SignWriting in Denmark 1982 ;-)

[Frank]

Dear Val,
   Britta had a lovely essay in "Sign Language and the Deaf Community" (Nad
1980) a tribute to Willim C. Stokoe.  Her informal talking to the reader was
a pleasure to read.  I went to the Web site you cited; can I address Britta
at the center mentioned in the site?  Or is the info here old now? In her
essay, Britta wrote:
   "by immersing myself in the childrens's signing, I found that after 3
months I was able to understand most of the children's signing in the
playground, and for the first time could relax and fully participate in the
deaf adults' conversation in the deaf club.  This raised many question about
how I had been taught Sign language over the past 8 years.  I felt
frustrated and cheated by the traditional teaching I had recieved from both
deaf and hearing people.  My perception of Sign language had been shattered,
and my thoughts reverted to all the clients I had worked with as a social
worker, and how I had struggled to understand them, I had thought all the
time that they were signing incorrectly and that their sign Language skills
were inferior to my own."
   Debra VanBinsbergen, in "Simultaneous Communication. . " ( 1992, Linstok
Press; editor, Stokoe) notes:   Parents and teachers who want to learn ASL,
do not have it available to them.  Britta's prior comment is apparently
verified by this essay 12 years later than Britta wrote.
   Love, Frank

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Valerie Sutton" <sutton at signwriting.org>
To: <sw-l at majordomo.valenciacc.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 02, 2006 2:58 AM
Subject: [sw-l] SignWriting in Denmark 1982 ;-)


> SignWriting List
> April 1, 2006
>
> Frank wrote:
> > I noticed the memorial for her in the BSL web site.
> >    Did you also know Britta Hansen, Val, the Denmark Interpreter?
>
> Yes, Frank! It was because of Britta, that I knew Mary Brennan.
> Britta's first husband, an interpreter in Scotland and England,
> worked with Mary at the time I presented at Mary's lab in Scotland...
>
> Do you know Britta Hansen, Frank?
>
> Britta Hansen had a profound influence on SignWriting. Britta was the
> director of the Deaf Center for Total Kommunikation in Copenhagen and
> was the person who invited me to teach SignWriting to the teachers
> and was one of those who decided to use SignWriting in the Danish
> School System...That was back in 1982...
>
> SignWriting in Denmark
> http://www.SignWriting.org/denmark
>
> you can read about Britta on the above web page...Here is a photo of
> me with Britta. I am teaching SignWriting on the left, and Britta
> interpreted for me, standing to the right...great memory! We made the
> front page of the local Deaf magazine, Dove Bladet ;-))
>
>
>
>


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