ds_0027_vallijazzberries_cap_01.mp4

ds_0027_vallijazzberries_cap_01.mp4

Performance and presentation

Valli, Clayton

Deaf Poetry

American Sign Language

American poetry 20th century

Deaf, Writings of the, American

ASL poetry

Clayton Valli begins his performance telling about how he became interested in English poetry at school and how that flicker faded until he began creating poetry in ASL. The poems performed here are "My Favorite Summer House," "Windy Bright Morning," "Lone Sturdy Tree," "Snowflake," "Dandelion" and "Cave." He briefly introduces each poem, noting that "My Favorite Summer House" was the first poem he created in ASL and "The Cave" was his most recent creation. In the presentation, Valli seeks to discuss the nature of ASL poetry by looking at the characteristics of the structure of spoken language poetry (rhyme, line, stanza, etc.) as well as the recent research in ASL linguistics (comparing spoken consonant/vowel word components with ASL movement/hold sign components). He also demonstrates how one ASL phrase differs when signing a string of citation form signs vs. everyday signing of ASL prose forms vs. signing poetic forms. The specific poems he analyzes here are "Hands" by Clayton Valli and "Wedding Poem/Circle of Life" by Ella Mae Lentz. In Valli's poem "Hands," the end of lines in the poem can be recognized by patterns of final downward movements. In Lentz's poem, the end of lines can be recognized by patterns of final handshapes.

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections

Miriam and Kenneth Lerner ASL Poetry Collection

National Deaf Poetry Conference (1987 National Technical Institute for the Deaf)

1987

2018

moving image

mp4

VHS

87 minutes

American Sign Language

English

RITDSA.0027

Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections

Miriam and Kenneth Lerner ASL Poetry Collection

2018-2019 CLIR Grant-ASL Poetry and Literature

https://albert.rit.…

https://archivesspa…

New York - Rochester

Henrietta Campus

RIT Libraries makes materials from its collections available for educational and research purposes pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. It is your responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce images in print or electronic form.

CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International

IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE
OUR FIRST PERFORMER,

WHOSE NAME IS CLAYTON VALLI,

WHOSE SIGN NAME IS V,
LIKE THIS.

HE'S DEAF.
HE GREW UP IN THE VERMONT/
NEW HAMPSHIRE AREA,

AND NOW HE LIVES
IN WASHINGTON, DC

AND WORKS FULL TIME
AS AN INSTRUCTOR

IN THEIR DEPARTMENT
OF LINGUISTICS

AND SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETING

AT GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY.

PLEASE HELP ME GIVE
A WARM WELCOME TO CLAYTON VALLI.

[APPLAUSE]

[PERSON CHEERS]

VALLI: THANK YOU.

WHOA. I'M THRILLED AT THE SIZE
OF THIS AUDIENCE.

WOW. THANK YOU.

I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU
A LITTLE BIT MORE

ABOUT MYSELF, IF I MAY.

LIKE, HOW DID I GET INTO

WORKING WITH POETRY IN ASL,

AND HOW DID I START
CREATING THIS?

WHEN I WAS ABOUT 12,
I'D HAVE TO SAY ABOUT 12,

I WAS--THE CLASSROOM TEACHER
PASSED OUT A SHEET,

AND I WAS TOTALLY FASCINATED
BY THE IMAGES THAT WERE ON THIS.

BEFORE, WE HAD WRITTEN ENGLISH,

AND--AND I HAD STRUGGLED
WITH IT, OF COURSE.

I REALLY DIDN'T FEEL I HAVE
A GRASP OF ENGLISH.

BUT THAT PARTICULAR POEM
THAT SHE HANDED OUT THAT DAY,

IT REALLY HELPED ME UNDERSTAND.

I WAS VERY SURPRISED.

AND THE AUTHOR OF THIS POEM
WAS ROBERT FROST.

HE'S A VERY STRONG IMAGE MAKER,

AND HE FOCUSES ON NATURE.

WELL, LATER ON, I THOUGHT,

"WHY SHOULDN'T I TRY
WRITING POETRY?"

SO, I THOUGHT
I'D SEE WHAT HAPPENED,

AND I WENT AHEAD.

OH, AS I GOT WRITING,
WHOO, IT WAS AWFULLY TOUGH.

I KEPT WORKING AND WORKING,
AND WHEN I GOT FINISHED,

I SHOWED IT TO THE INSTRUCTOR
TO SEE WHAT SHE WOULD THINK.

[LAUGHTER]

I--I LOOKED AT HER
FACIAL EXPRESSION

AND OBVIOUSLY LOST
ALL SORTS OF MOTIVATION.

THAT ALL WENT AWAY AND THEN,
MUCH FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD,

I'D HAVE TO SAY, OH,
WHEN I WAS ABOUT 20, MAYBE 21,

I HAD BECOME A STUDENT
AT NTID AT THAT TIME,

AND--AND I FELT A SPARK IN--
IN ME AGAIN.

AND FROM THE TIME I WAS 12
TO THE TIME I WAS 21,

I REALIZED THAT
THERE WAS THIS FEELING.

I--I FELT KIND OF SHY
ABOUT WRITING POETRY STILL.

I GAVE IT A TRY, BUT I JUST
FELT LIKE IT WASN'T MY MEDIUM.

I DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT TO DO WITH IT.

AND SO, I DECIDED
TO PUT THAT ON HOLD AND...

I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,
"WHY CAN'T I SEE

IF I CAN SIGN POETRY?"

AND AS I GOT GOING
AND EXPERIMENTING,

IT WAS INTERESTING.

DID I TELL MY FRIENDS, THOUGH?

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I KEPT IT A VERY CLOSELY
GUARDED SECRET.

AND THEN LATER ON, WELL,
I'LL EXPLAIN "LATER ON" LATER.

SO, I GAVE UP
THE--THE WRITTEN FORM

AND AROUND THAT TIME,
I CREATED THE POEM

"MY FAVORITE SUMMER HOUSE."

THIS WILL BE THE FIRST ONE.

IT WAS ABOUT 1971, 1972, THAT--
THAT ERA.

SO, HAVE YOU READ THIS YET?

OK. I'LL BE DOING THAT FIRST,

AND I'LL WANT YOU
TO READ IT FIRST,

BECAUSE I'M NOT GONNA USE
A VOICE INTERPRETER.

I'M JUST GOING
TO PERFORM IT VISUALLY

AND SEE IF THAT WILL
MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR YOU

TO JUST SEE IT VISUALLY

AND NOT HAVE ANY--
ANY ORAL INPUT.

SO, LET ME GIVE YOU A MINUTE
OR SO TO READ THIS, OK?

DO YOU ALL HAVE PAPERS
WHO WANT SOME?

EVERYONE OK?

[INDISTINCT] THEN.

THE TITLE OF THIS POEM
IS "MY OLD SUMMER HOUSE."

[APPLAUSE]

THANK YOU.

NEXT WE HAVE ONE TITLED
"THE WINDY BRIGHT MORNING."

MY FIRST POEM,
"MY FAVORITE OLD SUMMER HOUSE,"

WELL, AROUND THE SAME TIME
NEXT YEAR, THE FOLLOWING YEAR,

IT WAS '73 OR '74,
I WROTE THIS POEM.

I REALLY STRUGGLED WITH IT
AND I GAVE IT UP, BUT

THEN I STARTED SIGNING IT,
AND IT STARTED COMING OUT OK.

WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT I--
I GOT THIS TERRIBLE TOOTHACHE.

IT WAS REALLY GIVING ME
A LOT OF PAIN.

AND I TOLD THE DENTIST THAT I--
I REALLY WANTED IT FIXED,

AND HE SAID, "YOU'RE GONNA HAVE
TO WAIT FOR TOMORROW
FOR AN APPOINTMENT."

AND I SAID, "NO, NOW.
IT REALLY HURTS BAD."

BUT THEY SAID, "UH,
THE SCHEDULE'S FULL."

SO, I WAS STUCK.
I HAD TO WAIT
TILL THE FOLLOWING DAY.

I DIDN'T QUITE KNOW WHAT TO DO,

BECAUSE I WENT TO BED
THAT NIGHT

AND MY TOOTH WAS JUST POUNDING.

YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE,
I CAN IMAGINE.

I PACED THE FLOOR
AND DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO

TO KEEP MYSELF OCCUPIED.

SO, I THOUGHT TO MYSELF,
"WHY DON'T I JUST PRACTICE THIS

AND TRY TO DEVELOP?"

SO, THIS IS
"THE WINDY BRIGHT MORNING."

HAVE YOU READ THIS YET?

WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD
AND READ IT FIRST?

[LAUGHTER]

[APPLAUSE]

OK.

THE TOPIC OF THE--
THE TITLE OF THE NEXT POEM

IS "THE LONELY STURDY TREE."

AROUND THE TIME
THAT I WROTE THIS,

I WAS DRIVING EVERY DAY,

COMMUTING FROM ONE TOWN
TO ANOTHER,

FROM MY HOME TO WORK.

THAT WAS AROUND IN, OH, '76.

OH, MAINSTREAMING WAS JUST
GETTING ITS START AT THAT TIME,

AND IT WAS JUST STARTING
TO SPREAD,

AND AT THAT TIME,
I HAD A JOB TEACHING

IN A MAINSTREAM SCHOOL.

SO, I WAS COMMUTING
BACK AND FORTH EVERY DAY.

OH, AND I WAS HAVING
THE MOST TERRIBLE ROWS
WITH TEACHERS THERE.

AND THE TEACHERS DIDN'T SEEM
TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAD TO SAY

AND I WAS EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED.

I WOULD EXPLAIN MYSELF
ALL THE DAY, EVERY DAY.

I JUST SEEMED TO HAVE
LOTS OF CONFRONTATIONS.

AND ON MY WAY,
I USED TO SPOT THIS TREE

STANDING ALONE AND--AND STRONG,

AND--AND IT REALLY
INFLUENCED ME,

AND I FELT
I IDENTIFIED WITH THAT.

SO, WHY DON'T YOU GO AHEAD
AND READ THIS NOW.

OK.

[APPLAUSE]

I WOULD LIKE TO TELL YOU

HOW I HAPPENED TO COME UP
WITH "THE SNOWFLAKE."

"THE SNOWFLAKE" IS
MY FIRST EXPERIMENT

WITH ACTUALLY SIGNING
A POEM FIRST

AND NOT HAVING ANYTHING TO DO
WITH A WRITTEN FORM,

AND I TOTALLY
CREATED IT IN ASL

AND USED THE VIDEOTAPE.

