Signed song in the opening ceremony

[Adam Schembri]

>I have a couple of questions --
>
>-Were they using Auslan?

Yes, they were using signs from Auslan. I have just found out that a friend
of mine, a former actor with the Australian Theatre of the Deaf, acted as
their consultant. She was contacted only a few weeks ago, however.

>-How would you judge the quality of their signing -- as typical "Hearing
>signing learned for purposes of this one show" or seemingly fluent?

Definitely the former. The lead singer, Nikki Webster, "mispronounced" a few
signs.

>-I recognized CELEBRATION -- this is an ASL influence?

It may be. There has been a significant amount of borrowing from ASL in some
areas of the lexicon. Some recent research by McKee & Kennedy found around
30% of the vocabulary of ASL and Auslan is identical.

>--Don Grushkin
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Adam Schembri <acschembri at HOTMAIL.COM>
>To: <SLLING-L at ADMIN.HUMBERC.ON.CA>
>Sent: Friday, September 15, 2000 8:03 PM
>Subject: Re: Signed song in the opening ceremony
>
>
> > >Dear all,
> > >
> > >People in the U.S are now watching the (taped) presentation
> > >of the Sydney Olympic's opening ceremony.
> > >
> > >There was a presentation of a song which was signed.  The
> > >performers were singing and signing at the same time, maybe
> > >using Auslan signs.
> >
> > Yes, that's right. There did appear to be a little sign-singing, using
>some
> > signs from Auslan (Australian Sign Language).
> >
> > >Out of my curiosity, I am interested in how deaf people in
> > >Australia evaluate this kind of signed song.  Do they fairly
> > >accept this, or do they tend to feel uneasy about it?
> >
> > Some deaf people enjoy and participate in sign-singing, some object to
>it
>in
> > principle, some object to it only when there is no deaf involvement or
> > consultation with the community, and many others are indifferent.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Adam Schembri
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Adam Schembri
> > Lecturer
> > Renwick College
> > Private Bag 29
> > Parramatta NSW
> > 2124 AUSTRALIA
> > Ph (voice/TTY): (61 2) 9872 0303
> > Fax: (61 2) 9873 1614
> >
> >
> >
> >
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