Author: Jack Slemenda Converse College, SC

1. Author: Jack SlemendaConverse College, SC Date submitted to deafed.net – March 20, 2008 To contact the author for permission to use this PowerPoint, please e-mail: slemenjc@spart5.k12.sc.us To use this PowerPoint presentation in its entirety, please give credit to the author.

2. Sign Languages Around the World Jack Slemenda Converse College A look at France, China and South Africa

3. Did you know? • Contrary to popular belief, sign languages are not universal. • Each country or culture has its own gestures or hand shapes for words and sentences.

4. Introduction • Sign languages are either the main or only languages used by certain members of society. • Considered its own language • Has its own set of rules

5. More about Sign • Each society, then, has its own primary sign language • Variations in dialect just as in spoken language • As many sign languages as there are spoken languages.

6. Just to name a few… • French Sign Language • South African Sign Language • Chinese Sign Language

7. French Sign Language – • Langue des Signes Francaise (LSF) • 1st known sign language identified as a true language • Discovered by accident • Abbe’ Eppe • Met twin sisters who were deaf • Developed interest in their communication (OFSL)

8. Development of LSF • Epee created “methodical signs” • Very difficult • First attempt for a sign language to have spoken language appearance • Started a school for the deaf • Located in Paris • Deaf students in one place • Continuous communication • Accelerated the language • Deaf could still be intelligent without using spoken language

9. Transformation of LSF • Abbe’ Sicard • Student of Abbe’ Epee • Headmaster of Paris school following Epee • Theory of Ciphers • Code system to help put language into patterns • Helped students create sentences using grammatical French

10. Other Instrumental Individuals • Jean Massieu • Born deaf • Head Teaching Assistant at the Paris school • Laurent Clerc • Studied under Jean Massieu • Met Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet • Decided to go to America to help establish The American School for the Deaf

11. Spread of Sign Language • Schools for the deaf • Graduates took what they learned and found new schools • Contributed to transformation of sign language into other “dialects”

12. The Battle: LSF vs. Oralism • Round 1 • Milan Congress • 1880 • LSF banned from classrooms • Only allowed to use oral approach • Round 2 • 1970’s - Deaf began fighting for use of LSF • Fabius law passed • 1991 • Allowed use of LSF to educate deaf children

13. And the Winner is… • 2004 - LSF officially recognized as a language • Oralism still used

14. South African Sign Language – SASL • Introduction to South Africa • 1881 • Deaf school established by W. Murray • Children from Afrikaans-speaking families • British Sign Language first used • By 1900’s three deaf schools existed in SA

15. Communication • Between Hearing and Deaf • Few hearing people know SASL • Mix of speech, signs, and fingerspelling • Between Deaf Adults • Sign and fingerspelling • Some confusion • Residential schools develop own dialects • Passed down to each generation • Individuals leave schools • Still use their own dialect • Can create misunderstanding

16. Norman Neider- Heitmann • 1974 – Appointed to research sign languages used in South Africa • Hoped to standardize the signs • Help all language groups communicate better

17. 7 years later… • Talking to the Deaf was published • 1st sign dictionary in SA • Further research to test validity of signs • Seven deaf groups from SA questioned • 95% of signs recognized by groups • Not necessarily used

18. What’s happening now? • Talking to the Deaf • Primary method in many schools • Follows grammatical rules of language • Designed to teach children spoken language • Part of both communities

19. Chinese Sign Language – CSL • First deaf school in China • 1887 • American missionary C.R. Mills and his wife • Focused on oral methods • ASL had no influence on CSL • CSL fairly new • Proposed in 1950 by SL Reform Committee • 1961 – sign language book published

20. Chinese Sign Language • Shapes and motions along with facial expressions • Signs resemble written pictorial characters • Manual alphabet • Used only to fingerspell words • Rarely used among deaf • Write characters on palm or air

21. Some Statistics • Approximately 21 million people in China with hearing loss • 3 million are deaf • Last 50 years • CSL discouraged • Banned from some classrooms • Oral-only policy • 1500 hearing rehabilitation centers • For preschool children • <10% of children leaving hearing rehabilitation centers are able to grasp enough CSL for school

22. Why so few? • Chinese is a tonal language • Same phonetic pronunciations with different intonations have different meanings • Deaf children cannot hear to distinguish tones

23. The Deaf are disabled? • Chinese view deafness as a disability • Deaf view themselves as disabled • Parents aim to cure deafness • Spend 10s of thousands of yen • Acupuncture • Hearing Aids • Rehabilitation Centers • Deaf students prefer hearing teacher to a deaf one

24. Is there hope for CSL? • Schools aiming to embrace deaf culture • Tianjin • Third largest city • Working to create jobs for deaf • 2001 Tianjin School for the Deaf • Adopted CSL as primary communication method • Aim to have deaf employees • Tianjin Technical College for the Deaf • First technical college for deaf Chinese • Focuses on computer technology

25. References • Chinese Sign Language. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [online]. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 2007 [cited 8 July, 2007] http://en.wikipedia.org • French Sign Language. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [online]. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 2007 [cited 8 July, 2007] http://en.wikipedia.org • Herbst, Johan M. “South African Sign Languages”. Cleve, John V. van (ed): Gallaudet encyclopedia of deaf people and deafness (Vol. 3. S-Z. New York, NY: McGraw Hill (1987) pp. 106-108

26. References (continued) • J., Julie “Sign language – Can Deaf People from Different Countries Understand Each Other?” Online posting. February 2007. Yahoo! Answers. 8 July 2007. http://answers.yahoo.com • Moody, William. “French Sign Languages”. Cleve, John V. van (ed): Gallaudet Encyclopedia of deaf people and deafness (Vol. 3. S-Z. New York, NY: McGraw Hill (1987) pp. 74-77. • Singer, M., Afsari, N., Michaut, Frederik, & Lamit, Virginia. “L’Alphabet en LSF.” [online] The DESS Nouvelles Technologies and Handicaps Sensory and Physical at Paris8 University. [cited 20 July 2007] http://ufr6.univ-paris8.fr.

27. References (continued) • South African Sign Language. In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [online]. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 2007 [cited 8 July, 2007] http://en.wikipedia.org • “Standard Manual Alphabet.” [online] A to Z to Deafblindness. 17 September 2002. [cited 20 June 2007]. http://www.deafblind.com/ukthma.html • Yau, Shun-chiu. “Chinese Sign Languages”. Cleve, John V. van (ed): Gallaudet encyclopedia of deaf people and deafness (Vol. 3. S-Z. New York, NY: McGraw Hill (1987) pp. 65-67