ds_0064_vallikeynote_cap_01.mp4

ds_0064_vallikeynote_cap_01.mp4

Nurturing ASL literature in its own time

Valli, Clayton

American Sign Language literature

American Sign Language literature Study and teaching

Deaf, Writings of the, American

Deaf Poetry

American Sign Language Grammar

ASL poetry

In this keynote presentation, Dr. Clayton Valli shares the findings of his dissertation research on ASL poetics. He provides examples of various types of rhyme schemes found in ASL poetry and describes how meters and lines are analyzed. He performs his poem, COW AND ROOSTER, using it to illustrate handshape rhymes and the stressed and unstressed syllables of ASL signs that create metered lines. Valli closes his presentation encouraging future generations to delve into ASL poetics.

National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections

American Sign Language Literature Conference (2nd 1996 National Technical Institute for the Deaf)

1996

2018

moving image

mp4

VHS

60 minutes

American Sign Language

English

RITDSA.0064

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

Karen Christie ASL Literature 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

VALLI: I'VE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD
TO THIS PRESENTATION.

I'M QUITE HONORED,

AND I PUT MY THOUGHTS TOGETHER
ABOUT HOW I'M GOING TO PROCEED,

AND I DECIDED I'M GOING
TO DO IT VIA MY STYLE.

I HOPE YOU'RE OK WITH MY STYLE,

WHICH IS NOT A FORMAL-STYLE
PRESENTATION.

IT'S MORE FREE-FLOWING, OK?

WELL, TODAY I LOOKED OUTSIDE
AND I SAW THAT IT WAS RAINING,

AND I RECALL, BACK IN 1972,

THE SPRING OF '72,
I WAS AN NTID STUDENT

MAJORING IN PHOTOGRAPHY.

ONE PARTICULAR MORNING--WELL,
YOU KNOW THAT ROCHESTER'S KNOWN

FOR ITS OVERCAST AND CLOUDY
DAILY WEATHER,

AND I WASN'T USED TO THAT;
I'M FROM NEW ENGLAND,

WHERE WE GET A BETTER MIX
OF NICE DAYS AND SUNNY DAYS,

AND ROCHESTER IS SO DIFFERENT,

AND ACTUALLY, IT CAN BE
QUITE DEPRESSING.

WELL, ONE MORNING
I WOKE UP AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

IT WAS SUNNY AND WARM,
SO DIFFERENT,

AND I REALLY WAS EXCITED
BY THE CHANGE IN WEATHER.

AND I GOT INSPIRED THAT MORNING
FROM THE WEATHER

AND I WROTE A POEM

CALLED "BRIGHT, SUNNY DAY."

SO THAT WAS 1972,

BUT AT THAT TIME,
I CHOSE NOT TO SHARE ANY

OF MY POETRY WITH MY FRIENDS.

I'M A HUMBLE PERSON,
QUITE QUIET BY NATURE.

THAT'S JUST WHO I AM.

I'M FROM VERMONT, AND THAT'S
THE TYPICAL PERSONA

FROM THAT REGION.

ANYWAY, OVER TIME

I WOULD DO MY POETRY TO MYSELF,

AND THEN IN 1980 WAS
MY FIRST PUBLIC PERFORMANCE.

I WAS SO NERVOUS,

BUT I WAS HAPPY TO MAKE
THAT BIG BREAKTHROUGH,

THAT FIRST STEP,
AND I DISCOVERED MYSELF.

FROM THAT POINT FORWARD,
I STARTED PERFORMING MY POETRY,

AND PEOPLE WOULD TELL ME THAT,
"YOU KNOW, YOU'RE REALLY GOOD,"

BUT I WASN'T AS CONFIDENT
AS I WAS BEING TOLD I WAS.

PEOPLE WOULD ASK ME, "WELL,
WHAT IS THE LINE IN YOUR POEM?"

OR "WHAT IS THE RHYME?"
"WHAT IS THE METER?"

I HAD NO RESPONSE.
I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO RESPOND.

AND SO THEN I WASN'T EVEN SURE,
"AM I AN ASL POET?"

BUT I BELIEVED WHAT OTHERS
WERE TELLING ME.

I STRUGGLED A LOT BACK
IN THOSE DAYS, AND THEN,

IN 1984, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME

THAT I TOOK AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO
SOME RESEARCH ON ASL POETRY.

I'M VERY GRATEFUL TO STOKEY'S
GRANT THAT I WAS AWARDED,

SO WITH THAT FINANCIAL SUPPORT,
I PROCEEDED TO DO SOME RESEARCH,

AND I'LL NEVER FORGET THAT TIME.

YOU KNOW, I WAS TELLING YOU
ABOUT MY STRUGGLES,

AND AS I STARTED DOING RESEARCH,

I WAS LOOKING AT "HOW DO I
DEFINE THE CONCEPT OF LINE

"IN ASL POETRY,

COMPARABLE TO HOW IT'S DONE
IN ENGLISH POETRY?"

SO I STRUGGLED,

I WAS FRUSTRATED,

I WOULD WATCH VIDEOTAPES
OF ASL POETRY

OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN,

HOPING TO MAKE
SOME NEW DISCOVERIES.

AND DURING THE COURSE
OF THAT YEAR,

I WAS VERY FRUSTRATED

AND I WAS APPROACHING
THE END OF THE PROJECT.

I WAS GRANTED THAT EXTENSION,
BUT I WAS UNDER THE GUN.

IT WAS QUITE STRESSFUL.

AND THEN, SOMEHOW,

I CAME TO A POINT
WHERE I REALIZED,

"OH, WAIT A SECOND!
THERE IT IS!

THERE'S THE LINE IN ASL POETRY."

AND I WAS QUITE
DISGUSTED WITH MYSELF

BECAUSE IT WAS ALWAYS THERE,

QUITE APPARENT, BUT I WASN'T
ABLE TO SEE IT INITIALLY.

AND I THINK THE REASON
WHY I STRUGGLE IS

BECAUSE OF THE LANGUAGE
OPPRESSION I EXPERIENCED

THROUGH THE COURSE OF MY LIFE.

AND I BECAME EXTREMELY MOTIVATED

AND REALLY DELVED INTO
THE AREA OF ASL RESEARCH.

SO, FROM THAT POINT,
I GOT A JOB AT GALLAUDET

AND THEY MADE ME PURSUE
A DOCTORATE DEGREE.

AND I DIDN'T WANT TO DO THAT.

I HAD MY MASTER'S,
I WAS QUITE SATISFIED,

BUT, YOU KNOW,
I NEVER HAD ANY AMBITION

TO PURSUE A Ph.D.,

BUT THE JOB, THE POSITION
I WAS IN REQUIRED IT.

SO I APPLIED TO UNION INSTITUTE
OVER IN OHIO.

THEY'RE A NONTRADITIONAL
PROGRAM.

I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DESIGN MY OWN PROGRAM.

I PRESENTED IT TO THE COMMITTEE,
AND THE COMMITTEE APPROVED IT.

THROUGH THE APPROVAL PROCESS,

I WAS INFORMED THAT I WOULD HAVE
TO INSTRUCT THEM ON ASL POETRY.

THAT WAS HOW I WOULD BE
AWARDED A Ph.D.,

SO IT WAS ALL MY OWN IDEAS,
MY OPPORTUNITY

TO PRESENT THESE COURSES.

NOW YOU MUST KNOW THAT THERE
WERE NO SUCH ASL POETRY COURSES

IN EXISTENCE,
SO AT THIS INSTITUTE,

I WAS GIVEN THIS OPPORTUNITY,

AND THROUGH THAT PROCESS
OF DISCOVERY,

I LEARNED A GREAT DEAL.

I FINISHED MY STUDIES IN '93,

AND I'VE CONTINUED
MY RESEARCH, SO THIS EVENING,

I'M GOING TO PRESENT
SOME INFORMATION THAT'S FROM

MY DISSERTATION.

NOW, I DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT
TIME TO REALLY EXPLAIN

ALL OF MY DISSERTATION.

I'M CHOOSING A FEW KEY POINTS
SO YOU GET A SENSE OF,

YOU KNOW, WHAT I'VE DONE
AND MAYBE WHERE WE'RE GOING

FROM HERE.