BEFORE, I USED TO TRY
TO--TO WRITE MY POETRY

AND--AND HELP
DEVELOP IT THAT WAY.

SO, "THE SNOWFLAKE."

I HAD A VERY
INTERESTING EXPERIENCE.

I DECIDED TO TAKE ON
A FOSTER CHILD

WHOSE PARENTS COULD NOT
TAKE CARE OF HIM

BECAUSE HE WAS
EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED,

DEAF, WITHDRAWN,
AND HIS PARENTS

JUST HAD NO IDEA
HOW TO COPE WITH HIM.

AND SO, THEY DECIDED TO
GIVE HIM UP AS A FOSTER CHILD,

AND I DECIDED TO TAKE HIM IN.

SO, THE TWO OF US
WENT SHOPPING ONE DAY,

AND I WAS LOOKING
FOR SHOES FOR HIM

BECAUSE HIS WERE
IN HORRENDOUS SHAPE.

YOU KNOW, THE TOES WERE
SPLITTING OUT AND EVERYTHING.

AND HE WAS SO EXCITABLE.

HE WAS JUMPING
ALL OVER THE STORE

AND I KEPT TRYING
TO KEEP HIM IN HIS CHAIR.

HE OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T
GET OUT MUCH.

AND SO, I WAS TRYING
TO KEEP HIM DOWN,

AND EVERY TIME I WENT
TO LOOK FOR SOMETHING,

HE'D POP OUT OF HIS CHAIR.

SO, THERE WAS A MAN
WHO WAS WATCHING THIS

AND HE CAME OVER TO ME
AND STARTED TO TALK TO ME.

HE INDICATED THAT HE REALIZED
THE CHILD--CHILD WAS DEAF

AND--AND I COULDN'T HEAR HIM,

AND HE SAID, "LOOK AT ME.
JUST WATCH."

AND--AND HE SPOKE TO
THIS LITTLE--HIS CHILD,

AND THE CHILD
SPOKE BACK TO HIM.

I THOUGHT, "WELL, BIG DEAL"

AND THEN HE SAID,
"JUST LOOK AT THIS,"

AND HE SPOKE
TO THE CHILD AGAIN,

AND THE BOY LOOKED UP AT HIM

AND HE SPOKE AGAIN.

RIGHT. HIS CHILD WAS DEAF,

BUT THE FATHER WAS SO IMPRESSED

THAT--THAT THE CHILD
COULD SPEAK.

BUT THAT IMAGE
REALLY HIT HOME TO ME.

I WAS REALLY UNHAPPY THAT--
THAT THAT WAS SUCH A--
A BIG DEAL FOR HIM.

BUT THIS POEM
WAS DEVELOPED AFTER--

AFTER I HAD THIS EXPERIENCE.

ARE WE ALL OK?

HAS EVERYONE READ IT?

OK.

[LAUGHTER]

[APPLAUSE]

THE NEXT ONE
IS ENTITLED "DANDELION."

FOR--FOR ME AS WELL AS OTHERS,

I'VE LOOKED FOR--I'VE--I'VE
FOUND OUT THINGS ABOUT MYSELF

AND--AND FOUND OUT THINGS ABOUT
HOW I--I RELATE TO--TO CULTURE,

AND THIS IS WHAT
THIS POEM IS ABOUT.

HAVE YOU READ IT?

RIGHT.
HOW ABOUT IN THE BACK?

OH, OK.

[LAUGHTER]

[LAUGHTER]

[LAUGHTER]

[LAUGHTER]

[APPLAUSE]

OK. THIS IS OUR LAST ONE,

AND IT'S ENTITLED "THE CAVE."

THIS IS
A BRAND-SPANKING-NEW ONE.

I JUST FINISHED WRITING IT.

MAYBE...THE DEAF AMONG US
HAVE HAD SERIOUS DISCUSSIONS

ABOUT IMPLANTS,

AND--AND THERE HAVE BEEN
HOT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IT.

SO, "THE CAVE" IS A STORY

THAT'S RELATED TO THE TOPIC
OF COCHLEAR IMPLANTS.

[WOMAN LAUGHS]

[APPLAUSE]

OK. I GUESS WE'RE FINISHED.

[APPLAUSE]

NOW MATTHEW MOORE.

AND MY INTERPRETER
MARIE BENARD.

MANY THANKS TO MARIE.

[APPLAUSE]

OK. NOW.

BEFORE WE HAVE
THE INTERMISSION,

I JUST HAVE A FEW THINGS
I'D LIKE TO SAY.

[APPLAUSE]

OH, DEBBIE. HELLO.

[LAUGHTER]

DEBBIE, I--I WENT
TO THE BATHROOM,

AND I HAVE TO ADMIT,
I FEEL BETTER. OK.

OH, I DIDN'T WANT
TO HAVE TO PUT UP WITH

FEELING LIKE I HAD TO GO
THROUGH THAT WHOLE PRESENTATION.

WELL, I'M THE FINAL PRESENTER
FOR TODAY,

AND I HAVE TO WARN YOU.

MY--MY PRESENTATION IS
STRONGLY FOCUSED ON ART.

I'M GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT
THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF ART.

AND I HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW
THAT YOU NEED TO

READJUST YOUR THINKING CAPS
A BIT.

THIS IS A BIT
OF AN EXPERIMENT HERE.

I HAVE TO LET YOU KNOW,
SO, DON'T BE SCARED OF IT,

BUT I NEED TO EXPLAIN

THAT THIS IS PARTLY SCIENCE

AND PARTLY ART.

AND SO, YOU NEED
TO READJUST YOUR THINKING

SO THAT ART AND SCIENCE
CAN WORK TOGETHER

TO EXPLAIN THESE PHENOMENON.

ARE YOU READY
FOR THAT CHALLENGE?

READY TO FOLLOW ME? OK.

AROUND 1970, THEREABOUTS...

WE STARTED TO NOTICE THE FIRST
ORIGINAL ASL POETRY.

IN THE PAST, SOME HAD BEEN
WRITTEN ENGLISH, IN ENGLISH,

AND THEN TRANSLATED INTO ASL,

BUT IN THE SEVEN--
AROUND THE 1970S,

WE FINALLY STARTED
TO SEE ASL POETRY

ORIGINALLY CREATED
IN--IN THE LANGUAGE.

OH, AND WILLIAM--WILLIAM STOKOE,
IN THE 1960S,

WHO WAS A HEARING LINGUIST,

SAW ASL AND STARTED
TO ANALYZE IT,

AND HAD SEEN IT LABELED
AS BAD ENGLISH,

BUT HE REALLY PUT
THAT LABELING ASIDE

AND STARTED TO STUDY IT
FROM A LINGUISTIC APPROACH.

AND...

PEOPLE STARTED TO LAUGH AT HIM

BECAUSE HE SAID
IT WAS A REAL LANGUAGE.

THEY SAID HE WAS CRAZY,
BUT STOKOE WAS PERSISTENT.

HE WORKED AT IT LONG AND HARD

AND RESEARCHED FURTHER
AND DUG AND ANALYZED,

AND AROUND 1965,
OR ON THE 1960S,

AS ELLA POINTED OUT...

A NEW PHILOSOPHY
BEGAN TO SPREAD.

AND FROM THE SIXTIES ON,
WE FOUND THAT

ASL IS--IS A LANGUAGE.

I REALLY AM NOT SURE
WHAT HAPPENED UP UNTIL
THAT POINT.

IT WAS LIKE THE DARK AGES,
BUT WE HAVE NEW RESEARCH

THAT HAS COME ALONG
SINCE THAT TIME.

ASL POETRY BY ITS NATURE...

IS--IS DIFFICULT TO DEFINE.

AND--AND DURING HIGH SCHOOL,
I WAS VERY FRUSTRATED

BY TRYING TO ANALYZE POETRY,
AND IT WAS

A VERY DIFFICULT SUBJECT
FOR ME.

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
FOR THE DEAF...

HAD BEEN IN PLACE,
ESSENTIALLY UNCHANGED,

FOR 200 YEARS,
AS--AS PATRICK SAID,

AND I AGREE WITH HIM.

AND WE'RE STILL STRUGGLING
UNDER THIS OLD SYSTEM.

THEY TEACH CHILDREN,
FIRST OF ALL, READING, SPEECH,

WRITING, HOW TO THINK,

AND HOW TO SIGN,
ALL IN ENGLISH,

AND THEY EMPHASIZE ENGLISH
TO A GREAT EXTENT.

THEY SUPPRESS THE CREATIVE URGE
IN ASL.

SOME PEOPLE TOOK--
REALLY TOOK OFF WITH IT IN ASL,

BUT I THINK IF CHILDREN
WERE TAUGHT USING ASL,

THEY REALLY WOULD DEVELOP
THEIR CREATIVITY.

SO, THEY'VE--THEY'VE
BEEN SUPPRESSED

BY THE USE OF ENGLISH
ALL THOSE YEARS.

TEACHERS HAVE THE GOAL OF--
OF ALLOWING THE CHILDREN

TO EXPERIENCE ART BY PASSING OUT
POETRY AND--AND LITERATURE,

BUT THE CHILDREN
ARE FRUSTRATED BECAUSE

THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.

THE TEACHERS WANT THEM
TO ANALYZE IT AND STUDY IT,

BUT THE CHILDREN FEEL
FRUSTRATED BECAUSE

THEY FEEL THAT
THEY'RE ALWAYS WRONG,

AND SO, AS--AS THEY
LEAVE CLASS,

THEY DEVELOP NEGATIVE OPINIONS
ABOUT THE WHOLE SUBJECT.

AND WHEN I'VE STARTED
TO TALK ABOUT POETRY,

I'VE NOTICED AMONG
MY DEAF FRIENDS

THAT THEIR FACIAL EXPRESSION
HAS BECOME VERY WITHDRAWN

AND--AND THEY JUST SORT OF NOD

AND--AND IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT
THEY'VE HAD BAD EXPERIENCES.

THEY'RE VERY TURNED OFF
AND VERY DEFENSIVE.

THEY DON'T WANT
TO HEAR ABOUT IT

AND THEY--THEY JUST WANT TO GET
OUT OF THE WHOLE SUBJECT.

IT'S A VERY EXTREME REACTION.

WELL, POETRY, HOWEVER
YOU WANT TO SIGN IT,

DOES NOT ONLY DEPEND ON SOUND.

