AW: [sw-l] a few things...

Stefan Wöhrmann stefanwoehrmann at GOOGLEMAIL.COM
Mon Nov 10 23:15:32 UTC 2008 

Hi Adam, Stuart,... 

well I followed the discussion about name signs on the teach ASL- list as
well -- 

And what a surprise - and Adam - I feel gratefull for your additional
comment - smile. 

Obviously there seems to be big differences between different cultural
backgrounds ... 

I understand that the ASL - comunity has developed a strong feeling of
political correct use of name signs. - and other topics!!!

Within our school and same is true for many SL - courses starting at level 1
the deaf instructors seem not to be afraid whatsoever to use, to accept, to
invent or to encourage people to give name signs to others ... So in Germany
the Deaf don't include fingerspelling that much as we can see this in ASL --


This is somehow confusing if within the same facility people invent "new"
name signs just because they are not informed or just because they develop
their feeling for appropriate signs ... hm  

In addition to that - there is in Gemany now every day one central news
broadcast with a SL - interpreter in  a little window ( smile) These
interpreters show up with name signs for VIPs constantly and it is a
wonderfull opportunity to write down what they sign as well as for our
politicians as well as for foreign politicians. So the reason for my
interest in the use of name signs in the ASL comunity has been to compare,
to understand, to discuss ... 

Nevertheless  I understand from what I could read that this seems to be a
can of worms and as a hearing teacher for deaf children it is a welcome
opportunity to develop more sensitivity for these issues. 

Thanks again 

Stefan ;-)


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: sw-l-bounces at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
[mailto:sw-l-bounces at majordomo.valenciacc.edu] Im Auftrag von Adam Frost
Gesendet: Montag, 10. November 2008 23:02
An: SignWriting List
Betreff: Re: [sw-l] a few things...

I had to step back for a minute a realize where this was coming from  
because I was just having a discussion with another group about this  
same topic. I am trying to figure out how to tell you what the  
discussion on the TeachASL list was without sounding harsh, so bear  
with me. ;-)

First, lets take a look at name signs as they are used and giving in  
the US in ASL. A name sign is only used when talking about a person  
that has importance in the Deaf community that is not present.  
Therefore, a name sign is not just given to anyone (this also includes  
people who are in the Deaf community) and given with great care. This  
is especially the case when you are dealing with a name sign on a  
national level. You may be able to find local examples that don't  
follow this, but that will not happen nationally. These local example  
are usually "in house" discussions of a particular person that goes  
into great length, so ad hoc name signs are created so that  
fingerspelling doesn't have to be done over and over for those people  
who don't like fingerspelling.

Having said that, unless our president elect has done something that  
has cause for the Deaf community to not only talk about him in great  
length, but also has made a great impact on the community, there will  
never be a "final" name sign for him. All of these ad hoc name signs  
will disappear as soon as the discussion of him disappear. Of course,  
the only other way for this to be different would be for the Deaf  
community to become very involved in politics overnight. And I mean  
every member of the community, not just a few.

If you look back at all of the past US presidents, only Lincoln and  
Washington have name signs. Some say that is because Washington is the  
founding father and Lincoln was the president during the civil war  
that brought the nation back together. Lincoln has his name sign  
because he was the president that made it possible for Gallaudet  
University. I feel that Washington is a rare ad hoc name sign by back  
translation from the state Washington and capital Washington DC. It is  
only because there is a state that has a sign as well as the same name  
as the president that the ad hoc name sign is used nationally. (That  
and that his name is very important in US history so every school has  
to talk about him a lot.)

Now, I know that it could be said that Barack Obama is a great impact  
because he is the first African American to be elected. True, but that  
doesn't impact the Deaf community, so that is why he hasn't received a  
name sign. So I hope that answers your question of there being a final  
name sign for him. And I hope that I haven't sounded harsh, but it is  
a little pet peeve that I have so it is hard not to seem angry even  
though I am not. :-)

Adam

On Nov 10, 2008, at 11:58 AM, Peter DeHaas wrote:
>
> Did anyone ever come up with a final sign name for our new president  
> elect???
>
> Best,
>
> Peter DeHaas
>
>
>
>
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