatist who is in the process of<br>> > translating<br>> > >> >> _Twelfth Night_ into ASL and I am looking for works on translation and<br>> > use<br>> > >> >> of ASL in drama.<br>> > >> >><br>> > >> >> If you're interested, the website for this project can be found at:<br>> > >> >><br>> > >> >> www.yale.edu/asl12night<br>> > >><br>> > >> Dennis R. Preston<br>> > >> Department of Linguistics and Languages<br>> > >> Michigan State University<br>> > >> East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA<br>> > >> <font color="#0000FF"><u>preston@pilot.msu.edu</u><font color="#000000"><br>> > >> Office: (517)353-0740<br>> > >> Fax: (517)432-2736<br>> ><br>> > Dennis R. Preston<br>> > Department of Linguistics and Languages<br>> > Michigan State University<br>> > East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA<br>> > <font color="#0000FF"><u>preston@pilot.msu.edu</u><font color="#000000"><br>> > Office: (517)353-0740<br>> > Fax: (517)432-2736</p>
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