OK.

I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON
TWO ASPECTS OF MY DISSERTATION;

ONE BEING RHYME IN ASL POETRY,

THE SECOND BEING METER
IN ASL POETRY.

THERE'S MUCH MORE TO IT
THAN THAT IN MY DISSERTATION,

BUT WE'D BE HERE FOREVER.

WE'D BE HERE FOR
A THOUSAND YEARS,

SO I'LL FOCUS
ON THOSE TWO SCHEMES.

AND THROUGH MY WORK,

I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT I DISCOVERED.

AND IN MY WORK,

I'VE COME UP WITH 5 ASPECTS

OF TYPES OF RHYME SCHEMES:

HANDSHAPE, MOVEMENT, LOCATION,

PALM ORIENTATION, NON-MANUAL
SIGNALS, AND HANDEDNESS--

WHETHER NOT WE'RE TALKING
ONE OR TWO HANDS.

AND SO THOSE ARE THE 5 AREAS
I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON.

NOW I'VE DONE A GREAT DEAL
OF WORK IN EACH OF THESE AREAS,

AND THROUGH THAT DISCOVERY
AND THROUGH MY FINDINGS,

I'LL SHOW YOU HOW THIS CAN BE
SO INSPIRATIONAL.

SO FIRST, I'LL FOCUS
ON HANDSHAPE.

AND THIS IS A WAY
YOU PLAY WITH HANDS.

IT INCLUDES VARIOUS MOVEMENTS,
AND I'LL COVER MORE LATER,

BUT FIRST, LET ME TALK
ABOUT HANDSHAPES

AND WHAT I'VE IDENTIFIED

THROUGH THE RHYME SCHEMES.

FIRST ONE IS
NUMERICAL HANDSHAPES.

YOU'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH THAT:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

HERE'S ONE OF
MY FAVORITE EXAMPLES.

THE INTERPRETERS WON'T
VOICE FOR THIS.

THAT'S AN EXAMPLE
OF A NUMERICAL HANDSHAPE POEM.

DO THE "1" HANDSHAPE, 2, 3, 4,

5, 6, 7, 8,

9, 10, AND 11.

1 THROUGH 11.

MIDDLE-SCHOOL KIDS LOVE
THIS TYPE OF POETRY,

AND IT'S NOT EASY TO GET
THEIR ATTENTION.

YOU GO THERE AND THEY'RE NOT
REALLY INTO IT, BUT THEN,

WHEN YOU PRESENT
THE NUMERICAL POETRY--

1, 2, 3, 4--YOU GET
THEIR ATTENTION, AND THE KIDS

WILL SAY, "OH, I KNOW WHAT THAT
WAS. THAT WAS THE NUMBERS."

AND SO YOU HAVE THEM ENGROSSED
FROM THAT POINT FORWARD.

IT'S A WAY TO CAPTURE
THEIR ATTENTION.

NOW...

YOU CAN ALSO DO THIS
WITH MUCH YOUNGER CHILDREN,

THOSE WHO ARE AT 4, MAYBE 3,
OR BETTER YET, NOT 3 OR 4 OR 5

BECAUSE MOST OF THEM ALREADY
KNOW THEIR NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 10,

SO YOU'D ASK THEM,
"DO YOU KNOW YOUR NUMBERS?"

AND THEY'D SAY, "OH, YES,"
AND THEY GO, "1, 2, 3,

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10."

THEN, SINCE I HAVE THEIR
ATTENTION AND THEY'RE FAMILIAR

WITH THEIR NUMBERS, I WOULD TAKE
ADVANTAGE OF THAT KNOWLEDGE,

AND THEN I WOULD DO MY POETRY,
MY ART IN FRONT OF THEM,

SHOW THE NUMBERS:
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,"

HAVING THE NUMBERS
AS WELL AS DOUBLE MEANINGS

OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS OR SOME
FEATURES OF SIGN LANGUAGE THAT'S

NOT JUST NUMBERS, BUT IT HAS
A DOUBLE MEANING,

AND THEY WOULD--ABSOLUTELY
ENGROSSED BY THAT.

IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU TOUCH
THE ART APPRECIATION THEY HAVE.

SO THESE ARE POETIC FORMS.
YOU MAY ASK, "POETIC FORMS?"

WELL, IT FOLLOWS CERTAIN
PATTERNS OF 1 THROUGH 10.

IT'S GREAT FOR CHILDREN,

AND THEY CAN PLAY AROUND WITH IT
AND BE QUITE CREATIVE.

NEXT IS...PARTICULAR HANDSHAPES.

IT'S VERY LIMITED, YOU KNOW.

IF YOU DO THE 1 HANDSHAPE,
THE 5, LIKE DOING MAN, MAN,

DRESS, FINISH, MOVE ALONG,

ALL WITH THE SAME HANDSHAPE--
SAD--USING THE 5 HANDSHAPE,

JUST AS AN EXAMPLE.

SO THAT'S PARTICULAR HANDSHAPES.

YOU CAN CHOOSE 1, 2, OR 3
DIFFERENT HANDSHAPES

TO EXPRESS YOUR ART.

FOR EXAMPLE, "COW" AND "ROOSTER"
IS AN EXAMPLE, YOU SEE?

REMEMBER, I PERFORMED
"COW" AND "ROOSTER?"

OK, LET ME DO THAT FOR YOU,

USING THE SIGN FOR "COW" AND
USING THE SIGN FOR "ROOSTER,"

WHICH IS THE "Y" HANDSHAPE
AND THE "3" HANDSHAPE.

YEAH, I SEE SOME OF YOU
IN THE AUDIENCE ARE

VERY FAMILIAR WITH THIS POEM,

AND CHILDREN ABSOLUTELY LOVE
THIS AND THEY COPY ME

BECAUSE IT'S SO EASY TO ACCESS.

IN MY DISSERTATION,
I USED THIS PARTICULAR POEM.

TO LOOK AT WHY IT IS SO
MEANINGFUL FOR YOUNG CHILDREN.

HERE IT IS.

OK. DID YOU NOTICE
THE DIFFERENT HANDSHAPES I USED,

THE "5" HANDSHAPE TO OPEN
AND CLOSE WITH THE POEM?

I USED THE "Y" HANDSHAPE,
THE "COW,"

TO PLAY AROUND WITH THAT,
AND THEN I USED THE "3"

TO CONVEY THE MEANING
OF "ROOSTER"?

SO JUST 3 SIMPLE HANDSHAPES
IN THAT POEM,

AND THAT'S HOW CHILDREN
CAN MEMORIZE THIS.

IT'S SO SIMPLE: THE "Y"
HANDSHAPE,

THE "3" HANDSHAPE,
THE "5" HANDSHAPE,

THE OPENING AND CLOSING,

AND KIDS OFTENTIMES WILL
FORGET THE CLOSING LINE,

OR YOU HAVE TO AGAIN CLOSE
WITH HOW YOU STARTED.

AND WHEN I SEE KIDS COPY IT,

I TELL THEM, "WELL, HOW
ABOUT THE CLOSING LINE?"

AND THEN THEY WILL REMEMBER IT.

BUT BECAUSE I KNOW THE OPENING
AND CLOSING ARE ONE

AND THE SAME, IT'S EASY
TO REMEMBER. IT'S SO SIMPLE.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG, THE NEXT
IS WORDED HANDSHAPES.

BY THAT I MEAN, FOR EXAMPLE,
THE WORD, UM...

"LEAF." LET ME SHOW YOU
THIS EXAMPLE.

YOU CAN GO L-E-A-F,

AND SO ONE SINGLE WORD

THAT INCORPORATES MOVEMENT
AND SIGNS IN THE PERFORMANCE;

FOR EXAMPLE, GOLF.
G-O-L-F.

IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A POEM--
"GOLF."

IT'S THE WORD AND HANDSHAPE
ALL EMBEDDED

INTO ONE PERFORMANCE PIECE.

AND IF YOU LOOK UP THERE,
THAT'S THE THIRD LIST--

WORDED HANDSHAPES.