IT'S WIDE OPEN.

YOU CAN USE ALL OF
YOUR 5 SENSES

TO EXPERIENCE POETRY.

IT'S WIDE OPEN,
AND ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.

IT ISN'T ONLY LIMITED TO--
TO THE--THE SENSE OF SOUND.

OK, I SPOTTED
WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS,

AND SO, I WANTED TO GET INTO
WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF POETRY.

THERE IS SO MUCH INFORMATION
TO LOOK AT.

OH. I'M SORRY.

I'M TALKING ABOUT THE NATURE
OF ASL POETRY.

I--I WANTED TO FIND OUT
REALLY WHAT WAS IN IT.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT
ITS CHARACTERISTICS WERE

OR WHAT CRITERIA ONE USED
TO--TO LOOK AT IT.

IN--IN WRITTEN POETRY,
WE CAN FIND

RHYME AND RHYTHM AND LINES,
AND LINE DIVISION, BUT

I COULDN'T SEE THAT
IN ASL POETRY.

FIRST I LOOKED
AT ENGLISH POETRY.

IT'S VERY GOOD TO KNOW ENGLISH
AS A SECOND LANGUAGE.

AND I LOOKED TO SEE WHAT WAS
INVOLVED WITH POETRY.

WHAT DID IT MEAN?

AND I FOUND 4
IMPORTANT CRITERIA.

FIRST OF ALL WAS RHYME.

SECONDLY, LINE DIVISION.

THIRD, STANZAIC FORM,

MEANING THE WAY IT'S
DIVIDED INTO VERSES.

AND THAT FORM, AND FINALLY...

THE OVERALL STRUCTURE.

I WAS WONDERING IF PERHAPS
ASL POETRY ALSO HAD THIS.

IF IT COULD HAVE,
PERHAPS, RHYME, LINE DIVISION,

AND ACTUALLY, THAT WAS
ENOUGH FOR ME.

THAT WAS ENOUGH TO ANALYZE.
I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO EVEN

GO INTO STANZAIC FORM OR--
OR THE OVERALL FORM.

I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD
DIVIDE ASL POETRY INTO LINES,

AND I ASKED OTHER PEOPLE,
AND IT SEEMED

THAT THERE WAS JUST A BEGINNING
AND AN END TO THE POETRY ITSELF,

AND I WAS WONDERING, "HMM.
DOES IT HAVE ANY LINES?"

I--I COULDN'T FIND
ANY EXPLANATION OF THAT.

IT WAS VERY CLEAR WHERE
THE LINES ENDED IN ENGLISH,

BUT--BUT HOW DO WE LOOK
AT THAT IN ASL?

SO, I DECIDED TO ANALYZE
THAT ASPECT OF IT.

OK, SO, WE HAVE ENGLISH, AND...

THE POWER OF ENGLISH POETRY
SEEMED TO DEPEND ON

THE HEARING OF IT.

WHERE DOES THE POWER
IN ASL POETRY COME FROM?

IT COMES FROM SEEING IT.

AND SO, IT'S PARALLEL--IT GOES
ALONG THE SAME PATH,

BUT IN TWO DIFFERENT--
IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.

IN LOOKING AT THE SOUNDS
THAT WE FIND IN--IN POETRY,

IN ENGLISH,

WE SEE CONSONANTS AND VOWELS.

SO, THEY DEPEND ON THAT,

AND BY MANIPULATION
OF CONSONANTS AND VOWELS,

YOU FEEL POWER.

WHAT ABOUT IN ASL POETRY?

WELL, I DECIDED
TO STUDY LINGUISTICS

AND TAKE WHAT I LEARNED
FROM STUDYING ENGLISH POETRY

AND DEPENDED ON THAT
TO TRY TO ANALYZE

THE ASL POETRY I SAW.

THERE WERE TWO PEOPLE
BY THE NAMES OF
LIDDELL AND JOHNSON--

I'LL ABBREVIATE THAT L AND J--

WHO DEVELOPED A NOTATION SYSTEM

FOR ANALYZING SIGN LANGUAGE,

AND NOTATING IT AND PUTTING DOWN
SPECIFIC INFORMATION,

WHICH INCLUDED
FACIAL EXPRESSION,

BODY MOVEMENT, ETC.

SO, THERE WERE VARIOUS
DIVISIONS AND SIGNS...

SIMILAR TO
CONSONANTS AND VOWELS.

ONE WAS A HOLD AND THE OTHER
WAS A MOVEMENT.

THESE ARE TWO BASIC DIVISIONS.

SO, WE HAVE CONSONANTS
AND VOWELS IN ENGLISH,

AND WE HAVE A HOLD COMPARED TO
A MOVEMENT IN SIGN LANGUAGE.

SO, THOSE SEEM TO BE
THE BASES FOR EXAMINING THIS.

WE'D PUT TOGETHER CONSONANTS
AND VOWELS TO FIND WORDS,

AND HOW WOULD WE DO THE HOLDS
AND THE MOVEMENTS?

OK. THIS IS A HOLD,

AND SOMETIMES WE WOULD HAVE
A HOLD, A MOVEMENT,

AND THEN A HOLD.

LIKE "BROTHER."

JUST THE SIMPLE SIGN
OF "BROTHER."

THERE'S A HOLD-MOVEMENT-HOLD
THERE.

LET ME EXPLAIN THAT MORE--
MORE CLEARLY.

FROM TOUCHING MY FOREHEAD,
THAT'S A HOLD,

MY HAND MOVING DOWN
IS A MOVEMENT,

COMING DOWN
TO THE SIGN "RIGHT,"

WHICH IS ANOTHER HOLD.

SO, THERE'S A REAL--
LIDDELL AND JOHNSON'S
NOTATION SYSTEM

DEVELOPS ALONG THE LINES
OF THE HOLD-MOVEMENT-HOLD

TYPE OF NOTATION.

IT'S A LOT OF WORK TO ANALYZE
DIFFERENT SIGNS.

AND--AND I HAVEN'T USED
THE WHOLE THING, BUT

I'VE USED PARTS OF IT
TO DEMONSTRATE MY OPINIONS.

OK, YOU'VE GOT THE IDEA
WITH NOTATION HERE, RIGHT?

WELL, A PROBLEM OCCURS.

OK, I'D LIKE TO TALK
ABOUT CITATION FORM.

WE ABBREVIATE THAT "CF."

SO, LET ME GIVE YOU
AN EXAMPLE IN ENGLISH.

BOY.

IT SOUNDED DIFFERENT, RIGHT?

OK, THAT--THAT'S
A CITATION FORM,

OR THE DICTIONARY DEFINITION
OF THE WORD "BOY."

THAT--THAT'S HOW--THAT'S--

IF--IF I ASKED FOR A WORD
THAT MEANT THAT,

I WOULD USE THE WORD "BOY."

SO, IN PROSE,

IT MEANS THE USE OF--OF EVERYDAY
COLLOQUIAL SPEECH.

WE...

IT HAS A DEFINITION OF POETRY

AND IT EXPLAINS THE SPECIFICS.

BUT ANYWAY.

I HAD TO EXPLAIN THESE DIFFERENT
THINGS USING ASL--OH, IN ASL--

PROSE, POETRY,
AND THE CITATION FORM.

THERE WERE THE 3 DIFFERENT
REGISTERS IN LANGUAGE. OK.

OK, I HAVE SEVERAL OVERHEADS.

LET ME SEE--THE FIRST ONE.

WE SHOW THE CITATION FORM
IN PROSE OF ASL,

AND LET ME
DEMONSTRATE THAT NOW.

IS IT HARD TO SEE?
I'M GONNA GO THROUGH

AND EXPLAIN THIS.

OK, HERE WE HAVE
THE ENGLISH GLOSS, OK?

AND THE SEGMENTS,
MEANING WHETHER

IT'S A HOLD OR OF MOVEMENT.

SO, IT'S DIVIDED INTO SEGMENTS

BY THAT...USE.

AND IN PARENTHESES,
WE HAVE "STRONG."

OH, THAT MEANS I'M USING
MY DOMINANT ARM.

PEOPLE WHO ARE
LEFT-HANDED HAVE--

HAVE THE DOMINANT ARM
IN THEIR LEFT HAND.

OK, THE MOVEMENT
IS WHETHER IT'S MOVING

IN A CIRCULAR FASHION,

OUT AND IN FROM THE BODY
OR LEFT TO RIGHT.

HAND CONFIGURATION MEANS
WHAT SPECIFIC TYPE OF HANDSHAPE

YOUR HAND IS IN,

AND--AND THESE
ARE ALL THE SAME.

THE FINAL CATEGORY
IS NON-MANUAL SIGNALS.

THAT'S THE USE OF
FACIAL EXPRESSION,

THE USE OF EYEBROWS,
THE MOVEMENT OF THE MOUTH, ETC.

AND WE SHOW THIS IN--
IN PICTURES AND SEGMENTS.

AND THIS LOOKS
LIKE ENGLISH HERE.

"I WANT TO GO"--AND SO, WE'RE
FOLLOWING THE ENGLISH STRUCTURE.

THIS IS THE CITATION FORM
OF ASL.

"I," POINTING TO MYSELF.

THE CITATION FORM OF "WANT."

THAT'S LIKE IF--THAT'S
THE DICTIONARY MEANING
OF "WANT,"

THE WAY YOU SIGN IT.

SO, YOU'RE PULLING IT
IN TOWARD YOURSELF.

THIS IS "GO TO."
THIS IS THE CITATION FORM
OF THAT.

"STORE." OK?

AS YOU NOTICE, WE'VE PUT--
DIVIDED THESE

INTO SEPARATE CATEGORIES.

THERE'S NO HOLD IN "I."
IT'S JUST A MOVING SIGN.

IT MOVES IN AND IT HOLDS
WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR BODY.

IN ORDER TO FIGURE THIS OUT,
YOU'D KIND OF HAVE TO ADJUST
YOUR VCR

SO YOU COULD SEE THIS
IN SLOW MOTION.

SO, IT HOLDS WHEN IT ARRIVES
ON THE BODY.

AND THE HANDSHAPE
IS IF YOU HAD A NUMBER--

YOU WERE HOLDING UP
THE NUMBER ONE.

OK, LET ME GIVE YOU
AN EXAMPLE OF THIS.

FOR EXAMPLE, I COULD USE
A ONE OR A TWO HERE.

YOU SEE WHAT I MEAN?

SO, WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT HANDSHAPE.

