How Internet slang penetrates sign language
As the language evolves the rules governing it are gradually changing. Just look at the Oxford Dictionary, which included terms like "duckface" and "lolket" in its prestigious lexicon in December. In the English-speaking world, these updates cause a wide range of reactions, from bewilderment to outrage, but ultimately they are put up with them. Intervention only in English does not cost - so says the entire Internet, and with its help, these terms penetrate into other languages. But what about sign language and how do these Internet neologisms adapt the community of hearing impaired people? Is there a way to show "selfie" in their environment, is there a special sign for a "photobomb"? This simple question resulted in a much wider discussion about the nature of communication.
Photobomb
We turned to Bill Vikars, president and founder of the educational organization Lifeprint, which offers training in American sign language using new technologies, excursions (such as trips to amusement parks), as well as in-depth study programs with immersion in the language environment (intensive two-week courses). Vikars himself is hearing impaired, but belongs to the Deaf culture, as it rotates in their community. "Besides my colleagues, most of my friends are Deaf and my wife too," he explains. The tradition of writing "Deaf" with a capital letter goes back to the Deaf community described by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries in the book "Deaf in America: Voices of Culture" (1988). “We use the lower case“ g ”when we speak about deafness as an audiological condition or no hearing, and a capital letter to describe a certain group of deaf people who have their own special language - American Sign Language (or Amsleine) - and the corresponding culture.” There is also a dictionary of gestures on the website of Vikars - this is an open project that he launched simultaneously with the creation of an organization, and the inclusion of new words in it is a multi-step process.
“After thinking about what gestures and what criteria to include in my vocabulary and lessons, I realized that step-by-step testing is the surest way. First of all, I always do a“ book review ”: I compare respected dictionaries and sign language textbooks to understand how different expressions and words are represented in different sources. In some cases, these dictionaries contradict each other, but sooner or later, the prevailing gestures are still generated. After studying theoretical sources, I turn to communicating with the community - interviewing a number of adults deaf Deaf people who have a wealth of experience in using sign language. My task is to interview at least ten advanced sign language users about how they show certain concepts. The next step is to study the gesture itself in order to identify differences in movements depending on different places and understand which version is used most often. And finally, the last stage is to publish the gesture online, bring it to the consideration of many thousands of people, many of whom often tell me in letters that their version is better.
Emoji
To show how his vocabulary is being developed and replenished, Vikars sent us a 10-year-old correspondence, where another member of the Deaf community challenged how Vikars recorded the gesture "China / Chinese." Opponent Vikarsa was upset that he took the gesture from the Chinese sign language, not Amslena, as a basis. In his opinion, it was self-evident to call the American sign language version obsolete and to proclaim the gesture from Chinese to be relevant. “The most interesting thing is that“ living languages ”are constantly evolving and changing,” Vikars explained. - It should be understood that many English words are actually borrowed from other languages, but today they are perceived as part of the English language. The same thing happens with American Sign Language. Will the gesture get accustomed, will it be accepted by the community or rejected - only time will tell. "
Selfies
To the letter of a worried man, Vikars then replied that the new gesture of the Chinese sign language is a borrowed gesture, while the Amsleine version is a traditional one. Ten years after their correspondence, the borrowed gesture image of "Chinese" became as common among the American Deaf as the former American.
Despite the fact that Lifeprint is one of the most popular sites on American sign language, Vikars emphasizes that there is no “official” website for Amsleine. The state has yet to fix it, and so far all that is is some amateur resources that fill an empty niche.
Duckface
We asked Douglas Ridloff if he had ever heard of Lifeprint and its activities, and it turned out that no, I hadn’t. Douglas is an artist, actor, teacher and coordinator of ASL Slam - the Club of Deaf Artists, in which they read poems and stories in sign language. “It’s like a free microphone night,” Douglas explains on the phone, the interpreter helps us to keep up the conversation. “I’m calling it the evening of the free scene, because we don’t have a microphone. ASL Slam’s goal is to give people a place where they can to creatively develop and perform in front of the audience. The main thing here is the connection between artists and the community. "
We asked Douglas how new technologies are reflected in the Amsleine, and he described several ways in which new words fall into the American sign language: “Inside the community, we constantly see very different gestures denoting new words, eventually one comes out of this diversity a gesture accepted and approved by all members of the community. So it was with “Glide” and “Instagram.” A few months ago, there was a heated debate on the Internet about the options of gestures that could adequately reflect the concept of “Glide.” Subsequently, we Din gesture, which all participants in the discussion agreed to use. As for Instagram, we still have not come to a common opinion, and I have a suggestion why it happened. So, when we discussed the gesture for “Glide”, the CEO The company took an active part in the process, and this helped us to form one clear gesture. As for Instagram, the social network representatives still stand aside, it’s difficult for us to find a consensus, and the process is delayed. Understand, we are a small community, and we do not have a single official canon or something like that. "
Screencap
We invited Tully Stelzer, a 12-year-old Brooklyn-based resident of Brooklyn, to the shooting of Douglas and asked them to translate several new Internet terms into sign language, show them and discuss the results. When we met with Douglas, Tully, her dad Roy (he is Deaf) and their translator Linnett Taylor, Douglas and Tully were already fully armed and managed to discuss everything in advance.