I'D LIKE TO SHARE
WITH YOU THIS ONE STORY:

THIS YOUNG BOY, I ASKED HIM,

"WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE
TV PROGRAM?"

HE SAYS, "OH, I LIKE...THIS."

AND I KNEW IT WAS
"GORDON FLASH"?

NO, I'M WRONG.
IT'S "FLASH GORDON."

ANYWAY--"GORDON FLASH,"
"FLASH GORDON."

YES, IT IS "FLASH GORDON."

AND THE KID SAID,
"THAT'S MY FAVORITE TV SHOW."

SO I SAID, "WHY DON'T YOU
BE CREATIVE

WITH COMING UP WITH A POEM THAT
CONVEYS FLASH GORDON?"

SO THERE WAS A THREESOME WORKING
ON THIS, AND I WATCHED THEM.

THEY CAME UP WITH
A VERY CREATIVE POEM.

THEY DID F-L-A-S-H

IN ONE FELL SWOOP,

AND I THOUGHT, "WOW,
THAT WAS AMAZING."

F-L-A-S-H. FLASH!

AND CLEARLY,
THEY HAD THE ART IN THEM,

BUT I JUST HAD TO CHALLENGE HIM
WITH THAT FLASH GORDON,

AND I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THOSE
KIDS LATER IN MY PRESENTATION.

NEXT, WE HAD
THE INITIAL "I" SIGN

USING A LETTER,
THE FIRST LETTER.

FOR EXAMPLE, "FAMILY"--
THE "F" SHAPE;

"GROUP"--THE "G" SHAPE,
YEAH, "IDEA"--"I,"

NOW WHAT OTHER LETTERS?
OH, "AGGRESSIVE" WITH THE "A"?

YOU SEE THE "A" HANDSHAPE?
SO A-F-I-G.

YESTERDAY, ELLA'S PERFORMANCE--

SHE SAID, YOU KNOW, THE "WE,"
"SHE," "LOOK," "INVITING"

AND SO ON AND SO FORTH ABOUT,
YOU KNOW, THE WORLD,

USING THE INITIALIZED HANDSHAPE.

THAT WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE
OF THAT.

IT CONVEYED
A VERY IRONIC MEANING.

ANOTHER ONE WOULD BE--

IT IS ASL POETRY, BUT THERE'S
A HIDDEN MEANING,

THERE'S AN IMPLIED MEANING.
FOR EXAMPLE--LET'S SEE...

DOCTOR, EXPERIMENT,
AGGRESSIVE, FIX.

SEE THAT? WHAT DID THAT SPELL?
THAT SPELLED D-E-A-F, "DEAF."

DOCTOR, EXPERIMENT,
AGGRESSIVE, FIX--"DEAF."

YOU REALIZE, "OH, THERE IS
A HIDDEN MEANING,"

AND THAT MEANING IS THAT,
YOU KNOW--HERE'S ANOTHER ONE:

EDUCATION, THEORY,
IDEA, OPINION, NO.

I SPELLED OUT "EDUCATION"--

E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N.

AGAIN, HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.

FAMILY, AGGRESSIVE, ISOLATED,

LOSE, SOCIETY--"FAILS."

AND WHAT'S THE HIDDEN MEANING?
CAN ANYBODY SHARE THAT WITH ME?

THAT DEAF EDUCATION IS
A COMPLETE FAILURE.

AND YOU GOT TO KNOW
THE IMPLICIT MEANING.

YOU SAY DOCTOR, EXPERIMENT,
AGGRESSIVE, FIX--"DEAF."

E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N.

NEGATE THAT:
FAMILY, AGGRESSIVE,

ISOLATION, LOSE, SOCIETY.

THE IMPLIED MEANING IS
ABOUT THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE

IN DEAF EDUCATION, THAT DEAF
EDUCATION IS A COMPLETE FAILURE.

SO THERE'S MORE THAN
JUST ONE MEANING THERE

IN WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SURFACE.

NEXT, YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH
THE ALPHABETICAL HANDSHAPES.

MOST OF YOU KNOW ABOUT
THE ABC STORIES.

THAT'S WHERE THAT WOULD FALL,
IN THAT CATEGORY,

SO THEY'RE CALLED
ALPHABETICAL HANDSHAPES--

A-B-C, TELLING A STORY.

AND THAT'S OK, THAT'S,
YOU KNOW, PART OF THE ART,

SO WE'RE ALL VERY FAMILIAR
WITH THAT.

MOVING ON, THE NEXT ONE IS
CLOSED HANDSHAPES;

FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIST--
YOU CAN USE THE INDEX FINGER

OR THE PINKIE FINGER, THE THUMB
IN THAT CLOSED HANDSHAPE.

IT IS STILL CALLED
"CLOSED HANDSHAPES."

NEXT IS THE OPEN HANDSHAPES:
THE 5, THE 4, THE 3.

PEOPLE ARGUE, "IS THE 3
CLOSED OR OPEN?

PART OF IT'S CLOSED,
PART OF IT'S OPEN."

SO THAT'S OPEN HANDSHAPES,

AND THEN WE HAVE
THE DOUBLE HANDSHAPE.

AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IS OPEN
AND CLOSE, LIKE, EXAMPLE--

THIS, IT'S ONE SIGN,
BUT IT USES BOTH THE DOUBLE--

OPEN AND THE CLOSED HANDSHAPE,

SO THE DOUBLE HANDSHAPE.

THIS IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE YOU
OPEN, CLOSE, OPEN, CLOSE.

IT'S A DOUBLE HANDSHAPE.

OR THIS ONE.

THOSE ARE EXAMPLES.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.

ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT
HANDSHAPES ARE CONSIDERED

DOUBLE HANDSHAPES--
BOTH OPEN AND CLOSED IN ONE.

AND IN ASL POETRY,

YOU CAN SAY, "WELL, THEY'RE
ALL DOUBLE HANDSHAPES."

OH, YEAH, IT CAN BE. YOU CAN
CHALLENGE YOURSELF IN SOME WAYS.

SO THAT'S A--AND THEN
THE OPEN, CLOSE, OPEN, CLOSE,

YOU KNOW, ALTERNATING THOSE.

SO THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT WAYS
OF UTILIZING THESE HANDSHAPES

IN ASL POETRY, AND I'M
VERY INSPIRED BY THAT

AND I THINK THERE'S MORE
OUT THERE, YOU KNOW,

AND IF YOU COME UP WITH SOME
OF YOUR OWN, PLEASE SHARE THAT.

WE NEED TO ADD TO THIS BODY OF
KNOWLEDGE THAT I'VE JUST BEGUN.

SO MOVING RIGHT ALONG.

SO HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES
OF THE MOVEMENT RHYME SCHEME.

THERE IS THE MOVEMENT CONTOUR,

WHERE YOU DO AN ARC LINE,
A CIRCLE, A JAGGED LINE.

THERE'S VARIATION ON THAT THEME;

FOR EXAMPLE, "I GO."

THAT'S WHAT I WOULD CALL
A MOVEMENT CONTOUR, WHERE YOU--

THE FOCUS IS THE MOVEMENT
OR THE SIGN FOR "ALWAYS"--

IT'S CIRCULAR--OR, YOU KNOW,

FOR EXAMPLE, "CHICAGO"

AND THIS CONTOUR LINE.

ASL HAS VARIOUS MOVEMENTS,

BUT WITHIN POETRY,
THERE'S 3 BASIC MOVEMENTS,

ONE BEING THE STRAIGHT LINE,

THE ARC, OR THE JAGGED LINE,

THOSE 3,

AND YOU CAN PLAY ON THOSE 3
WITH YOUR MOVEMENT.

YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SHOW A CIRCLE,

YOU CAN SHOW A SQUARE...

ALL INCLUDED IN THE MOVEMENT,

SHOWING SUCH SQUARE.

IT LOOKS COMPLEX,
BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW,

BASICALLY JUST
3 MOVEMENT SCHEMES.

YESTERDAY, ELLA'S PRESENTATION
ON THE--WHAT WAS IT?