AND IT STAYS THE SAME.
IT DOESN'T CHANGE.

IT REMAINS THE ONE HANDSHAPE
ALL THE WAY IN

UNTIL IT TOUCHES YOUR BODY.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?

OK, WHAT--WHAT THESE LINES MEAN

ARE--IT'S A CONNECTED MOVEMENT,

MEANING IT'S NOT HALTED.

IT'S CONTINUOUS.

ALL RIGHT.
THERE'S--THERE'S
SEPARATE CONCEPTS,

BUT THEY'RE CONNECTED
BY A MOVEMENT.

SO, "WANT" IS ALL
A CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT.

SEE WHAT I MEAN?
THERE'S A HOLD HERE,

AND YOU DRAW IT IN
TOWARD YOURSELF,

AND YOU NOTICE THERE ARE
TWO DIFFERENT HANDSHAPES HERE.

THESE ARE DIFFERENT--
ONE IS AN OPEN "5,"

AND WITH THE 3 DOTS
OVER THAT 5,

THAT INDICATES THAT THE HAND
DRAWS INTO A CLAW SHAPE

AS YOU MOVE IT IN,

SO, THESE ARE ACTUALLY
TWO DIFFERENT HANDSHAPES

THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FROM
THE BEGINNING TO THE ENDING

OF THIS ONE PARTICULAR
SIDE--SIGN.

THE RIGHT HAND
IS STRONG, OR DOMINANT.

THE LEFT HAND
IS THE WEAKER ONE.

AND OVER IN
THE "I" PORTION OF IT,

YOU ONLY USE THE RIGHT HAND
AND NOT THE LEFT.

OK. STOKOE MADE A SIMILAR
TYPE OF NOTATION HERE, AND SO...

STOKOE FOUND THE--OH,
STOKOE FOUND SEVERAL--

OR DEVELOPED A PARTICULAR
TYPE OF NOTATION,

AND IT'S KIND OF EVOLVED
TO THE POINT THAT IT IS NOW,

OF LIDDELL'S AND JOHNSON'S.

THE SIGN "GO TO"
IS VERY SIMPLE.

IT COMES FROM A "5"
THAT'S CLOSED

INTO A CLOSED "O."

[INDISTINCT] HOLD
AND THEN REPEATS ITSELF.

IT MOVES OUT TWICE.

IT'S THE SAME HANDSHAPE,

AND IT'S A DOUBLE MOTION.

AND BOTH HANDS
ARE THE SAME SHAPE,

AND SO, IT'S NOTATED THAT WAY,

BOTH ON THE TOP LINE
AND--AND IN THE LOWER LINES.

SO, THIS IS IN PROSE,
NOT IN POETRY.

AND THIS IS IN CITATION FORM.

IF ONE WERE TO ASK HOW TO SIGN

"I WANT TO GO TO THE STORE,"

THIS IS WHAT
SOMEONE WOULD TELL YOU.

OK, THE WAY DEAF PEOPLE
TEND TO SIGN EVERY DAY

WOULD BE "I WANT TO GO TO
THE STORE" IN THIS FASHION.

OH, MY, IT'S ASL PROSE,

BUT IT'S A COLLOQUIAL USE
OF EVERYDAY LANGUAGE.

EVERYTHING IS ABBREVIATED.

BEFORE, WE SAW THE SIGN "I,"

BUT THAT'S BECOME MUTATED INTO

THE "I" BEING INVOLVED
WITH THIS HANDSHAPE HERE.

IT'S--IT'S CLOSE, AND SO,
THIS HANDSHAPE MEANS

"I WANT," BUILT
ALL INTO ONE SIGN.

SO, "I WANT" IS THIS--
IS THIS MOVEMENT.

AND THEN IT COMBINES FURTHER
INTO GOING TO THE STORE.

IT FLIPS AROUND
AND BECOMES THE STORE.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
THE QUESTION IS IN TERMS OF

THE PLACEMENT,
IN TERMS OF THE BODY,

WHERE YOU WOULD PUT THE SIGN
"WANT GO TO STORE."

CAN YOU SHOW A LITTLE BIT MORE
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, PLEASE?

VALLI: THAT'S
A REAL GOOD POINT.

SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO KNOW
ABOUT THE PLACEMENT.

WE'RE NOT TALKING
ABOUT THE LOCATION.

THAT HAS BEEN ELIMINATED,
BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY LOOKING AT

THESE 3 CRITERIA
TO ANALYZE POETRY.

LET ME TELL YOU,
THERE ARE A LOT MORE CRITERIA,

AND IT'D--IT'D FILL
SEVERAL CHARTS,

AND LET ME TELL YOU,
IT'D MAKE YOUR HEAD SPIN

TO TRY TO LOOK AT ALL OF IT.

SO, I CHOSE
3 IMPORTANT CRITERIA

FOR ME TO DEAL WITH.

OK, SO, YOU GET THE IDEA.

OK. WE'VE GOT CITATION FORM

IN POETRY AND PROSE.

OH, WE HAVE CITATION FORM.

WE HAVE PROSE FORM.

NOW, DO WE HAVE IT IN POETRY?

HOW CAN WE LOOK AT POETRY?

CAN WE USE THE SYSTEM?

I DECIDED THAT I HAD TO SEE.

I HAD ALREADY APPLIED IT
TO CITATION FORM IN PROSE.

OK, IN POETRY, MY FIRST STEP--
WELL, WAIT.

HANG ON JUST A MOMENT.

OK, I ALMOST JUMPED AHEAD.
I'M GLAD I CHECKED MY NOTES.

OK, WITH ASL POETRY,
A SIMILAR POET PROBLEM

POPPED UP WHEN I WENT
TO ANALYZE IT.

THERE WERE NOT MANY
ORIGINAL POEMS TO LOOK AT

THAT WERE ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED
IN ASL.

I STARTED WORKING
IN ANALYZING POETRY IN 1984.

I GOT $1,000 FROM
THE STOKOE SCHOLARSHIP GRANT

TO BEGIN AN--ANALYZING
AND DOING THIS.

I HAD--I HAD BEEN
STRUGGLING WITH MYSELF

TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER I
REALLY WANTED TO JUMP INTO THIS

AND WHEN I GOT THE MONEY,
IT REALLY PUSHED ME INTO IT.

SO, IN '84...OH, I DIDN'T
WANT TO USE MY OWN POETRY.

I WANTED TO USE
THE POETRY OF OTHERS.

AND--AND I KNEW ELLA,

AND SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE
I COULD COME UP WITH,

AND I WAS WONDERING
IF I SHOULD USE MINE,

BUT IT'S THE ONLY OTHER
THAT I COULD--

THAT I COULD REALLY LOOK AT.

SO, I STARTED LOOKING
AT BOTH OF THEM,

AND IT REALLY WASN'T
A LOT OF FUN.

I KEPT LOOKING AT VIDEOTAPES

BACK AND FORTH
AND BACK AND FORTH

AND TRYING TO ANALYZE THEM

AND TRYING TO FIND THE CRITERIA
THAT I FELT THAT I COULD

REALLY GRASP ONTO.

AND--SO, LET ME SHARE WITH YOU

WHAT I STARTED TO FIND.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
IS THIS CITATION FORM OR PROSE?

WHICH ARE YOU
SPEAKING OF RIGHT NOW?

VALLI: WELL, I HAVEN'T
LOOKED AT THAT YET.

FIRST I WAS LOOKING
AT CITATION FORM

AND THEN PROSE--WELL,
CITATION FORM

IS LIKE "I WANT TO GO
TO THE STORE."

AND THEN I LOOKED AT PROSE

AND DOCUMENTED THAT,

AND SHOWED HOW
I COULD USE THE SYSTEM.

SO, NOW I WAS TRYING TO APPLY
THIS NOTATION SYSTEM TO POETRY,

SEE IF IT WOULD BE USEFUL.

I PICKED A FEW LINES
OF MY OWN POETRY

AND ALSO OF ELLA'S.

AND THIS IS FROM MY POEM
"THE SNOWFLAKE"...

WHERE I SHOW THE FULL TREE

AND THEN THE LEAVES FALLING,

AND--AND THEN THE GRASS
AND THAT WITHERING.

AND I FELT THAT
THAT WAS ENOUGH--

A VERY, VERY SIMPLE PART
OF MY OWN POETRY TO LOOK AT.

AND WITH ELLA'S, I CHOSE--

I'M NOT--I--I HOPE
YOU DON'T CRITIQUE ME ON THIS.

EXCUSE ME IF--IF I'M
WRONG WITH THIS.

OK, THE FIRST IS
"TIME OUR ETERNAL,"

AND THEN..."THE SUN RISES
AND SETS ETERNALLY."

OK.

I JUST CHOSE THAT
BRIEF SEGMENT OF HER WORK,

AND THAT WAS ENOUGH.

AND NOW LET ME
EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU.

THIS NOTATION IS JUST
TO INDICATE THE TREE.

THERE'S NO MOVEMENT.

BOTH OF THEM ARE 5 HANDSHAPES.

SO, WE SEE 5,
AND THEY'RE BOTH HOLDS.

THERE'S NO MOVEMENT.

AND THE EYEBROWS ARE RAISED
AND LIPS ARE PURSED...

THROUGH THIS WHOLE TIME.

SEE THE LIPS?
AND THE EYEBROWS ARE RAISED?

THAT INDICATES THE SUBJECT
OF THE TREE.

AND MY EYE GAZE IS LOOKING
AT WHAT I'M SIGNING

FOR THE WHOLE DURATION
OF THIS PARTICULAR PHRASE.

AND MY BODY IS SHIFTED
TO THE RIGHT. OK?

THAT'S WHAT ALL OF THAT MEANS.

SO, NOW LET'S MOVE OVER HERE

TO THE--TO LEAVES.

FIRST WE HAVE THE TREE,
AND THEN WE SHOW THE LEAVES,

AND THE EYEBROWS
ARE STILL RAISED

AND THE LIPS ARE STILL PURSED,

AND MY BODY IS STILL
FACING THE SIGNING.

SO, THOSE CARRY THROUGH
TO THE NEXT SEGMENT.

AND AS THE TREE IS UP, AND THEN

I SHAKE MY HEAD,

STICK OUT MY TONGUE
A LITTLE BIT,

AND SHOW THE LEAVES HAVE
FALLEN OFF THE TREE.

THE "TH" INDICATES MY--
MY TONGUE IS SLIGHTLY OUT,

AND THE "NEGATIVE" MEANS THAT MY
HEAD IS SHAKING BACK AND FORTH.

