Fw: colloquium on the standardisation of sign languages at SS14

Thu Sep 13 11:09:56 UTC 2001

Dear all, 

Yesterday Myriam Vermeerbergen tried to send this message to the list but apparently something went wrong. So she asked me to forward it to the list. 

Bye, 

Mieke

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Myriam Vermeerbergen 
To: Mieke.Vanherreweghe at RUG.AC.BE 
Sent: donderdag 13 september 2001 11:59
Subject: colloquium on the standardisation of sign languages at SS14

After writing this mail yesterday evening I turned on the radio and heard about the terrorist attacks in the US. I want to express my horror at what has happened and my sincere sympathy with the families and loved ones of all those who were a victim of this terrible act. 

Myriam 

Dear colleagues,

My proposal for a colloquium on the standardisation and codification of sign languages has been accepted for inclusion in the programme of the Sociolinguistic Symposium 14 (to be held in Gent, Belgium, April 4-6, 2002) and so we (i.e. those interested in participating) can go ahead and discuss the set-up of the colloquium. 

I have been informed that colloquia should not exceed (a single slot of) 3 hours and 20 minutes and that colloquia should be properly interactive:

" As a guide, colloquia should aim for at least 1/3 of interaction from the floor. The opportunity to have colloquia is specifically designed to increase the scope for open discussion, and indeed we'd be unlikely to have any objections if you wanted to increase the proportion of open talk to even 50%."

I myself feel that the subject of the colloquium requires a high degree of interaction and I would therefore prefer to have a very limited number of presentations/papers and as much time for (open) discussion as possible. Here is my suggestion for a possible set-up:

1. Introducing the issue (i.e. a short introduction of the topic) (20 minutes)
2. Paper, for instance by someone who is/has been involved in a standardisation process of a sign language, discussing a.o.: the reasons to opt for a "controlled standardisation"/language planning and the way that standardisation was inititialised (20 minutes)
3. Discussant(?) and questions (20 minutes)
4. Paper, for instance on "non-standardisation and codification" i.e. on how is/can be /should be dealt with (regional) variation when compiling a dictionary or writing a reference book on the grammar of the sign language or collecting data for research,S (20 minutes)
5. Discussant(?) and questions (20 minutes)
6. Open discussion (in more than one group if possible) (40 minutes)
(For topics, questions that may be discussed please see the abstract of the colloquium) 
7. Summary of the outcome of group discussion(s) (+ questions) (40 minutes)
8. Conclusion (10 minutes)

I would like to stress the fact that this is only a suggestion so please let me know what you think of it! Should you prefer a more "traditional" set-up (e.g. a 25-minute intro, five 20-minute papers followed by 10 minutes for questions and a final 25 minutes for concluding discussion), than please tell me so. 

Also, the fact that I suggest to above mentioned topics for the two papers does not imply that I have already invited someone to give a presentation. The only reason why I proposed these topics is that I feel they would provoke many questions, remarks, thoughts,... that could then be dealt with in the subsequent group discussion(s).

Until now no arrangements for individual contributions to the colloquium were made. If anyone is interested in presenting one of the above mentioned papers (or a paper addressing another issue concerning the standardisation and codification of sign languages) please let me know as soon as possible.

!!! The organising committee of the Sociolinguistics Symposium 14 has decided that individual contributions solicited by the colloquium organisers will undergo the normal refereeing process. For each paper an individual abstract will need to be submitted before 1 October 2001. This means there is not a lot of time left to discuss the set-up of the colloquium and/or to decide upon individual contributions. So I would suggest that those interested in this colloquium will let me know how they feel about the above suggested set-up and/or inform me about their intentions to present an individual paper and/or act as discussant before the beginning of next week (Monday, 17 September). 

Three concluding remarks:

1. I would like to repeat what I have already said in a previous mail: all participants, including presenters, will have to finance their own travel and accommodation costs. I know (from my own experience) that some universities/institutes are only willing to refund costs for attending colloquia, conferences, symposia,... of participants presenting a paper. My suggestion to keep the number of papers limited may therefore prevent some people from attending due to financial reasons. I am more than willing to issue invitations maybe they "will do the trick".

2. For information concerning (sign language) interpreting, please contact Mieke Van Herreweghe from the organising committee of the symposium: Mieke.Vanherreweghe at rug.ac.be

3. For more information on the Sociolinguistic Symposium 14 please visit the website of the symposium: http://bank.rug.ac.be/ss14

That will be all for now.

Kind regards,

Myriam Vermeerbergen

Below: copy of the abstract of the colloquium

----------------------------------------------------
ABSTRACT
This colloquium will focus on the standardisation and the accompanying codification (i.e. the making of dictionaries, grammar books, ...) of sign languages. 
Many sign languages seem to undergo at some stage a process of change from a language used (almost) exclusively within the deaf community to a language with a wider role in society. At a certain point in that evolution the teaching of the sign language in question begins -to hearing family members and friends of deaf children and adults, to future sign language interpreters, teachers and educators of deaf children,...- and the language also starts to serve as a teaching medium for deaf children (and adults). An evolution of this type often raises questions concerning the standardisation of the sign language. When a sign language starts to take on a wider role in society, it is often the case that there is not yet a standard variety of the language i.e. that different regional varieties of the sign language are still being used side by side and/or intermixedly. Within the deaf community, -but more often: amongst those responsible for the education of deaf children and/or amongst policy makers considering a possible recognition of the sign language- the question is asked whether the existence of a standard variety is not a prerequisite for using the sign language in education and for the official recognition of the language by the government,... i.e. is controlled standardisation to be the first step?
"Opting for controlled standardisation or not?" This will be the central issue of the colloquium. Other questions that could be raised are:
.. How can we find out whether a sign language is going through a process of spontaneous standardisation?
.. Advantages and disadvantages of spontaneous standardisation versus controlled standardisation?
.. How is controlled standardisation initialised?
.. Is it possible to have a process of controlled standardisation that respects the spontaneous standardisation process?
.. Spontaneous standardisation and codification
.. Controlled standardisation and codification
.. Factors influencing the success or failure of controlled standardisation
.. etc.
The format of the colloquium has yet to be determined but the aim is to organise an event which is as interactive as possible.

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