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE,
THAT WAS A GREAT EXAMPLE

OF USING THE CIRCULAR CONTOUR
OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

IT'S QUITE REPETITIVE;
THE SHAPES ARE THERE,

BUT THEY'RE NOT AS SIGNIFICANT
AS THE MOVEMENT.

THE MOVEMENT IS
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART

OF THAT PIECE OF POETRY.

THEN THERE IS
THE MOVEMENT DURATION.

YOU CAN DO IT SLOW, FAST.

YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER MOVEMENT
IN THAT REGARD.

NEXT IS MOVEMENT SIZE;

FOR EXAMPLE, YOU CAN SIGN
RATHER SMALL,

SIGN LARGE, SIGN AVERAGE SIZE.

YOU CAN USE THAT
TO INCORPORATE IN YOUR POETRY.

THERE'S ALSO THE HOLD,
THE MOVEMENT HOLD.

THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT AS WELL.

IN THE COURSE
OF MY DISSERTATION,

I WAS REQUIRED
TO ATTEND SEMINARS

WHERE SEVERAL DOCTORAL STUDENTS
WOULD COME TOGETHER.

I WAS THE ONLY DEAF STUDENT,
SO I'D HAVE TO LISTEN

TO, YOU KNOW, THEIR UPDATES
AND I WOULD SHARE MY UPDATES

AND WE WOULD TAKE TURNS
IN GIVING UPDATES.

WELL, THIS ONE MAN, HE WAS
TALKING ABOUT HIS MUSIC RESEARCH

AND I WASN'T A FAN OF MUSIC.

I'M DEAF.
I CAN'T HEAR MUSIC.

ANYWAY, HE WENT ON TO TALK
ABOUT HIS WORK,

AND THEN I PROCEEDED TO TALK
ABOUT WHERE I WAS AT.

AT THE END OF THIS SEMINAR,
THE MAN APPROACHED ME,

THIS MUSIC RESEARCHER, AND SAID,
"OH, CAN I TALK WITH YOU?"

I THOUGHT, "WHAT DO I
HAVE TO SAY TO A GUY

WHOSE RESEARCHED IN MUSIC?"

SO I LISTENED TO HIM,
AND HE EXPLAINED SOMETHING TO ME

THAT WAS JAW-DROPPING,
AND I'M SO GLAD WE HAD

THAT OPPORTUNITY.

HE TALKED ABOUT
THE CONCEPT OF SILENCE

IN MUSIC.

I SAID, "SILENCE?"
HE SAID, "SO, LOOK, YOU KNOW,

"IN MUSIC, THERE ARE POINTS

WHERE SILENCE IS
REALLY CRITICAL."

THROUGH THE SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
OF MUSIC, IT'S CONTROVERSIAL,

BUT HE BELIEVES THAT SILENCE IS
A KEY PART OF MUSIC.

AND I THOUGHT, "WELL,
ASL HAS A COUNTERPART,

"WHERE YOU EMPHASIZE
CERTAIN THINGS AND YOU STOP,

AND THAT'S ALMOST JUST
LIKE SILENCE IN MUSIC."

AND SO I RESEARCHED
THIS AREA MORE AND MORE.

THE HOLD EMPHASIS,

THE LAST PART OF THE
MOVEMENT RHYME SCHEME.

SOMEONE'S ASKED ME
FOR AN EXAMPLE.

OK, LET ME THINK
FOR A MINUTE.

HMM.

LAST NIGHT I SAW SEVERAL
EXAMPLES IN THE PERFORMANCES.

ELLA'S POETRY--
WHICH ONE WAS THAT?

WHEN SHE TALKED ABOUT
THE GUARD

AND SHE HELD ON TO THE PLANT
SIGN FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD,

AND THEN PROCEEDED TO DO
OTHER LINES.

"THE COW AND THE ROOSTER'S"
ANOTHER EXAMPLE,

WHERE YOU SAY "COW, STAY,"
AND YOU HOLD THE STAY SIGN.

AND THEN--LET'S SEE.
LET ME GET IT CORRECT.

COW--YEAH, "COW, STAY,"
AND THEN FALL OVER.

AND THEN YOU HOLD IT.

"ROOSTER, STAND,"
AND YOU HOLD IT.

YOU EMPHASIZE THAT.
THAT'S A KEY PART OF THAT ART.

IF YOU DO IT IN ONE FELL SWOOP,

IT DOESN'T HAVE
THE SAME MEANING,

THE SAME ARTISTIC MEANING.

LAST THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT,
LOCATION,

THE LOCATION RHYME SCHEME.

SO VARIATIONS ON LOCATIONS
OF THE BODY

WHERE YOU TOUCH YOUR CHEST,

YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, "MY"
OR "BEFORE" OR "FEEL CONCERN."

YOU'RE TOUCHING YOUR BODY,
PARTS OF YOUR CHEST.

YOU CAN ALSO TOUCH YOUR ARM.
FOR EXAMPLE, "WORK,"

THE SIGN FOR "WORK."

SO THAT'S BODY LOCATION.

THERE'S ALSO SPATIAL LOCATION,

LOCATIONS OUT IN SPACE.

YOU CAN SAY, "OH, THEY'RE
ALL OUT IN SPACE.

MY NAME OR THIS."

WELL, THERE'S PARTS WHERE
YOU TOUCH YOUR BODY

THAT YOU MAY NOT REALIZE
THAT YOU'RE

DOING A BODY LOCATION,

OR MAYBE OUT IN SPACE,
MAYBE ALL SPATIAL LOCATIONS,

OR YOU CAN ALTERNATE
BETWEEN THE TWO.

YOU CAN BE VERY CREATIVE.

THEN THERE'S SPACE LEVELS,

WHERE YOU SIGN, FOR EXAMPLE,

OPPRESSION,

YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU'RE LOOKING
FOR DISTINGUISHING

BETWEEN AN ADULT AND A CHILD

OR A MOTHER AND A DAUGHTER,

LOOKING UP, LOOKING DOWN,

USING EYE GAZE, SO SHOWING
DIFFERENT LEVELS IN SPACE,

YOU KNOW, AND SHOWING
PEOPLE TALKING.

AND YOU WOULD SIGN AT
A LOWER LEVEL

SHOWING IT'S A CHILD TALKING,

THEN YOU RAISE IT UP SHOWING
IT'S AN ADULT TALKING.

YOU DON'T CONVEY THAT
EXPLICITLY, BUT IT'S IMPLIED

IN THE LEVEL THAT YOU'RE
SIGNING,

WHETHER IT'S LOW, MODERATE,
OR HIGH LEVELS IN SPACE.

NEXT IS PALM ORIENTATION.

YOU HAVE PALM UP,
YOU HAVE PALM SIDE UP,

PALM DOWN.

AND YOU CAN ALSO USE THIS
WITH, SAY,

CHILDREN, BABIES, ADULTS.

SO A CHILD, YOU'RE PALM DOWN.
BABY, THE PALM'S UP.

ADULT, THE PALM'S DOWN.

YOU SEE HOW IT ALTERNATES
BETWEEN PALM UP,

PALM DOWN, PALM SIDE.

YOU MAY NOT REALIZE HOW
IMPORTANT THAT IS IN POETRY,

BUT IT IS.

IT IS A RHYME IN ASL POETRY.

SO NOW I'LL TALK ABOUT
NON-MANUAL SIGNAL RHYME,

WHERE YOU LOOK DIRECTLY
AT THE AUDIENCE,

LOOK LOWER LEFT,
LOOK UPPER RIGHT.

YOU CONTROL YOUR EYE GAZE.

THAT CONVEYS MEANING.

NEXT IS EYE SHIFTING,

WHERE YOU SHIFT YOUR EYE GAZE.

YOU LOOK LEFT SAYING,
"A PERSON IS THERE,"

OR YOU...

YOU SHOW THE GAZE THAT CONVEYS
A CERTAIN MEANING.

AND THERE'S ALSO
THE EYEBROW MOVEMENT

TO CONVEY QUESTIONS.

PUZZLING CAN BE THE START
OF A TOPIC

OR, YOU KNOW, ASKING
A QUESTION

OR CONVEY SOME
EMOTIONAL MEANING.