OK, HERE WE HAVE THE TREE
AND THE LEAVES THAT HAVE FALLEN,

AND THEN WE MOVE
AND WE SEE THE GRASS

THAT IS NOT WAVING BUT
HAS WITHERED AND DIED.

AND THIS IS THE SIGN HERE
FOR "GRASS."

IT'S THE "5" HANDSHAPE.

AND HERE, AGAIN,
THE BROWS ARE RAISED

AND THE LIPS ARE PURSED,

AS I'M SHOWING YOU
THE SUBJECT OF THE GRASS.

AND AS WE MOVE OVER
TO THE NEXT SEGMENT

AND I SHOW IT WAVING,

I HAVE THE SAME
FACIAL EXPRESSION,

AND THEN AS IT WITHERS,
IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME

AS IT WAS BEFORE.

YOU GET A NEGATIVE HEADSHAKE

WITH THE--THE TONGUE
COMING OUT.

I KNOW IT'S A LITTLE DIFFICULT
TO READ, BUT I JUST WANT YOU

TO SEE THE BOTTOM PART HERE,

THAT THESE ARE REPEATED
EXACTLY AS THEY WERE BEFORE.

DID YOU NOTICE THAT?
THEY'RE EXACTLY THE SAME.

AND WHEN I SAW THAT...

I ASKED--HAD TO ASK MYSELF,
"HMM.

IS THIS LINE DIVISION?"

COULD BE.

NOW WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT--
AT ELLA'S WORK.

OK, THIS IS ELLA'S POEM
CALLED "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE."

YESTERDAY, I BELIEVE,
SHE PERFORMED THIS.

SO, IT'S "THE CIRCLE OF LIFE."

SHOWING TIME PASSING
AND THE HOUR,

GOING ON ETERNALLY.

AND IT'S THE SAME MOTION
THROUGH ALL 3 SIGNS.

IT'S A CIRCULAR MOTION.

THE HANDSHAPE, HOWEVER, VARIES.

FIRST WE HAVE A "T" CIRCLING,

THEN A "ONE" HANDSHAPE

AND THEN AN "A."

SHE DOESN'T EMPHASIZE
THE HANDSHAPE,

BUT I SEEM TO TEND TO.

SHE SEEMS TO MORE MAKE USE OF

THE REPETITION OF MOVEMENT...

BUT HER FACIAL EXPRESSION
IS A DIFFERENT STORY.

HER BROWS ARE RAISED
AND SHE'S LOOKING

AT WHAT SHE'S SIGNING.

AND THE BROWS ARE RAISED.

OH, NO, EXCUSE ME.

OH, WRONG.
I WAS WRONG.
EXCUSE ME.

AND SHE'S NOT LOOKING AT WHAT
SHE'S SIGNING IN THE FIRST SIGN.

THE SECOND SIGN, SHE--HER--
SHE SHIFTS

AND LOOKS AT WHAT
HER HANDS ARE DOING.

AND THEN IN THE THIRD SIGN,
SHE'S BACK TO LOOKING

OUT AT HER AUDIENCE

FOR THE SIGN "ETERNAL."

AND HERE WE HAVE THE SUN
IN THIS LINE GOING AROUND,

FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET...
ETERNALLY,

AND THE HANDSHAPE,
AGAIN, IS DIFFERING

WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL SEGMENT,

BUT HER FACIAL EXPRESSION
REMAINS THE SAME
AS IT WAS BEFORE.

EYEBROWS ARE LIFTED AND DOWN,

AND THEN LOOKING AT THE SIGN,

AND THEN LOOKING BACK OUT
AT THE AUDIENCE AGAIN.

SO, HER SHIFT IN GAZE IS
OCCURRING THE SAME WAY
AS BEFORE.

SO, AGAIN, I HAVE TO ASK,

IS THIS THE ASL DEFINITION
OF LINE DIVISION?

AS YOU SEE HERE,
WE HAVE A DIRECT MAPPING

FROM ONE LINE TO THE NEXT.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: DOES ANYTHING
DEPEND ON THE EXPRESSION ITSELF?

VALLI: I'M GONNA MOVE ON TO
EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER.

OK. SO, HOW DO YOU KNOW
WHEN IS THE END OF A LINE?

SO, LET ME TRY
TO EXPLAIN THAT NOW.

CAN--CAN YOU SEE ME?

WOMAN: CAN WE RAISE THE LIGHTS
JUST A LITTLE, PLEASE?

CAN WE BRING THE LIGHTS UP?
ON THE STAGE?

IS THAT BETTER? FINE.

IS THAT BETTER FOR EVERYBODY?
OK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

VALLI: OK. CAN YOU SEE
THIS NOW STILL?

OK.

OK, GREAT. THANKS.

OK, HOW DO WE KNOW
A LINE HAS ENDED?

SO--

WOMAN: HOLD IT, HOLD IT.

I REALLY WANT
TO MAKE THIS CLEAR.

WE REALLY NEED A SPOT, PLEASE,
ON CLAYTON,

AND PRESERVE THAT LIGHT THAT
WE HAVE WITH THE OVERHEAD.

IS THAT BETTER?
NOW CAN EVERYBODY
SEE THAT AS WELL?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WONDERFUL. PERFECT. OK.

LET'S JUST KEEP IT RIGHT THERE.

VALLI: OK. GREAT.

OK, MY QUESTION
OF LINE DIVISION.

I SEEM TO--TO NOTICE
THIS GOING ON,

BUT I NEEDED TO FIND SOME PROOF
OF WHERE THIS LINE WAS ENDING.

THE HANDSHAPE IN THE DIFFERENT
LINES LOOKED CONTINUOUS,

BUT HOW DID I KNOW
THAT A PARTICULAR LINE

WAS OVER WITH?

BY LOOKING AT THE MOVEMENT

AND SEEING THAT THE FINAL
HANDSHAPE WAS THE SAME.

HOLD ON.

OK. BOTH OF THEM HAD
A DOWNWARD MOVEMENT.

SO, THEY'RE BOTH MOVING DOWN.

THE LEAVES ARE FALLING DOWN
AND THE GRASS IS WITHERING DOWN,

AND WE KNOW THAT THIS
IS WHERE THE LINE ENDS.

WE HOPE.
AND NOW LET'S LOOK AT ELLA'S.

I THINK WE'LL SEE
THE SAME THING.

WAIT A MINUTE.

HER MOVEMENT IS CONTINUOUS,
SO, WE'VE GOT TO SEE,

HOW DO WE KNOW
WHERE THIS LINE ENDS?

HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY
DECIPHER THAT?

WE CAN FIND
THE LINE TERMINATION

BY LOOKING AT
THE HANDSHAPE MOVEMENT.

THE--THE MOVEMENT IS CONTINUOUS

BUT THE HANDSHAPE
STAYS THE SAME.

ELLA AND I SEEM
TO USE DIFFERENT DEVICES

TO SHOW THE END OF OUR LINES.

I USED MOVEMENT
AND HER HANDSHAPE REPEATED

AND SO, THAT WE KNOW
THAT'S THE END OF HER LINE.

SO, THE HANDSHAPE IS THE SAME.

AND SO, THAT'S WHY--
WHAT WE MEAN BY

LINE TERMINATION.

IS EVERYTHING OK?
ARE YOU ALL CLEAR ON THIS?
GREAT.

I FOUND ALL OF THESE
INTERESTING THINGS,

AND I'LL TELL YOU--
I STARTED TO GET

MORE AND MORE EXCITED ABOUT IT,

AND I WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS,
BECAUSE I WASN'T QUITE SURE

WHAT I WAS FINDING WAS VALID,

AND I STARTED ASKING
DIFFERENT PEOPLE,

AND MOST PEOPLE SEEMED
TO AGREE WITH ME, AND--

AND--AND MOST OF THE POETS HERE
ARE VERY WELL VERSED,

AND I'M PLANNING ON
TALKING TO YOU ALL

ABOUT THIS CONCEPT LATER.

YES?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT SOMETHING.

BECAUSE OF ELLA'S EXPLANATION
ABOUT THAT, ABOUT LINGUISTICS,

I'M WONDERING,
DOES THIS MEAN THAT

WE CAN'T REALLY ANALYZE
THE POETRY ADEQUATELY?

BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE IT--IT
STRAINS THE LANGUAGE IN A WAY.

SO, I'M REALLY INTERESTED
TO FIND THAT YOU'RE SAYING

WE CAN ANALYZE THE POETRY, THAT
THERE IS A WAY TO--TO DO THIS,

AND THAT WE CAN
ADEQUATELY, LINGUISTICALLY

ANALYZE WHAT WE'RE DOING.

VALLI: YES, THAT'S TRUE.
I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN. YES?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
I WANT TO EXPLAIN.
I DIDN'T SAY

THAT YOU COULDN'T ANALYZE
LINGUISTICS OF IT.

I JUST SAID THAT YOU CAN'T
REALLY APPLY THE SAME RULES

OF LINGUISTICS TO ASL SOMETIMES

THAT HAVE BEEN APPLIED
TO ENGLISH,

AND I THINK THAT YOU HAVE
TO ANALYZE THE STYLE.

YOU CAN ANALYZE POETRY,
YOU CAN ANALYZE LINGUISTICS,

BUT THEY TEND TO HAVE DIFFERENT
PARAMETERS TO USE.

VALLI: YEAH, I'M BORROWING
SOME OF THESE TECHNIQUES

TO ANALYZE ENGLISH,
TO ANALYZE THE POETRY

THAT WE FIND IN ASL. OK.

OK, I'VE FOUND ALL OF THESE
INTERESTING PHENOMENON,

AND THEN I--I WENT
BACK TO ENGLISH.

REMEMBER WE TALKED ABOUT
CONSONANTS AND VOWELS,

AND HOW THEY REPEAT,
AND THERE'S ALSO A REPETITION

IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE,

AND I WANTED TO SEE
HOW THESE COMPARED.

WELL, THIS IS ONE LINE
FROM AN ENGLISH POET,

AND I NOTICED THE REPETITION
OF THE CONSONANT "M"

IN "MOTHER," "MONTHS,"
AND "MEADOWS."

THIS TECHNIQUE
IS CALLED ALLITERATION.

AND I DIDN'T REALLY KNOW
WHAT TO CALL THE REPETITION

I FOUND IN--IN ASL POETRY.

