Names of signed languages

[Michael Farris]

> Victor Brown skrit:
>
> Actually from a message with a subject of "RE: Respecting
> indigenous/local sign
> languages"
>
> > Mike wrote:
> > {many snips}
>
> > As for Sign Language names, I would disagree with the person that said some
>  sign
> > languages don't have signs for LANGUAGE. What do you think the SIGN means?
> >
>
> -----
> Mike, before I, or any one could comment on what SIGN means, we would
> have to know what is meant by SIGN. I think you were asking about Polish
> Sign's SIGN. If we could see it even better.
>
> (massive snip for space) Hum??? I hope I've cleared that up.

Okay, we obviously have the type of problem here that is inevitable  since we're
using one language to discuss about six different languages here, each of which
has its own way of describing reality  : )

If I understand you the ASL sign SIGN can refer to

to sign - verb
a sign - individual lexical item of a sign language
sign - medium of sign (vs. speech)

There is also a sign LANGUAGE which can refer to either spoken or signed
languages.

Polish Sign Langauge breaks up things a little differently  there are signs.

(I'll use English glosses here, since I find it _Very_ difficult to come up with
good glosses in Polish, and I'd just have to translate them anyway)

SIGN  - (Polish 'jezyk migowy' 'sign language' or 'migac' to sign.
Similar/identical to a sign used in many different sign languages,that is two
 '5'
hands (usually palms lightly touching) move in alternate circles outward. Used
(with movement modifications that are not as clear to me as I would like) to
 mean
'sign languge' 'to sign'. The ethnonym for Polish Sign Langauge when contrasted
with SPoken Polish. The sign POLAND is added to distinguish it from the sign
languages of other countries (there is basically one sign language used by Deaf
people in Poland with some regional variation arising from various sources).
Within the deaf community, it is used when 'mowic' "speak, talk, say, tell'
 would
be used in spoken Polish as in the sentences I SIGN SERIOUS (I'm speaking
seriously). WH-? S/HE SIGN 'What did s/he say?"

(INDIVIDUAL)SIGN - Spoken Polish 'znak' 'a sign' Unrelated to the above sign
 (two
'1' hands pointing up, alternately move diagonally to and from the body on a
horizontal plan (chest height) This is hard to gloss. This is used for
 individual
signs. With a possessive it means something like 'name sign' as in MY (IND.)SIGN
'my name sign'. (Although SIGN can also be used sort of like a medio passive to
ask about someone's name sign S/HE SIGN HOW? What's her/his name sign?, the
Contrasts with WORD (Polish slowo) which usually refers to written or spoken
words. Also used for 'meaning' or 'to mean'

LANGUAGE - Spoken Polish jezyk(mowa) Usually refers to spoken language. 'X' hand
moves toward and touches the chin. Seems to be used only as a noun.
So you get the following combinations


(POLAND) SIGN or SIGN POLAND (Polish Sign Langauge (in contrast with other sign
languages) the second order is perhaps more common.

LANGUAGE POLAND  (Spoken Polish - the order here is based on Polish 'jezyk
polski')

(POLAND)  LANGUAGE SIGN (Signed Polish in contrast with Polish Sign Language)


There is no sign that refers to language as such, that is that can be used for
spoken and signed languages equally, rather there are two different signs
 perhaps
poorly glossed by me as SIGN (signed language) and LANGUAGE (spoken language).

This is perhaps not too different from ASL practice of some years ago (described
 I
believe by Humphries, where ASL was referred to, if it was referred to at all,
 as
SIGN and LANGUAGE was a synonym for English (or at least spoken language).

I-ESCAPE
Mike Farris