EYEBROW MOVEMENT HAS
SIGNIFICANT MEANING.

THEN THERE'S MOUTH MOVEMENT--

PUFFED CHEEKS, PURSED LIPS,
THE TONGUE.

IT'S ALL PART OF THAT.
MOUTH MOVEMENTS.

NEXT WE HAVE THE HEAD SHIFT.

YOU CAN GO LEFT, RIGHT,
FRONT, BACKWARDS.

YOU KNOW, YOU CAN KEEP
YOUR HEAD SHIFT

JUST IN ONE LOCATION
THROUGHOUT THE POEM.

IT HAS MEANING.

MAYBE YOU'RE IGNORING SOMEONE.

YOU'RE LOOKING IN ONE
DIRECTION AND NOT TALKING

TO A PERSON ON THE OTHER
SIDE OF YOU.

AND THEN THERE'S THE BODY
SHIFTING AGAIN--

LEFT, RIGHT, FRONT, AND BACK.

SO THOSE ARE THE NON-MANUAL
SIGNAL RHYME SCHEMES.

NOW LET ME TALK ABOUT
HANDEDNESS.

YOU CAN DO A ONE-HANDED SIGN

WHERE YOU DON'T USE
YOUR OTHER HAND.

YOU USE ONE HAND DOMINANTLY.

OR YOU CAN USE BOTH HANDS
SIMULTANEOUSLY

OR ALTERNATELY.

SO, YEAH, THAT'S
THE EXAMPLE OF HANDEDNESS--

DIFFERENT HAND MOVEMENTS.

SO LOOKING AT THESE DIFFERENT
COMPONENTS OF RHYME SCHEMES,

THERE'S HANDSHAPE, MOVEMENT,
LOCATION,

NON-MANUAL SIGNALS,
AND LASTLY, HANDEDNESS.

SO THERE'S 5 RHYME SCHEMES THAT
I'VE DONE THROUGH MY RESEARCH,

COMPARED TO OTHER LANGUAGES,
FOR EXAMPLE,

ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND SPANISH,

THERE'S ONLY TWO SCHEMES
IN THE RHYME AREA.

THERE'S THE IDEA OF CONSONANTS.
THAT'S CALLED ALLITERATION,

MEANING YOU FOCUS ON THE
CONSONANTS,

THE SOUND OF CONSONANT RHYMES,
THE REPETITION.

OR THERE'S ALSO VOWELS,
WHICH IS CONSIDERED ASSONANCE,

WHERE YOU REPEAT
THE RHYME OF VOWELS.

AND, YOU KNOW,
IN ENGLISH POETRY,

THERE'S TONS AND TONS
OF POEMS

THAT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN
OVER THE CENTURIES,

AND THEY ONLY USE
TWO RHYME SCHEMES.

HOWEVER, IN ASL POETRY,
WE HAVE 5 RHYME SCHEMES.

TWO AND A HALF TIMES WHAT
THEY HAVE IN SPOKEN LANGUAGE.

THAT IS AWE-INSPIRING,

BUT THERE'S NOTHING
IN THE RESEARCH.

THERE'S NOT MUCH DOCUMENTATION.

I'M HOPING THAT AT SOME POINT

WE WILL ALSO COME UP WITH
VOLUMES AND VOLUMES

OF ASL POETRY USING
THE 5 RHYME SCHEMES.

AS WELL, IN SPOKEN LANGUAGE,
YOU JUST USE SPOKEN LANGUAGE,

BUT IN ASL POETRY,
WE HAVE TWO HANDS.

SO IT'S A LITTLE MORE
COMPLICATED

THAN JUST SPOKEN POETRY.

SO I HAVE FOUND THAT
VERY INTERESTING.

OK, SO THAT'S THE RHYME SCHEMES
THAT I WANT TO PRESENT ON.

NOW LET ME TALK ABOUT THE SECOND
PIECE OF MY PRESENTATION,

THE IDEA OF METER.

NOW, I HATE ENGLISH POEMS
BECAUSE OF THE METERS.

BUT I HAVE TO LEARN TO
UNDERSTAND METER

IN ENGLISH POETRY

AND HOW IT'S APPLIED
AND HOW IT'S USED.

SO ONCE I UNDERSTAND
THE CONCEPT,

THEN I CAN LOOK AT ASL POETRY
AND SEE WHERE METER

PLAYS A ROLE IN THAT,
AND I HAVE FOUND

SOME FINDINGS THERE.

NOW, I DON'T HAVE THE COMPLETE
ANSWER.

I'VE JUST SCRATCHED THE SURFACE.

I NEED YOUR HELP, YOUR FUTURE
STUDIES IN THIS AREA.

WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER
AND LOOK AT METER IN ASL POETRY.

WE'VE JUST STARTED THIS.
SO I'M LEADING THIS DISCUSSION.

WITH SPOKEN LANGUAGES,

THEY EMPHASIZE THE IDEA OF
CERTAIN SYLLABLES

OR THEY ACCENT CERTAIN
SYLLABLES.

THAT'S WHERE THE FOCUS
IS THERE.

HOWEVER, IN ASL POETRY,
WE HAVE COMPARABLE FEATURES

OF THE LANGUAGE.

IT'S WHERE WE PUT HOLDS
ON HOW WE SIGN THINGS.

WE HAVE SYLLABLES AS WELL.

YOU CAN LOOK AT A WORD OR SIGN.

THEY BOTH CONTAIN SYLLABLES.

BUT IN SPOKEN LANGUAGE,

THEY STRESS CERTAIN PARTS OF
THE PIECE.

THEY ACCENT CERTAIN PARTS OF
POEMS,

WHEREAS WE EMPHASIZE HOLDS.

THE HOLD SERVES THE POINT
OF ACCENTS

IN ASL POETRY.

SO LET'S TALK
ABOUT HOLD EMPHASIS.

THERE'S DIFFERENT TYPES.
THERE'S 3.

THE FIRST ONE IS THE LONG PAUSE.

THE SECOND HOLD IS
THE MORE SUBTLE PAUSE.

IT'S THERE,
BUT IT'S NOT AS CLEAR.

YOU HAVE TO REALLY LOOK CLOSELY
TO UNDERSTAND THAT.

AND THEN, THIRDLY,
IT'S THE STRONG STOP,

WHERE "COW," "STAY."
AND YOU STOP THERE.

YOU HAVE DISCRETE STOPS.

IT'S NOT A HOLD.

AND SO IT'S VERY DIFFERENT
THAN THE LONG PAUSE.

NEXT WE HAVE
THE MOVEMENT EMPHASIS.

YOU CAN CONVEY SOMETHING IN
SIGN LANGUAGE--

LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE,
THE IDEA OF WAR.

LET'S SEE. NO, NO. THAT'S NOT
A GOOD IDEA.

WHAT'S ANOTHER--OH,
HOW ABOUT DISCUSSION?

HERE'S THE SIGN
FOR "DISCUSSION?"

YOU CAN DO THIS DISCUSSION

OR A MORE LONG DRAWN-OUT
EMPHASIS.

AND THAT'S THE IDEA OF
MOVEMENT EMPHASIS.

AND, ALSO,
THERE'S REPEATED MOVEMENT.

FOR EXAMPLE, "COW." YOU KNOW,
THE SIGN IS "COW."

BUT IN MY POEM,
I SAID IT AS "COW."

ONE TOUCH, LESS REPETITION.

NOW, YOU CAN'T DO
THE NORMAL SIGN.

YOU HAVE TO ADJUST IT FOR
THE POEM.

ONE-TOUCH MOVEMENT
VERSUS REPEATED MOVEMENT.

SO THAT'S AN IDEA OF THAT.

BELOW THAT...

WE HAVE MOVEMENT SIZE.

THERE'S THE REGULAR PATH,
LIKE "STAND,"

THE IDEA OF STANDING,

VERSUS A LARGE PATH WHERE YOU
SIGN IT RATHER LARGE IN SPACE

AND VERSUS THE REDUCED PATH,

WHERE YOU SIGN THE CONCEPT
IN A SMALL SPACE.

NOW...

I WANT TO EXPLAIN
ABOUT THE IDEA OF "OS."