AND HERE'S ANOTHER LINE
FROM A POETRY IN ENGLISH,

AND THIS IS A REPETITION
OF A VOWEL SOUND.

AND THIS IS CALLED ASSONANCE.

AND I THOUGHT THIS
WAS VERY INTERESTING.

SO, I STOLE THE IDEA
OF ALLITERATION,

BUT I COULDN'T REALLY
APPLY IT TO ASL.

IT--IT WAS A DIFFERENT
TYPE OF APPROACH.

SO, I NEEDED TO COME UP
WITH SOME DIFFERENT IDEA.

SO, I CAME UP WITH WHAT I CALL
HANDSHAPE RHYME.

AND IN AMERICAN
SIGN LANGUAGE POETRY...

I'VE--I'VE COME UP WITH ALSO
MOVEMENT PATH RHYME.

THE REPETITION OF--
OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

I ABBREVIATE AS NMS TO MEAN
"NON-MANUAL SIGNALS RHYME."

I WAS TRYING TO THINK IF
THERE WAS A FOURTH ONE.

IT'S STILL A LITTLE STICKY.
I'M NOT SURE THAT

YOU'LL ALL QUITE AGREE
WITH ME OR NOT, BUT

I'M PROPOSING THAT
WE CAN ALSO COME UP WITH

SOMETHING CALLED
LINE DIVISION RHYME.

IT MIGHT SOUND
A LITTLE AWKWARD, BUT

IT SEEMS THAT
WE CAN FIND DIVISIONS

WHERE THINGS ARE REPEATED.

AND SO, I'M DEFINITELY OPEN
TO DISCUSSION ON THIS LAST ONE.

THE FIRST 3 I THINK
ARE FAIRLY CLEAR

BUT THE LAST ONE--

POETRY,
IN PROSE OR IN POETRY.

THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT
NAMES FOR IT IN ENGLISH.

AND I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS
ALSO THE SAME THING IN ASL.

HOO, WHEN I GOT INTO
THE WHOLE SUBJECT, THOUGH,

IT WAS A REALLY TOUGH ONE.

I DECIDED TO HOLD UP MY
INVESTIGATION OF THAT BECAUSE--

WHEW--SOME PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY,
VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT RHYTHM

MAY WANT TO ANALYZE THAT.

I THINK THAT MIGHT BE
A LITTLE BIT OVER MY HEAD.

OK, SO, THAT'S MY
EXPLANATION OF THAT.

AND IN CONCLUSION, I WANT
TO TELL YOU THAT MY GOAL

FOR ALL OF US AND, I THINK,
ALL OF OUR GOALS

IS THAT ASL POETRY, OR ASL ART,

CAN START TO SPREAD AND GROW,

AND WE CAN LOOK AT IT
AND TALK ABOUT IT

AND TEACH THESE THINGS
TO FUTURE GENERATIONS

SO IT CAN BE
HANDED DOWN FOR THEM.

THAT'S ALL.
THANK YOU.

[APPLAUSE]

MAN: DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
FROM THE AUDIENCE?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: HMM.
I'M INTERESTED IN WHAT YOU
SAID ABOUT RHYTHM AND RHYME.

I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONCEPTS,
BUT IT MAKES ME RUMINATE

ABOUT A FEW THINGS.

THE WORD ITSELF--RHYME.

I FEEL LIKE THAT IS SO BOUND

IN THE SOUNDS OF POETRY,
IN ENGLISH POETRY.

PERHAPS THAT'S AN INCORRECT
TERM TO USE.

AND I WONDER--YOU KNOW,
NATIVE INDIAN AMERICAN POETRY,

IT'S A WHOLE SEPARATE LANGUAGE
THAT'S VERY ICONIC,

AND PERHAPS WE CAN USE

A DIFFERENT SORT
OF WORD FOR THAT.

DOES THOSE SORTS OF LANGUAGES
HAVE A RHYME, DO YOU THINK, TOO?

MAYBE WE CAN'T, BUT MAYBE
WE NEED TO COIN A NEW TERM.

PERHAPS WE CAN COME UP WITH
SOMETHING NEW TO APPLY TO THIS.

VALLI: THAT'S REAL INTERESTING.
THE USE OF THE WORD "RHYME."

THAT PARTICULAR WORD.
I CAN BORROW IT FROM ENGLISH

AND USE IT FOR A SIMILAR IDEA,

BECAUSE THEY BOTH
MEAN REPETITION.

THEY HAVE THE SAME MEANING.
SO, I'VE JUST BORROWED THE WORD.

RHYTHM...IS A REPETITION
OF--OF MOVEMENT,

AND I'VE--I'VE NOTICED THAT
IN ASL POETRY.

I'M SURE YOU CAN NOTICE
A CERTAIN RHYTHM TO IT.

OR--OR TO AN IMAGE, BUT

I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE
HOW TO DEFINE IT

AND HOW TO SET IT UP.

I--I REALLY TELL YOU, I'M--
I'VE STRUGGLED WITH IT

AND TRIED TO FIND ITS IDENTITY

AND--AND IT'S VERY COMPLEX.

THE NAVAJO POETRY
THAT WE'VE SEEN.

DOES THAT HAVE
A DIFFERENT RHYTHM?

LIKE YOU, I'M NOT REAL FAMILIAR
WITH THIS AREA.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
I WAS WONDERING ABOUT PAUSING

AND THE DIFFERENT RHYTHMS
THAT WE SEE

WITH THE HOLD-MOVEMENT-HOLD,

AND I DO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU--
THAT WE NEED TO ANALYZE
THIS CONCEPT MORE.

BUT WHEN YOU WERE
TALKING ABOUT--

TALKING ABOUT THE MOVEMENT--
THE CIRCULAR MOVEMENT OF

HOUR AND HOUR
AND TIME AND TIME,

DID YOU COUNT HOW MUCH TIME,
HOW MUCH DURATION

WAS INVOLVED IN THE MOVEMENTS
TO COMPARE WITH

HOW MANY MOVEMENTS
WERE USED CONTINUOUSLY

OR HOW MANY MOVEMENTS
WERE USED WITH THE CONCEPT

OF THE--THE SUN MOVING
IN--IN THAT POEM?

VALLI: THAT WAS AN INCREDIBLE
AMOUNT OF WORK,

SO, I AVOIDED THE RHYTHM.

I WAS TRYING TO USE
A STOPWATCH TO CHECK

HOW LONG THINGS WERE MOVING,
AND YOU--YOU NEED DATA

IN ORDER TO STUDY THIS,

AND WE CHECKED OUT
THE PATTERNS,

AND I WOULD NOTICE
CERTAIN THINGS OCCURRING.

AND IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT
OF WORK, LET ME TELL YOU.

I WAS JUST OVERWHELMED.

I WAS COUNTING 1-2-3, 1-2-3
TO TRY TO

SET UP SOME SORT OF
RHYTHM PATTERN THERE, AND--

AND MOVING FROM
SLOW TO FAST, AND...

AND AT THE SAME TIME, I--
I REALLY WASN'T
QUITE AWARE OF THAT,

BUT--BUT NOW AS I'M
TALKING TO YOU,

IT'S STARTING TO MAKE
A LITTLE BIT MORE SENSE.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU
AND FOR ELLA.

NOW, THE TWO OF YOU ARE POETS,

AND I REALIZE THAT
THE TWO OF YOU

CHOOSE YOUR SIGNS
QUITE CAREFULLY

TO INCORPORATE
INTO YOUR POETRY.

NOW, I WONDER IF THIS MEANS

DO YOU MATCH THE--THE SIGNS
TO MATCH THE--THE RHYME

AND THE RHYTHM THAT
YOU WANT, PARTICULARLY,

OR HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THESE
THAT YOU WANT TO USE?

VALLI: WELL, I DON'T KNOW.
MAYBE ELLA WOULD LIKE

TO RESPOND FOR HERSELF,
BUT IT'S REAL INTERESTING.

FIRST OF ALL, I COME UP
WITH THE POETRY ITSELF,

AND WHEN IT'S ALL DONE
AND I FEEL INSIDE

THAT IT'S EXACTLY RIGHT AND IT
SAYS WHAT I WANT IT TO SAY,

THEN...WELL, I DON'T KNOW
ALWAYS WHERE IT COMES FROM.

ELLA, I'M NOT SURE WHERE
YOUR POETRY COMES FROM.

ELLA: WELL, FOR ME,
I DO REMEMBER

WHEN I WAS WONDERING WHAT
TO USE FOR A PARTICULAR POEM,

ESPECIALLY THE ONE
THAT I SHOWED

WHERE I WAS USING
A--A RING HANDSHAPE.

NOW, OF COURSE,
FOR THE WEDDING POEM,

I DID WANT
TO SHOW THE MOVEMENT.

I HAD THE CONCEPT I WANTED,
AND I WANTED IT TO MATCH
THE DURATION OF TIME.

I WANTED CERTAIN THINGS
THAT I--

DEFINITELY WANTED
TO INCORPORATE THE MOVEMENT,

THE IDEA OF WEDDING BANDS,
AND THE TIME ETERNALLY,

AND--AND THOSE SORTS OF IDEAS.

THE SUN.
I--I KNEW CERTAIN SHAPES

THAT I DID WANT TO INCORPORATE,

SO, I CHOSE THEM VERY CAREFULLY
ON PURPOSE.

THOSE WERE THE THINGS
I HAD IN MIND.

BUT I COULDN'T GET MUCH MORE
PRECISE ABOUT THAT

UNTIL I--I NEVER REALLY
ANALYZED IT UNTIL LATER ON.

VALLI: YEAH, YOU'RE RIGHT.
WE SEEM TO TICK--PICK
PARTICULAR HANDSHAPES,

BUT THE FACIAL EXPRESSION,
I REALLY DON'T THINK ABOUT.

YOU KNOW, IT JUST SORT OF
HAPPENS, AND YOU HAVE IT.

AND, YOU KNOW,
THAT REALLY HIT ME HARD

WHEN I REALIZED THAT
IT JUST OCCURRED NATURALLY.

ELLA: I DON'T NOTICE
MY FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

WHEN I DO IT, EITHER.

IT JUST SEEMS TO BE
INHERENT IN THE SIGNS.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
I'M CURIOUS ABOUT RHYME.

THAT WORD IN ENGLISH.

MY FEELING IS THAT
IT'S SO BOUND

IN THE PHONETIC SOUNDS
OF A LANGUAGE,

AND IN ASL POETRY,
I'M A LITTLE NONPLUSSED.

