23.1117, Qs: Sign Language Elicitation Techniques (Survey)

Tue Mar 6 15:08:20 UTC 2012

LINGUIST List: Vol-23-1117. Tue Mar 06 2012. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 23.1117, Qs: Sign Language Elicitation Techniques (Survey)

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Eastern Michigan U <aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Aristar-Dry, Eastern Michigan U <hdry at linguistlist.org>

Reviews: Veronika Drake, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Monica Macaulay, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Rajiv Rao, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Joseph Salmons, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Anja Wanner, U of Wisconsin-Madison
       <reviews at linguistlist.org>

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

The LINGUIST List is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the
discipline of linguistics with the infrastructure necessary to function in
the digital world. Donate to keep our services freely available!
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Editor for this issue: Zac Smith <zac at linguistlist.org>
================================================================  

Visit LL's Multitree project for over 1000 trees dynamically generated
from scholarly hypotheses about language relationships:
          http://multitree.linguistlist.org/

We'd like to remind readers that the responses to queries are usually
best posted to the individual asking the question. That individual is
then strongly encouraged to post a summary to the list. This policy was
instituted to help control the huge volume of mail on LINGUIST; so we
would appreciate your cooperating with it whenever it seems appropriate.

In addition to posting a summary, we'd like to remind people that it
is usually a good idea to personally thank those individuals who have
taken the trouble to respond to the query.

To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at
http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm.

Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:07:03
From: Carlo Cecchetto [carlo.cecchetto at unimib.it]
Subject: Sign Language Elicitation Techniques (Survey)

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=23-1117.html&submissionid=4541995&topicid=8&msgnumber=1

As coordinators of a network of researchers working on European sign 
languages funded by the intergovernmental framework for European 
Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), we are contacting 
sign language researchers for  a survey on elicitation techniques for 
different grammatical aspects of sign languages. The SignGram COST 
Action "Unraveling the grammars of European sign languages: 
pathways to full citizenship of deaf signers and to the protection of their 
linguistic heritage" aims at creating a common blueprint to develop 
grammars for the different European sign languages.

There are still many aspects of the grammar of European sign 
languages that need to be thoroughly explored before a 
comprehensive reference grammar can be produced (this holds for 
more studied sign languages, even more so for sign languages that 
have a more recent research tradition). In order to facilitate this 
research, specific elicitation techniques for the different grammatical 
properties are needed. Of course we do not start from scratch, so the 
first step is collecting materials that have been already used for 
elicitation and evaluating to what extent they could accompany the 
blueprint as a development tool. That is why  we decided to create a 
first inventory of such materials, classified for the specific purpose it 
was used for. At a later stage (if the researchers agree and there no 
copyright problem) this material could be uploaded in the SignGram 
Cost Action webpage, which is currently under construction. This 
should allow different teams to use the same type of material to study 
the same linguistic phenomenon in different sign languages (modulo 
differences among them studied, of course). "Materials" is an umbrella 
term, which includes pictures, videos but also more immaterial devices 
(like plays, ways to set up linguistic exchanges, suggestions on how to 
fix problems that usually arise when a specific setting is used, etc. ). 
Although the institutional goal of COST is promoting the study of 
European sign languages, we know that this survey might be helpful 
also for researchers working on non-European sign languages. 
If you or your research group have materials that you are 
willing/allowed to share with other researchers, please contact our 
colleague Galini Sapounztaki at the following e-mail address:
 gsapountz at uth.gr 

She will send you a questionnaire that you are kindly requested to fill in 
and send back to her by April, 12 (this questionnaire was prepared 
mainly by our colleagues Kearsy Cormier  and Christian Rathmann). 
This would be the first step. Those who answer the questionnaire will 
be contacted again, with a report about our survey. The information on 
where to find the results of the survey will be posted in this list.
I hope that you find this initiative useful and I thank you in advance for 
your time and for your invaluable help,

Carlo Cecchetto and Josep Quer 

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics
                     Language Documentation

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $67,000. This money will go to help 
keep the List running by supporting all of our Student Editors for the coming
year.

See below for donation instructions, and don't forget to check out Fund 
Drive 2012 site!

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/

There are many ways to donate to LINGUIST!

You can donate right now using our secure credit card form at  
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Alternatively you can also pledge right now and pay later. To do so, go to: 
https://linguistlist.org/donation/pledge/pledge1.cfm

For all information on donating and pledging, including information on how to 
donate by check, money order, or wire transfer, please visit: 
http://linguistlist.org/donation/

The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Eastern Michigan University and as 
such can receive donations through the EMU Foundation, which is a registered 
501(c) Non Profit organization. Our Federal Tax number is 38-6005986. These 
donations can be offset against your federal and sometimes your state tax
return (U.S. tax payers only). For more information visit the IRS Web-Site,
or contact your financial advisor.

Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that they will match 
any gift you make to a non-profit organization. Normally this entails your 
contacting your human resources department and sending us a form that the 
EMU Foundation fills in and returns to your employer. This is generally a
simple administrative procedure that doubles the value of your gift to
LINGUIST, without costing you an extra penny. Please take a moment to check if
your company operates such a program.

Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST!

----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-23-1117	
----------------------------------------------------------
Visit LL's Multitree project for over 1000 trees dynamically generated
from scholarly hypotheses about language relationships:
          http://multitree.linguistlist.org/