Detail View: Deaf Studies, Culture, and History Archives: Nurturing ASL literature in its own time

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.edu/record=b3955769

https://archivesspace.rit.edu/repositories/2/resources/852

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."