Fingerspelt acronyms in Australasia

[Richard Arnold]

In a message dated 02/07/99 3:18:56 PM Pacific Standard Time,
acschembri at HOTMAIL.COM writes:

> I feel that acronyms are a common feature of many varieties of English
>  (not just North American). What evidence do you have to support your
>  claim that they are more typical of some English-speaking cultures than
>  others?


It is obivious that you haven't noticed that many of the acronyms in use in
English are of an American source/origin. Take for example UN (for United
Nations), MIB (Men in Black), ID4 (Independence Day), and all those acronyms
in use in the Information Technology field. It is a strong feature of American
culture that is not as evidently as strong as in New Zealand (which is an
English speaking country). I am living in the USA right now, and the
difference is quite striking.

As for fingerspelling NZSL I have never seen any Deaf signer, fingerspell it
out N-Z-S-L but N-Z Sign Language. N-Z seems to be one of the few acronyms
that is widely used in both hearing and deaf community for obvious reasons. As
Adam said there seems to be an Americanization process going on in the
Australian Deaf Community  in the way of the spread of the use of the one
handed fingerspelling alphabet. In New Zealand the opposite is occurring the
Deaf there reject any attempts to bring American signs into their language.
They had to tell one American SL researcher who is living in NZ not to insist
on American fingerspelling, but to respect their language. I was surprise to
hear of this as I understood that he had a Ph. D in this feild that he should
have know better. In the US the Deaf here are somewhat ignorant of other
signed languages, and you get puzzled looks when you use your own sign
language when you meet deaf from your home country. They even at times call
ASL "English Sign" using the sign English which is the same sign used for
England !!

 In may asking the question as the relevancy of the use of acronyms, I was not
just thinking of English only but on all other non-English languages. The
questions really can only be answered by each linguistic community and we
cannot force non_english users to use our acronyms but allow them to use
whatever feature that is available in thier own language to describe or name
their local sign language. they don't have to use acronyms in the American
(ASL) fashion.

 Richard A.