I DON'T THINK IT'S SIMILAR.

VALLI: OK.
IT'S REAL INTERESTING. RHYME.

FOR ME TO BORROW THAT TERM,

IT'S THE SAME
AS WHAT DEBBIE SAID.

YOU KNOW, LOOKING
IN THE DICTIONARY

TO FIND WHAT THE ANSWER,
AND--AND THE ANSWER SAID,

REPETITION OF MOVEMENT
FOR RHYME.

THAT'S RIGHT ON.
THAT'S EXACTLY TO THE POINT.

THERE'S THE MOVEMENT OF SOUND,

WHICH IS THE RHYME
THAT WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH,

BUT ACTUALLY, RHYME JUST MEANS
THE REPETITION OF MOVEMENT,

SO, THE ANSWER WAS RIGHT THERE
IN THE DICTIONARY.

I WAS SO RELIEVED.

WE HAVE SOUND MOVEMENT
AND WE HAVE VISUAL MOVEMENT,

AND IT'S JUST THE SAME THING,
BUT APPLIED DIFFERENTLY.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'M CURIOUS.

SOMETIMES WITH ME AND MY WORK,

AND I NOTICE IN OTHERS AS WELL,

I USE VERY STRONG IMAGES
OR CHARACTERS

THAT I WANT TO PORTRAY.

MAYBE SOMEBODY
THAT I'M MEETING,

AND I NOTICE A PERSON,
MAYBE A FARMER.

I NOTICE THIS IMAGE AND IT
INGRAINS ITSELF UPON MY MEMORY

AND THEN I PROCESS THAT.

NOW, LATER, PERHAPS I'M
IN A DIFFERENT SITUATION,

BUT THE SAME PERSON'S THERE.

I USE THAT IMAGE AGAIN.

LATER IN ANOTHER SITUATION, AH,
THAT IMAGE APPEARS ONCE MORE.

NOW, WHAT I'M CURIOUS--
WHAT WOULD YOU CALL
SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

SEEMS TO BE POPPING UP
OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

[VALLI LAUGHS]
OH, WAIT A MINUTE.

I DIDN'T REALLY
CATCH THAT REAL WELL.

COULD--COULD YOU
REPEAT THAT, PLEASE?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: OK, IT'S LIKE--
OK, IT'S LIKE...

WOMAN: COME DOWN ON STAGE.
COME DOWN ON STAGE, PETER,
MATTHEW'S SAYING.

PETER: OK. OK, I'M WALKING
DOWN THE STREET.

WHOA, SOMEBODY JOSTLES ME
ON EITHER SIDE.

OH, IT'S THIS OLD FARMER,
THIS OLD MAN

WHO SORT OF LOOKS A LITTLE BIT
DISGRUNTLED AT ME.

I KEEP WALKING AROUND.
MAYBE I GO INTO A BASEBALL GAME.

I SIT DOWN ON THE BLEACHERS.

GET READY TO ENJOY MYSELF.

EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME,

AND THERE'S A GENTLEMAN,
LETS ME GET BY,

AND I WALK DOWN THE BLEACHER
[INDISTINCT] BIT LONG.

LATER ON, THIS MAN
CATCHES MY EYE.

IT'S THE SAME MAN
THAT I SAW BEFORE

WHO JOSTLED ME ON THE STREET.

SO, THIS RECURRING IMAGE--
WHAT WOULD YOU CALL THAT?

WOULD YOU CALL THAT
SOME SORT OF RHYME,

SINCE IT'S
A RECURRING CHARACTER?

[VALLI LAUGHS]
OK, I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN NOW.

OHH. HA HA!
I'M A LITTLE BLOWN AWAY HERE.

THAT'S A REAL INTERESTING THING
THAT YOU BRING UP.

I'D LIKE TO EXPLAIN
REAL CLEARLY.

I LOOK AT VIDEOTAPES
COMPLETELY FROM
BEGINNING TO END,

AND THEN I CAN CATCH
CERTAIN THINGS

AS I'M GOING THROUGH, AND THEN
I CAN START TO EXPLAIN THEM.

YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GIVE ME
SOMETHING HERE, I--

I'M SORT OF TAKEN ABACK
BECAUSE I CAN'T WATCH YOU

AGAIN AND AGAIN AND SEE
WHAT YOU'RE DOING.

NOW, WITH PETER COOK'S
EXPLANATION OF WHAT HE JUST DID,

IT LOOKS LIKE
A VISUAL EXPRESSION.

WOMAN: THAT'S OK.

[LAUGHTER]

MAN: I TEND TO COME UP
WITH THINGS VERY QUICKLY,

AND THAT--WHAT HE JUST DID
DIDN'T SEEM REALLY
LIKE SIGN TO ME.

THAT WAS MORE MIME ASL,
AND I THINK IT'S

USING MORE CLASSIFIER IMAGERY

AND IT SEEMS--IT'S
A SHADY DELINEATION OF--

CATEGORY THERE.

BUT IN POETRY,
WHEN WE ANALYZE THE SIGNS,

THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
WITH ASL POETRY.

IT SEEMS TO BE DIFFERENT.
IF WE ANALYZE PETER COOK'S WORK,

THAT SEEMS TO BE
A WHOLE DIFFERENT FORM,

A WHOLE DIFFERENT SET OF RULES
FOR HIS PARTICULAR KIND OF WORK.

VALLI: OK, I THINK I ELIMINATED

SOME VERY IMPORTANT
INFORMATION HERE.

OK, OF THESE 4 CATEGORIES--
HANDSHAPES, MOVEMENT,

FACIAL EXPRESSION--AH, THESE 3.

WE MIGHT EMPHASIZE
NON-MANUAL SIGNALS,

OR EMPHASIZE HANDSHAPE.

BUT THEY'RE REAL DIFFERENT,

AND THEY EXPLAIN
DIFFERENT THINGS.

DOES--DOES THAT
HELP EXPLAIN IT?

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, LOOK.

YEAH. THEY'RE ALL SO DIFFERENT.

SO, IT DEPENDS UPON
HOW MUCH EMPHASIS

YOU PLACE ON
ANY PARTICULAR ONE.

YOU KNOW, YOU MAY
USE ALL OF THEM,

AND YOU MAY MIX THEM
ALL UP, AND--

AND FIND THEM IN
DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS.

[AUDIENCE MEMBER
SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

VALLI: HELLO? HI.
EXCUSE ME
FOR INTERRUPTING, BUT...

SUPPOSE YOU SEE SOMETHING
WITH NO FACIAL EXPRESSION.

WOULD YOU CALL IT POETRY?

IF YOU'RE
ABSOLUTELY BLANK-FACED.

EXCUSE ME--POETRY,
POETRY, POETRY.

HOWEVER YOU WANT
TO SIGN IT OR SPELL IT.

IS THAT POETRY WITHOUT
ANY FACIAL EXPRESSION?

IF IT WAS DONE
ON PURPOSE, SURE.

I WOULD CALL THAT POETRY.
YOU'D HAVE TO,

IF THE PERSON'S A LOUSY SIGNER

AND THAT'S THE REASON THEY
DON'T INCORPORATE THOSE FEATURE,

THEN I WOULDN'T CALL IT POETRY.

OK, YEAH, SO, WHY NOT?
WHY CAN'T YOU CALL IT POETRY?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I DON'T KNOW,
BUT I'D LIKE TO MAKE

A COMMENT ABOUT SOMETHING.

MY PERSONAL OPINION, AND FROM
MY PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE,

IS...I DEPEND
ON THE SPOKEN WORD.

SPOKEN WORD AND SOUND.

AND IT MUST BE PERFECT.
IT MUST BE

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT FOR IT TO BE

THAT PARTICULAR KIND OF POETRY,

AND IT MUST BE
UNDERSTANDABLE AS WELL.

SO, IT MUST HAVE
BOTH OF THOSE RESTRICTIONS

FULFILLED FOR THE SOUND.

NOW, IF WE'RE LOOKING INTO
PANTOMIME AND GESTURE,

PERHAPS THOSE ARE
DIFFERENT SORTS OF THINGS

TO ADD TO
THE MOVEMENT PARAMETERS

THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

IF THINGS ARE SCRAMBLED
AND THEY'RE WRONG,

THEN THE--THE SIGNED WORD
WON'T BE UNDERSTOOD.

NOW, SOUND ITSELF HAS RHYTHM,
IT HAS RHYME.

NOW, I UNDERSTAND
FROM YOUR LECTURE THAT

PERHAPS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING
IS THAT POETRY IN SIGN LANGUAGE

HAS A SORT OF A RHYME, TOO,

AND THAT'S WHAT
I'M UNDERSTANDING

FROM WHAT YOU'VE
SAID TODAY SO FAR.

MAN: RIGHT, RIGHT.
I'D LIKE TO RESPOND.

BUT CAN ALL 4 OF THOSE
PARAMETERS YOU MENTIONED

BE INCLUDED AT THE SAME TIME?

I'M FEELING AS WE GO
THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT

THINGS THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT,

IT SEEMS LIKE ALL
THE LINGUISTICS ARE THERE,

BUT I WONDER IF ALL THESE THINGS
HAPPEN AT THE SAME TIME.

DO ALL THESE PARAMETERS
ALWAYS HAPPEN?

IF YOU LOOK AT THE SIGN "CAT,"

DO ALL 4 OF THOSE PARAMETERS,

ARE THEY ALL IN EVIDENCE
AT THE SAME MOMENT

AS WE SIGN THESE?

I'M WONDERING, YOU KNOW,
IT SEEMS THAT THERE'S--

THEY HAVE ALL
THESE CHARACTERISTICS.

BUT THE WORD ITSELF, YOU KNOW,
IF--IF YOU TRY TO ANALYZE IT,

I'M NOT SURE.

IT SEEMS TO--I--I WOULD
TEND TO DISAGREE.

IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE
ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS

ARE ALWAYS THERE IN SOUND.

NOW, NOW, SIGN ALWAYS DOES HAVE
THAT ELEMENT OF MOVEMENT.

IT HAS THE CHARACTER, IT HAS
THE MOVEMENT, THE HANDSHAPE.

BUT IT DOESN'T SEEM TO--I MEAN,

I DO SEE THAT ALL THE THINGS
YOU'VE SHOWN THIS AFTERNOON

DO SEEM TO BE IN EVIDENCE,
BUT I WONDER

IF ALL THOSE THINGS
ARE THERE AT ALL TIMES.