"O" REFERS TO UNSTRESSED,
AND "S" REFERS TO STRESSED.

IF YOU LOOK AT ENGLISH POETRY
AND LOOK ACROSS THE LINES,

YOU'LL SEE AN "O," AN "S,"
AN "O" AND "S" SCHEME

BELOW THE LINES.

HAVE YOU SEEN THAT BEFORE?

IF YOU LOOK AT A BOOK OF POEMS,
THEY'LL TRY TO EXPLAIN

WHAT IS STRESSED
AND WHAT IS UNSTRESSED

WITHIN THE PIECE OF ART.

THAT'S THE THEORY.

AND IN ASL POETRY,
WE HAVE SIMILAR CONCEPTS.

THE "OS" SCHEMA.

THE "OS" IS CALLED IAMBIC.

BELOW THAT WE HAVE,
"SS" IS CALLED SPONDAIC,

AND BELOW THAT
IS REVERSED, "SO,"

IT'S CALLED TROCHAIC.

AND SO IN LOOKING AT ASL POETRY,

I HAVE DISCOVERED EXAMPLES OF
ALL THREE OF THESE,

WHERE IN ENGLISH POETRY,
THEY MEASURE THE LINES:

HOW MANY NOTES OR HOW MANY FEET
ARE WITHIN ONE LINE?

AND THEY BREAK IT UP.

FOR EXAMPLE, THERE MAY BE
AN "OS"/"OS" PATTERN.

AND SO YOU SAY THAT'S 3 FEET.

AND THEN YOU MOVE
ON THE NEXT LINE.

IT COULD BE AN "OS"/"OS".
AND AGAIN, 3 FEET.

SO IT MAY BE A 3 FEET, 3 FEET,
5 FEET.

THAT'S CONSIDERED A METER
IN ENGLISH POETRY.

SO WE HAVE THE DIMETER, WHICH IS
TWO FEET.

THEN WE HAVE THE TRIMETER,
WHICH IS 3.

THEN WE HAVE THE PENTAMETER,
WHICH IS 5.

THERE'S MORE THAN THAT,
BUT I JUST WANTED TO SHARE

SOME EXAMPLES OF METER
IN ASL POETRY.

THEN I'M GOING TO TELL YOU
ABOUT "COW," "STAY."

OBVIOUSLY, "OS."

YOU CAN SEE HOW THE EMPHASIS IS

VERSUS...

"OS" HERE IN THIS SCHEMA.

SO YOU REALIZE WHERE
THE EMPHASIS IS.

THE METER--THERE'S TYPICALLY
TWO IN ONE LINE

FOR THAT EXAMPLE.

AND THE ROOSTER, "OS,"

AS OPPOSED TO THIS,

THIS IS "OS."

SO YOU SEE HOW THERE ARE
COMPARABLE PATTERNS OF METER

IN ASL POETRY.

WE HAVE SIMILAR METERS
IN ASL POETRY

AS THEY DO IN ENGLISH POETRY.

HOWEVER, WE STILL NEED TO DO
MORE RESEARCH.

NOW, I'VE JUST SCRATCHED
THE SURFACE.

THERE IS NOT ENOUGH WORK.

I'VE DONE MY DISSERTATION,
BUT IT'S A GOOD START.

AND NOW I NEED OTHERS TO
CONTINUE MY WORK IN THE FUTURE.

DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION?

"O"?

YOU'RE SAYING, "WHAT DOES 'O'"?

THAT SHOWS WHERE
YOU'RE STRESSING IT.

"S" MEANS UNSTRESSED.
THAT'S "O" AND "S."

SO, FOR EXAMPLE,
COW, THAT'S AN "O."

AND THEN HERE,
YOU REALLY EMPHASIZE THE SIGN.

THAT'S THE "S."

OK. DO YOU GET THE IDEA ABOUT
RHYME SCHEMA AND METER SCHEMA

AND WHERE MY RESEARCH HAS
BROUGHT ME?

OBVIOUSLY, THERE MUST BE MUCH
MORE WORK IN THIS AREA

WHEN IT COMES TO ASL LIT
AND ASL POETRY.

ONE THING I DISCOVERED
IN MY WORK IS THERE IS

ONE MAJOR PROBLEM.

YOU MIGHT AGREE WITH ME,
YOU MAY NOT.

BUT IN ASKING INDIVIDUALS--

PEOPLE AT SCHOOLS,
DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES

WHETHER MY RESEARCH IS
GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION,

AND IT SEEMS LIKE I AM GOING
IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION,

BUT, SADLY, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH
ASL LINGUISTIC RESEARCH

FOCUSING ON ASL GRAMMAR.

WOULD YOU AGREE?

AND I'M SEEING A LOT OF HEADS
NOD IN THE AUDIENCE.

SO THAT WAS A DISCOVERY THAT
I LEARNED,

THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE
ENOUGH ASL LIT.

AND ONE OF THE REASONS IS THAT
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH RESEARCH

IN ASL GRAMMAR.

YOU KNOW, ASL LIT HAS BEEN
STUDIED,

BUT WE NEED TO DO FURTHER WORK,

WE NEED TO GIVE MORE ATTENTION

TO ASL LINGUISTICS

AND ASL GRAMMAR.

LET ME GIVE YOU A BASIC IDEA
OF SOME ASL GRAMMAR FEATURES.

FIRST...

IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR, YOU LOOK AT

THE SUBJECT, THE VERB,
AND THE NOUN STRUCTURE.

AND YOUNG KIDS ARE TAUGHT THAT
IN ENGLISH LESSONS.

WHY DON'T WE HAVE
EQUAL ATTENTION GIVEN

TO ASL LINGUISTICS AND
THE TEACHING OF ASL IN SCHOOLS?

AND SO I FOCUS A LITTLE BIT

ON DIFFERENT LEXICAL CATEGORIES
IN LINGUISTICS.

LET ME SHARE
MY CURRENT RESEARCH.

THIS IS A LINGUISTIC TERM--
"LEXICAL CATEGORIES."

MORE OR LESS, IT REFERS TO
THE PLACEMENT OF SIGNS,

WHETHER IT'S A NOUN, VERB,
ADVERB, ADJECTIVE.

LET ME FOCUS ON GRAMMAR

AND IDENTIFYING THE PARTS
OF GRAMMAR.

AND I HAVE TWO DIFFERENT
CATEGORIES

THAT I'M GOING TO SHARE
WITH YOU.

THE FIRST CATEGORY IS
THE MAJOR LEXICAL CATEGORIES.

THAT INCLUDES
NOUNS, PREDICATES--

I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT
WHAT IS MEANT BY PREDICATES--

ADJECTIVES, AND ADVERBS.

SO THOSE 4 FEATURES ARE CALLED
MAJOR LEXICAL CATEGORIES.

AND MOST OF YOU ARE VERY
COMFORTABLE

IN IDENTIFYING NOUNS.

FOR EXAMPLE, "CAR."
THAT'S QUITE OBVIOUS.

"FRIENDS," ANOTHER OBVIOUS ONE.
"THEORY." THOSE ARE NOUNS.

SO YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH
THAT, CORRECT? RATHER EASY.

NOW, WHEN IT COMES TO
PREDICATES,

SOME THINK THEY KNOW
WHAT PREDICATES ARE,

BUT SOMETIMES YOU'RE NOT
TOO SURE.

SO I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT
AS WELL

AND HOW THEY FIT INTO ASL.

ADJECTIVES, AS WELL.

SOME OF YOU THINK YOU KNOW
WHAT AN ADJECTIVE IS IN ASL,

BUT IT'S VERY DIFFERENT

THAN HOW ADJECTIVES
ARE DESCRIBED IN ENGLISH.

THE SAME WITH ADVERBS.

MOST ADVERBS ARE CONVEYED
THROUGH NON-MANUAL SIGNALS.

THERE ARE SOME SIGNS THAT ARE
CONSIDERED ADVERBS,

BUT THE MAJORITY
OF THEM ARE CONVEYED

THROUGH FACIAL EXPRESSION.

THE SECOND CATEGORY IS
THE MINOR LEXICAL CATEGORY,

THOSE BEING DETERMINERS.

