[USA-L News] British Deaf Association in controversial posterdrive

[Mark Mandel]

Mieke Van Herreweghe writes:

>>>>>
[Nobukatsu Minoura wrote:]
> Many Japanese learners of ASL experience difficulty (at least in the
> beginning) pronounceing ASL "T," ASL "toilet," etc.

That's funny! The same holds true for Belgian hearing society and
Flemish-Belgian Sign Language (FBSL). That is why FBSL has a different
handshape for fingerspelled T, whereas the rest of the hand alphabet is
very
similar to ASL.
<<<<<

That handshape, or the corresponding one with two fingers (i.e., the thumb
protruding between the middle and ring fingers of the closed fist), is
called the "fig" and was also considered an insult in (16th-century?)
England. I have seen it explained, I don't know how reliable as an icon of
the female genitalia. That could certainly explain its appearance in
far-flung populations.

-- Mark A. Mandel





Mieke Van Herreweghe <Mieke.Vanherreweghe at RUG.AC.BE>@ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA>
on 10/18/2000 08:59:45 AM

Please respond to "For the discussion of linguistics and signed languages."
      <SLLING-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA>

Sent by:  "For the discussion of linguistics and signed languages."
      <SLLING-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA>


To:   SLLING-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA
cc:
Subject:  Re: [USA-L News] British Deaf Association in controversial
      posterdrive


> By the way, the handshape for the ASL fingerspelled "T" is a taboo
handshape
> in JSL (and in Japanese society at large including both deaf and hearing
> population).
>
> Many Japanese learners of ASL experience difficulty (at least in the
> beginning) pronounceing ASL "T," ASL "toilet," etc.

That's funny! The same holds true for Belgian hearing society and
Flemish-Belgian Sign Language (FBSL). That is why FBSL has a different
handshape for fingerspelled T, whereas the rest of the hand alphabet is
very
similar to ASL.
>
>
>
> In short, it means that taboo handshapes differ from a sign language to
> another.

But apparently they can be similar too, because I had never expected this
on
the other side of the globe (at least from my perspective)!

Mieke Van Herreweghe
Gent University
English Department
Rozier 44
9000 Gent
Belgium