Linnett, with the ballerina’s grace, exchanged words with Tully and Roy in sign language, kept up the conversation with us in English and smoothly translated our conversation for the children. It is amazing how much talent and insight is required by a professional sign language interpreter.
Talley was nervous, but eventually got together and kept like a real professional. This is not her first shooting experience, she sang Farrell's "Happy" on YouTube. When we asked Tally to stand in front of the camera, she conveyed through Linnett that she could not gesticulate at such a low level. We did not immediately understand what the problem was, and then Linnett explained: "Men and women gesticulate at different heights, men do it lower, closer to the hips."
SMH
Rehearsing before the shooting, Douglas caught Linnett’s eyes on himself and decided to clarify with me whether we want to translate the verb “photobomb” or the noun “photobomb” into sign language. I answered: the verb, - though I doubted. Douglas was worried that members of the community would find his gestures insufficiently accurate and would criticize his work. Realizing that the reaction may indeed be unpredictable, I asked Douglas and Talley to discuss the process of inventing gestures. As a result, the question about the "photobomb" turned into a discussion that remained open.
Douglas: A week ago, you and I received a list of nine very different words, some quite specific. All of them have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Some of them I have never used, others - on occasion. What words did you find easy to explain?
TallyA: I think selfies are easy to explain.
Douglas: My gesture for selfie was a little different from yours. I portrayed pressing a camera button, but conceptually, of course, we came up with similar gestures. It was easy, because we actually portrayed what we do in reality when we take selfies.
Food Committee
Tally: And which word was the most difficult for you?
Douglas: Perhaps the "photobomb". It was a real challenge. I asked other members of the community how they would portray it, and everyone had different versions. Let's see what comments will be here. This is a difficult term, for example, there is such a nuance - from whose point of view you say: the person who caught the photobomb in the photo, or the one who "threw" this photobomb? In general, we hotly argued on which side to approach this word. Which term have you never used?
Tally: I never say "five-second rule".
Five-second rule
Douglas: When you chat with your friends and accidentally drop food on the floor, what are you doing?
Tally: Well, we do not discuss it. Food falls, we quickly raise it - I would have translated it.
Douglas: Between ourselves, we do not use the "five seconds rule" as a metaphor, right? We express the same thought differently. The food falls to the floor, and I have time to pick it up on time. Even this "on time" can be described in different ways and with the help of different gestures. What do you think about "Oansi"?
Tally: I have never used this word. I understand that it is now in demand - this is a fashionable thing, but I always said something like: "I put on one item of clothing." This is my gesture.
Douglas: I prefer pajamas. For me, this is also a new term, apparently, I lagged behind fashion. I'll go make up for lost time and read.
Tally: If you came up with your gestures to refer to the above terms, send us a video. And in general, tell me what you think about all this.
Wansy
After the shooting, we realized that our conversation was just his beginning. When Douglas showed a gesture denoting a photobomb to other members of the Deaf society, a discussion arose and his gesture was not accepted as a result. He later explained why. “My designation was recognized as too generalized because photobombing as an action involves several different aspects,” he explained. American sign language is non-linear, one gesture can describe several concepts: time, space, and number. people, it can be described with one gesture, but if it is a photobomb of an individual, another gesture will be needed.
Again, when choosing a gesture, it matters whether the photobomb happened - in the background or in the front. It is important to whom attention is directed: to the person who was photobombed, the photobomb himself or the photographer who took all this. Another claim to my gesture was that it involves too many simultaneous movements. This violates the grammatical rules of Amslena. In general, this situation is a good example of how democracy reigning in Deaf society makes sign language alive. The gesture that I made while filming Hopes & Fears is just the beginning of a discussion. In time, we will form a gesture that will be accepted and approved by everyone and will fully reflect the meaning of the word “photobomb”. "
In the meantime, this has not happened, the discussion remains open.