IN ENGLISH, IT'S, FOR EXAMPLE,
"THE," "AN," "A," "MY," "YOURS."

THOSE ARE DETERMINERS IN
ENGLISH.

IN ASL, WE HAVE THEM AS WELL,

BUT THEY FUNCTION
VERY DIFFERENTLY.

ALSO, I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT
AUXILIARY VERBS--

"WILL," "FINISH."

LET'S SEE. "WILL," "FINISH."
THERE ARE SOME OTHERS AS WELL.

NEXT, I'LL TALK ABOUT
PREPOSITIONS--"FRONT," "BACK,"

FOR EXAMPLE.

THEN CONJUNCTIONS: "BUT,"
"YOU SEE."

THIS IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE
YOU COMBINE TWO SENTENCES

THROUGH THE USE OF
A CONJUNCTION.

AND THEN PRONOUNS. YOU KNOW,
POINTING: "HE," "SHE," "IT."

SO THOSE ARE EXAMPLES OF
MINOR LEXICAL CATEGORIES.

LET ME SHOW YOU A COUPLE OF
EXAMPLES.

FIRST I'LL SIGN IT.

AND IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE
WITH THAT,

THEN WE'LL IDENTIFY

THE DIFFERENT PARTS
OF THE UTTERANCE.

"GREEN VW," "OLD."

AGAIN, "GREEN VW," "OLD."

OK? ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH
THAT UTTERANCE IN ASL?

NOW LET'S IDENTIFY.

IN POINTING "WHAT IS THIS,"

THAT IS THE "THE,"
THE DETERMINER IN ASL.

OK, YOU GOOD WITH THAT?
NEXT CAME "GREEN VW."

THAT'S THE ADJECTIVE BECAUSE
"GREEN" DESCRIBES THE VW.

THE VW IS OBVIOUSLY A NOUN.

LASTLY THE SIGN "OLD..."

"VERY OLD."

IS THAT AN ADJECTIVE? NO.

IT FUNCTIONS AS A VERB.

AND THAT'S CALLED
THE PREDICATE OF THAT SENTENCE.

SO IT FUNCTIONS AS A VERB.

THE SIGN "OLD," "VERY OLD."

THE PUFFED CHEEKS IS THE ADVERB
IN THAT UTTERANCE.

SO "VERY OLD."

DO YOU SEE IT CONVEYS
A VERY DIFFERENT MEANING?

LOOKING AT THE FACE,

THAT'S THE ADVERB PIECE
OF THAT SENTENCE.

YOU HAVE A QUESTION?
TWO QUESTIONS.

"DESCRIBE PREDICATE,
WHAT THAT REFERS TO."

SOMEBODY'S ASKING ME,
WHAT IS A PREDICATE?

OK, I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE
OF AN ENGLISH SENTENCE.

THE CAR IS GREEN.

OK, LET'S TAKE THAT,
FOR EXAMPLE.

"IS GREEN" IS THE PREDICATE
OF THAT SENTENCE. "IS GREEN."

NOW, THAT'S IN ENGLISH.

IN ASL, "CAR GREEN."

YOU SAY "GREEN" SERVES
THE PURPOSE OF A VERB.

THAT'S A PREDICATE.
I'LL EXPLAIN MORE.

SO THE OLD VW--NO. LET ME
BACK UP AGAIN.

THE OLD VW IS GREEN, NOT BLUE.

OK, SO THE SIGN "OLD" IS
AN ADJECTIVE.

IT DESCRIBES A VW.
"VW" IS A NOUN.

AGAIN, POINTING
IS THE DETERMINER.

IN ENGLISH, IT'S VERY STRUCTURED

THAT YOU CAN'T MOVE
THE DETERMINER

ON EITHER PART OF THE SENTENCE.

IN ASL, YOU CAN.

"GREEN" IS PART OF
THE PREDICATE.

IT'S NOT AN ADJECTIVE.
YOU MAY BE SURPRISED BY THAT.

AND THEN NEXT, A NEGATION--
"NOT..." IS A NEGATION, "BLUE,"

IS PART OF THE PREDICATE.

YOU MAY BE WONDERING--

YOU SAY, "WELL, BLUE SHOULD BE
AN ADJECTIVE."

WELL, DON'T TAKE IT
FROM THE LENS OF ENGLISH.

IT FUNCTIONS VERY DIFFERENT
IN AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

YOU KNOW, THE SIGN "CAR BLUE."

TAKE "CAR BLUE," FOR EXAMPLE.
RIGHT?

YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT
UTTERANCE?

YES. I SEE PEOPLE NODDING
IN THE AUDIENCE, "CAR BLUE."

YOU DON'T SAY "THE CAR IS BLUE."

THAT'S NOT
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE.

THAT'S AN ENGLISH STRUCTURE.

"CAR BLUE" IS HOW ASL WORKS.

"BLUE" FUNCTIONS AS
AN ADJECTIVE PREDICATE.

AN ADJECTIVE PREDICATE IS
WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY MOVE

THE ADJECTIVE EITHER ON FRONT
OR THE BACK SIDE OF A NOUN.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS EMOTIONS.

YOU CAN SAY "HAPPY" OR "SAD,"
"FUNNY," "ANGRY,"

THOSE DIFFERENT EMOTIONS.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU SAY THIS
UTTERANCE, YOU'D SAY...

"HAPPY WOMAN TOLD ME."

THAT'S INCORRECT GRAMMAR.

"HAPPY WOMAN"? YOU CAN'T HAVE IT
THAT WAY.

IN ENGLISH, YOU'D SAY,
"THE HAPPY WOMAN TOLD ME."

IT FUNCTIONS JUST FINE
IN ENGLISH,

BUT IN ASL,
IT OPERATES VERY DIFFERENTLY.

"WOMAN HAPPY, SHE TOLD ME."

THAT IS A CORRECT GRAMMATICAL
UTTERANCE.

SO THERE'S RULES THAT FUNCTION
DIFFERENTLY IN ENGLISH AND ASL.

YOU CAN'T TAKE THE RULES OF
ENGLISH AND APPLY THEM TO ASL.

I SEE THERE'S MANY QUESTIONS IN
THE AUDIENCE.

CAN WE HOLD THE QUESTIONS TILL
THE END OF MY PRESENTATION?

I NEED TO GET THROUGH WHAT I
WANT TO PRESENT

AND FINISH MY TOPIC ON GRAMMAR,

BECAUSE IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR
YOUNG DEAF CHILDREN.

WE NEED TO TEACH THEM
ASL LINGUISTICS.

HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE LEFT?

OH, MY GOSH!
WE'RE ALMOST OUT OF TIME.

IS IT ALREADY 9:30? WOW!
UM, LET'S SKIP THIS.

LET'S SKIP THIS. I'M SORRY.
TIME DOESN'T PERMIT.

OK, I HAVE JUST 5 MINUTES LEFT
IN MY PRESENTATION,

SO LET ME WRAP UP.

OH, LET'S TURN THIS OFF.

SO GETTING BACK TO ASL GRAMMAR,
IT'S SO, SO CRITICAL THAT WE

BRING IT TO THE SCHOOLS.

RIGHT NOW, IT'S QUITE
CONTROVERSIAL.

THERE'S DIFFERENT
CAMPS OF SAYING,

"WE SHOULD TEACH
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE."

"NO, WE SHOULD TEACH ENGLISH."
"YES, BUT..." "BUT..." "BUT..."

IT'S VERY CONTROVERSIAL.

AND I'M SEEING THAT LANDSCAPE,
AND THAT'S VERY SAD.

IT'S MOST UNFORTUNATE.

LET ME SHARE A STORY, THAT THERE
WAS THIS ASL CLUB IN TEXAS

WHO INVITED ME TO COME TEACH
ASL POETRY.

AND AT FIRST, I THOUGHT,
I SHUDDERED, "NO,"

BECAUSE THE MEMBERS
OF THIS CLUB WERE ALL HEARING,

AND THEY DESIRED TO LEARN
ASL POETRY.

BUT MY DREAM IS TO BRING THIS
TO THE DEAF COMMUNITY FIRST.