VALLI: YOU MAY BE WONDERING
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.

THIS IS FROM STOKOE'S NOTATION

UP TO THE CURRENT NOTATION--

LIDDELL AND JOHNSON.

STOKOE'S TIME, HE BELIEVED THAT

HANDSHAPE MOVEMENT, ETC.

ALL OCCURRED AT THE SAME TIME.

THEY WERE ALL SIMULTANEOUS.

AND THAT HIS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN

AN UNDERSTANDING THAT
IT'S DIFFERENT.

LIDDELL AND JOHNSON
HAVE FOUND THAT

IT DOES NOT
OCCUR SIMULTANEOUSLY.

LIKE WITH "BROTHER"--DO ALL
THESE HAPPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY? NO.

THE SIGN "BROTHER" HAS
3 SEPARATE PIECES TO IT--

A HOLD, A MOVEMENT, AND A HOLD.

AND THE HANDSHAPE
IS DIFFERENT AS WELL.

WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THESE
THINGS OCCURRING SIMULTANEOUSLY,

SO, WE CAN DIVIDE THEM UP
AND SEGMENT THEM,

AND IT SHOWS A SEQUENCE.

THE SAME--IT'S THE SAME
WITH OTHER LANGUAGES.

SO, THAT'S WHAT LIDDELL
AND JOHNSON'S POINT WAS.

MAN: RIGHT, BUT SEE,
I DISAGREE WITH THAT IDEA,

AND IT SEEMS A LITTLE
CONVOLUTED TO ME.

IT MUST BE
A RAGING BATTLE, HUH?

DEBBIE'S ASKING, NOW, ABOUT--
YOU WERE TALKING
ABOUT LINE DIVISION.

IF I--CAN THE RULES
OF LINE DIVISION

APPLY TO--FROM
A HEARING [INDISTINCT]?

CAN IT ALSO APPLY TO MY WORK?

I LOOK IN TERMS OF
A SENTENCE OR A LINE.

SUPPOSE I'M USING
AN IMAGE THAT I'M SIGNING,

AND I USE IT IN STANZAS OF TWO,

AND I HAVE
THE IMAGES REITERATING,

SUCH AS THE LEAVES FALLING
OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

NOW, WOULD THAT BE CONSIDERED
ONE LINE OR TWO LINES?

IS THAT WHAT YOU MEAN?

VALLI: YES, EXACTLY.

I'VE SEEN YOUR WORK, AND I'VE
SEEN EVERYONE'S WORK,

AND YOU ALL HAVE
THESE CHARACTERISTICS.

I'VE BEEN NOTICING THEM
IN ALL OF YOU.

IT JUST TAKES
A LOT MORE ANALYSIS

TO EXPLAIN IT IN DEPTH.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: SURE IS LIKE
A SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

REALLY, REALLY.

IT'S REALLY A RARE ART
TO DO ALL THIS

SCIENTIFIC ANALYZATION OF IT.

DO YOU FEEL THAT THIS KIND OF
RESEARCH WILL HELP YOU

AND PERHAPS PRESERVE
OUR POETRY MORE,

OR PERHAPS USE IT ON VIDEOTAPE?

WOULD YOU PREFER
VIDEOTAPING THIS?

VALLI: AGAIN, I DIDN'T
QUITE CATCH THAT.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: OK.
DO YOU FEEL THAT VIDEOTAPE
WILL HELP US PRESERVE IT?

IT'S LIKE MAYBE WE'D BE ABLE
TO DEVELOP A NEW WAY

TO DOCUMENT MORE ACCURATELY

THE THINGS THAT
YOU'RE DISCOVERING.

VALLI: OK. I UNDERSTAND
YOUR QUESTION.

FIRST OF ALL, WE NEED
TO DEVELOP THE POETRY

AND THEN VIDEOTAPE IT
AND LOOK FOR

ALL OF THESE THINGS THAT OCCUR.

IS THAT WHAT YOU--
WHAT YOU'RE SAYING?

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
WELL, SEE, I'M CURIOUS--

WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO PUT DOWN
THE RULES, OR--

THIS REALLY IS A GOOD TOOL
TO USE, IT SEEMS LIKE.

VALLI: WHEN WE DISCUSS RHYME,

WE FIND THAT IT'S THERE, BUT

IT--IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO--
TO TEASE OUT

AND--AND HARD
TO SEE SPECIFICALLY.

I--I'VE FELT IT,
ALL AT SEA WITH THIS

FOR A LONG TIME, WHEN I FIRST
STARTED RESEARCHING THIS.

AND THEN I--I FOUND THAT
I NEEDED A DIFFERENT TOOL

OR...OR WHATEVER
WHEN I STARTED.

SEE, WHEN I STARTED LOOKING
AT THE OVERALL PICTURE,

THIS IS ONLY JUST
ONE SPECK OF INFORMATION

IN THE WHOLE FIELD
THAT--THAT WE COULD STUDY.

SO, THERE'S JUST ONE AREA
THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE.

[AUDIENCE MEMBER
SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

VALLI: OOH. I'M A LITTLE
OVERWHELMED HERE.

[AUDIENCE MEMBER
SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

VALLI: OH, OK.

[AUDIENCE MEMBER
SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

VALLI: OH, OK.
I'VE GOTTEN YOUR POINT.

I THOUGHT I WAS
TOTALLY LOST HERE.

HA HA!
A LITTLE NERVOUS.

OK. NOW I UNDERSTAND.

OH, THAT BRINGS TO MIND
SO MANY IDEAS.

YOU KNOW, IF--IF ONE POPS UP,

THERE'S NO TIME TO RUN
TO THE CLOSEST VIDEO CAMERA.

SO, I WOULD TRY TO WRITE IT
DOWN, OF COURSE,

NOT WRITE IT DOWN
IN THIS TYPE OF NOTATION.

MAYBE TWO OR 3 WORDS

TO HELP ME CAPTURE THAT IDEA

AND HELP ME REMEMBER
WHAT IT IS LIKE.

FOR EXAMPLE, OH, I DON'T KNOW.
LIKE, OH, "THE CAVE,"

THAT I RECENTLY PERFORMED
ON THURSDAY NIGHT.

THAT--THAT CAME TO ME AND I
SIMPLY PUT DOWN THE WORD "CAVE,"

AND THAT HELPED ME REMEMBER
MY WHOLE CONCEPT.

I STILL COULD REMEMBER,
ESSENTIALLY, WHAT I WAS DOING,

AND--AND JUST TO--TO JOT DOWN
THAT SIMPLE WORD, YOU KNOW?

SPUR MY MEMORY.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:
SO, IT SEEMS LIKE
AN INCREDIBLY COMPLEX SYSTEM

TO USE FOR THE NOTATION.

VALLI: OK, LATER,
WHEN I FIND TIME,

I WILL SIT DOWN IN FRONT
OF A VIDEO CAMERA

AND VIDEOTAPE MYSELF.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: DOES PUTTING
DOWN THIS SORT OF NOTATION

HELP YOU REMEMBER IT OR IS IT

JUST FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES
OR WHAT?

VALLI: OH, NO, NO.
I GUESS I WAS REALLY
OFF THE POINT THERE.

THE NOTATION IS SIMPLY FOR
RESEARCH PURPOSES.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: SO, REALLY,
PUTTING IT DOWN

ISN'T--ISN'T THE POINT?

MAN: EXCUSE ME, COULD YOU REPEAT
THAT QUESTION AGAIN, MATT?

HE'S SAYING I NEED
TO SHADOW IT.

[AUDIENCE MEMBER
SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

MAN: I'M LOST.
I'LL TELL YOU HONESTLY.

MAYBE SHE HAS
AN ANSWER FOR YOU.

ELLA SAYS, "WOULD YOU MIND
IF I RESPOND TO THAT QUESTION?

I HAVE AN ANSWER FOR THAT."

ELLA: UM, SOMEBODY ASKED ME
THAT QUESTION AT NOON,

AND ASKED ME IF I'M ABLE
TO WRITE DOWN THE POETRY

IF I JUST GLOSS IT OR IF I USE
A CERTAIN KIND OF NOTATION

TO TRANSCRIBE IT,
TO PUT DOWN ON PAPER,

AND WHAT WOULD I CALL THAT,
AND WHAT DO I PUT DOWN

TO HELP REMEMBER ME?

AND I SIMPLY USE GLOSS.

EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN, YOU
KNOW, BUT FOR ME, I USE THAT.

I USE A GLOSS TRANSLATION
AND I PREFER DOING THAT.

REALLY, I DO, AND THAT'S MY
PERSONAL PREFERENCE, OF COURSE.

NOW, USING IT TO CREATE POETRY,
I'M NOT SURE.

THAT MIGHT BE
A DIFFERENT THING.

VALLI: OK, YEAH, THEY'RE
REALLY SEPARATE ISSUES.

THE ANALYSIS AND SCIENTIFIC
APPROACH IS AFTERWARD.

THE ART IS DIFFERENT.
YOU KNOW,

THE ART IS WHEN
I COME UP WITH THE IDEA,

AND I MIGHT WRITE DOWN
A GLOSS, OR--

OR VIDEOTAPE MYSELF,
BUT THE USE OF THE NOTATION

IS TO STUDY IT AFTERWARDS,

AND WHEN I PUT THEM
BOTH TOGETHER,

THEN I CAN FIND THE RHYME,
AND HOW DO I PROVE THIS?

BY THE USE OF THE NOTATION

AND BY MAPPING IT OUT

AND--AND SEEING
WHAT FALLS THROUGH.

SO, THIS--THIS IS
A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH,

TO STUDY THIS.

MAN: I THINK WHAT
SHE WAS JUST ASKING,

DO YOU THINK IT'S POSSIBLE
THAT PERHAPS IN THE FUTURE,

SOMEBODY MIGHT COME UP
WITH A MORE EXPEDIENT WAY

TO NOTATE SIGNS?

AND MAYBE THEY'LL DEVELOP
SOME SORT OF SYSTEM

OF SYMBOLS THAT CAN DO THAT.

NOW, IN REAL LIFE,
EVERYDAY CONVERSATION,

CAN THAT EVER BE PUT DOWN?

I FEEL LIKE IT'S
INCREDIBLY COMPLEX

AND IMPOSSIBLE TO DO.

MAYBE IT'S POSSIBLE,
BUT SOMEBODY WOULD

HAVE TO DEVISE SOME--

"This project is supported by a Digitizing Hidden Collections grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation."

Title supplied by cataloger