AND I DON'T MIND TEACHING
HEARING PEOPLE

ABOUT ASL POETRY, BUT I MUST
PURSUE PRESENTING MY RESEARCH

TO THE DEAF COMMUNITY,

BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO SAY NO,
SO I TOLD THIS ASL CLUB,

"I FEEL CONFLICTED,
BECAUSE MOST OF YOU ARE HEARING,

AND WE REALLY NEED TO DO MORE
WORK IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY."

AND THEY WERE UNDERSTANDING
OF THAT.

BUT WHEN I WENT TO PRESENT TO
THIS ASL CLUB,

I LEARNED SOMETHING.

THERE WAS THIS ONE WOMAN WHO
WANTED TO TALK ABOUT

HER EXPERIENCE IN CREATING
A POEM.

AND SHE SAID, "BABY BORN. DIE."

"WHY?"

AND I THOUGHT, "WOW! THAT WAS
AN INTERESTING POEM."

"BABY BORN. DIE. WHY?"

AND I ASKED THIS WOMAN, "IS THIS
A TRUE STORY?"

SHE SAYS, "YES, IT'S ABOUT
THE STORY OF MY CHILD

WHO WAS BORN
AND THEN PASSED AWAY."

AND THAT WAS VERY TOUCHING,
VERY TOUCHING.

I THOUGHT, "SHE'S HEARING,
BUT SHE'S ABLE TO EXPRESS

"A PIECE OF WORK IN ASL POETRY,

"AND THERE ARE SO MANY MEMBERS
OF OUR DEAF COMMUNITY

"WHO ARE NOT THERE AS SHE IS.

AND WHY IS THAT?"

AND I REALIZED THAT THERE'S
MANY REASONS.

LET ME LIST THOSE.

OBVIOUSLY, LANGUAGE OPPRESSION.

THAT'S APPARENT, YOU KNOW,

BECAUSE OF
PEOPLE EXPERIENCING ISOLATION,

LACK OF CONFIDENCE.

AND YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT
THIS WOMAN, YOU KNOW,

SHE WAS FLUENT
IN ENGLISH POETRY,

AND, HAVING THAT FOUNDATION,

SHE KNEW HOW TO EXPRESS HERSELF
IN ASL POETRY.

THAT WAS QUITE APPARENT.

SECOND REASON--LANGUAGE ABUSE.

IS THAT TRUE? NOT TRUE?
I MEAN...

LANGUAGE VIOLENCE
IS ANOTHER THEORY

THAT'S BEEN PROFFERED OUT THERE.

SO I SHARE THAT WITH YOU
AS ONE OF THE REASONS.

NEXT...

WELL, LET ME SHARE A STORY
WITH YOU.

I WENT TO THIS SCHOOL FOR
THE DEAF SOMETIME AGO,

AND I WAS PRESENTING AT
THE HIGH SCHOOL

WHEN I WAS APPROACHED

BY A MEMBER OF
THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

THEY WERE IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS
IN THE BUILDING.

AND WHILE IT WAS
A SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF,

I THOUGHT IT WAS STRANGE HOW
THEY HAD SUCH SEPARATION.

SO THIS ONE DEAF TEACHER HEARD
THAT I WAS ON CAMPUS PRESENTING

AND INVITED ME TO COME PRESENT

TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
STUDENTS.

THE PRINCIPALS SAID, NO, THAT
THAT WASN'T SOMETHING

THEY WOULD ALLOW.

BUT IN THE END, THE PRINCIPAL
WAS WILLING TO ALLOW ME

TO PRESENT FOR A SHORT TIME.

I ONLY HAD A HALF-HOUR
TO PRESENT.

SO I WENT
TO THE ELEMENTARY CLASS

THAT I WAS INVITED TO,

AND THERE WERE 3 STUDENTS
IN THE CLASS.

AND I THOUGHT IT
WAS SO IMPORTANT.

DESPITE THE LOW NUMBERS,
I WANTED TO PRESENT.

AND THEN THERE WERE 4 MEMBERS
OF THE ADMINISTRATION--

THE PRINCIPAL, A COUPLE OF
TEACHERS, AND THE T.A.

SO THERE WAS MORE ADMINISTRATORS
THAN THERE WERE STUDENTS.

SO I PROCEEDED TO PRESENT
MY ASL POETRY LESSON.

THAT'S WHERE THIS STUDENT
CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF FLASH

THAT I SHARED WITH YOU EARLIER

THAT WAS SO, SO IMPRESSIVE.

AND THEY SHARED IT WITH
THE TEACHERS AND THE PRINCIPAL,

SHOWING THE POWER OF ART WITHIN
THE STUDENTS.

THE PRINCIPAL AND THE TEACHERS,

THEY WERE SEEING THE RENDITION
OF FLASH.

THE TEACHERS WERE QUITE
IMPRESSED WITH IT,

THE DEAF TEACHER, ESPECIALLY,

BUT THE OTHERS--THE PRINCIPAL
AND THE OTHER HEARING MEMBERS--

DID NOT THINK IT WAS THAT
IMPRESSIVE.

I WANTED TO DO MORE,
BUT I DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME.

AT THE SAME TIME,

I WAS ELATED BECAUSE I FELT
I HAD MADE MY MARK.

BUT RECALL THAT THEY TRIED
TO PREVENT ME

FROM GIVING THAT LESSON.

SO WHEN I CAME HOME, I FELT
REALLY DISTURBED

BY HOW THE PRINCIPAL

WAS TRYING TO PREVENT ME FROM
COMING TO THAT ELEMENTARY CLASS.

I CHOSE TO WRITE AN EDITORIAL TO
THE BICULTURAL CENTER, THE TBC.

WELL, AS IT TURNED OUT,

THE MOTHER OF THAT YOUNG BOY
IN THE CLASS

SUBSCRIBED TO THE NEWSLETTER
AND SAW MY EDITORIAL,

AND THE MOTHER WROTE ME
A LETTER.

AND SHE TALKED TO HER SON

AND HOW HE PERFORMED
THAT PIECE, "THE FLASH,"

AND THE MOTHER DIDN'T REALLY
UNDERSTAND IT REALLY WELL

AND CALLED THE SCHOOL TO SAY,
"WHAT WAS SON MY EXPOSED TO?"

AND THE SCHOOL PROCEEDED
TO EXPLAIN THAT

"THERE WAS A DEAF MAN WHO
PRESENTED ON ASL POETRY."

WELL, THE MOTHER DECIDED
TO CONTACT

OTHER PARENTS IN THE SCHOOL.

THEY CAME TOGETHER,
AND THEY WANTED TO HAVE

MORE DEAF ADULTS
IN THE CLASSROOM.

THEY WANTED MORE DEAF ADULT
EXPOSURE TO THE YOUNG DEAF KIDS.

AND SO THE SCHOOL HAD TO UNDERGO
SOME MAJOR CHANGES.

I WAS UNAWARE OF WHAT WAS
HAPPENING.

AND WHEN I WAS TOLD, I THOUGHT,

"WELL, THESE
3 STUDENTS REALLY COUNTED.

THEY LEFT A LASTING MARK."

SO...MOVING FORWARD,

THE IDEA OF NURTURING ASL LIT
IN ITS OWN TIME

REFERS TO ENCOURAGING ASL LIT

AND NOT WORRYING ABOUT
COMPARING US TO ENGLISH.

ENGLISH HAS BEEN AROUND
FOR A LONG TIME.

WE PAY HOMAGE TO IT, BUT WE
REALLY NEED TO FOCUS AND NURTURE

ASL LIT, OUR MOST
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE,

AS WELL AS ASL GRAMMAR.

SO THAT CONCLUDES
MY PRESENTATION.

LASTLY, I WANT TO CLOSE WITH
AN ASL POEM CALLED "THE BARREL."

IT'S A BRAND-NEW ONE THAT
I WROTE RECENTLY

AFTER GIVING SOME THOUGHT TO
THIS PRESENTATION,

SO LET ME PRESENT THIS.

ALL RIGHT. AND, INTERPRETERS,
NO VOICING THIS PIECE, OK?

"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."