COLLECTION NAME:
Deaf Studies, Culture, and History Archives
mediaCollectionId
RIT~7~7
Deaf Studies, Culture, and History Archives
Collection
true
Filename:
ds_0049_graybilltranslation_cap_01.mp4
filename
ds_0049_graybilltranslation_cap_01.mp4
Filename
false
Identifier:
ds_0049_graybilltranslation_cap_01.mp4
identifier
ds_0049_graybilltranslation_cap_01.mp4
Identifier
false
Title:
Translation as an educational tool
title
Translation as an educational tool
Title
false
Creator:
Graybill, Patrick
creator
Graybill, Patrick
Creator
false
Subject:
American Sign Language
subject
American Sign Language
Subject
false
Subject:
Translating and interpreting
subject
Translating and interpreting
Subject
false
Subject:
Interpreters for the deaf
subject
Interpreters for the deaf
Subject
false
Subject:
American Sign Language literature
subject
American Sign Language literature
Subject
false
Subject:
Deaf wit and humor
subject
Deaf wit and humor
Subject
false
Summary:
Patrick Graybill defines the terms translation (to translate meaning from one language to another language), transliteration (spoken message signed very similarly word for word in Signed English), and interpretation (listening to English and interpreting into ASL or watching a signed ASL presentation and rendering it into spoken English) as he begins his presentation. He believes that translation is a powerful educational tool which assist students in comprehending English using ASL, and promotes cultural understanding, appreciation and respect for both languages and cultures. There are challenges in translating cultural information, especially humor, and he gives examples.
description
Patrick Graybill defines the terms translation (to translate meaning from one language to another language), transliteration (spoken message signed very similarly word for word in Signed English), and interpretation (listening to English and interpreting into ASL or watching a signed ASL presentation and rendering it into spoken English) as he begins his presentation. He believes that translation is a powerful educational tool which assist students in comprehending English using ASL, and promotes cultural understanding, appreciation and respect for both languages and cultures. There are challenges in translating cultural information, especially humor, and he gives examples.
Summary
false
Publisher:
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
publisher
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Publisher
false
Digital Publisher:
Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections
digital_publisher
Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections
Digital Publisher
false
Contributor:
Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections
contributor
Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections
Contributor
false
Date of Original:
1987
date
1987
Date of Original
false
Date of Digitization:
2018
date_of_digitization
2018
Date of Digitization
false
Broad Type:
moving image
broad_type
moving image
Broad Type
false
Digital File Format:
mp4
format
mp4
Digital File Format
false
Physical Format:
VHS
physical_format
VHS
Physical Format
false
Dimensions of Original:
53 minutes
dimensions_of_original
53 minutes
Dimensions of Original
false
Language:
American Sign Language
language
American Sign Language
Language
false
Language:
English
language
English
Language
false
Original Item Location:
RITDSA.0049
relation
RITDSA.0049
Original Item Location
false
Library Collection:
Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections
original_item_location
Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections
Library Collection
false
Library Collection:
ASL Lecture Series DVDs
original_item_location
ASL Lecture Series DVDs
Library Collection
false
Digital Project:
2018-2019 CLIR Grant-ASL Poetry and Literature
digital_projects__
2018-2019 CLIR Grant-ASL Poetry and Literature
Digital Project
false
Catalog Record:
catalog_record
https://albert.rit.edu/record=b3955821
Catalog Record
false
Catalog Record:
catalog_record
https://archivesspace.rit.edu/repositories/2/resources/837
Catalog Record
false
Place:
New York - Rochester
coverage
New York - Rochester
Place
false
RIT Spaces and Places:
Henrietta Campus
rit_spaces_and_places_ii
Henrietta Campus
RIT Spaces and Places
false
Rights:
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.
rights
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.
Rights
false
Rights:
CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights
CC BY-NC-ND: Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Rights
false
Transcript:
MY NAME IS, UM...
MEG DAIS,
AND I AND SUSAN FISHER
AND KEITH
COORDINATE
THE LECTURE SERIES.
IF YOU HAVE
YOUR LOOP MONITORS...
ARE THEY WORKING OK?
MAN: I CAN GET
A SOUND CHECK.
ACTUALLY, THEY'RE
WORKING OK, YES.
MEG: UM, A FEW DETAILS
BEFORE KEITH INTRODUCES
PATRICK GRAYBILL, OUR LECTURER.
FIRST, OUR DISCUSSION GROUP
IS IN THE VISITORS CENTER.
IT'S...IT STARTS AT 2:00,
AND IT GOES UNTIL 3:00.
UM, THE NEXT THING IS
THERE'S A SIGN-UP SHEET...
RIGHT HERE, AND I WANT PEOPLE TO
WRITE YOUR NAMES AND ADDRESSES,
AND IF YOU WANT NOTES,
WRITE THAT, WRITE THAT ALSO.
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
MEG: THAT'S FINE.
THAT'S FINE.
BUT I WANT
ALL OF YOUR NAMES.
THANKS.
OH, ANOTHER QUESTION.
[LAUGHTER]
AND YOU CAN PAY FOR IT.
[LAUGHTER]
UM...OUR NOTE...
OUR NOTE TAKER IS SAM...
IS IT S-C-A-E-R-E-R?
YEAH? OK. THANKS.
UM, AND OUR INTERPRETERS
ARE, FOR VOICING, UM,
YOUR...YOUR SIGN NAME
IS AARON?
[LAUGHTER]
AND FOR, UM,
THE ASL INTERPRETING,
IT'S AARON BRACE.
ENGLISH?
THE NEXT LECTURER
IS TORI ARLER,
AND THAT'S ON...
I HAVE TO CHECK.
FEBRUARY 16th.
IT'S A TUESDAY.
UM, WE HAVE MORE BROCHURES
RIGHT HERE IF YOU NEED THEM.
AND THAT'S ALL.
I THINK THAT YOU KNOW THE
PURPOSE FOR THE LECTURE SERIES,
AND THAT'S TO INTRODUCE
NEW IDEAS AND RESEARCH TO YOU
FOR USING IN THE CLASSROOM
AND IN YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU GET
THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.
ANYWAY, NOW IT'S TIME FOR KEITH
TO INTRODUCE OUR LECTURER.
THANK YOU.
KEITH: THANK YOU.
I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR
WITH PATRICK GRAYBILL'S
SIGN NAME,
WHICH IS "PEACHY"
ON THE CHEST.
I'VE KNOWN PATRICK
ABOUT 7 YEARS,
AND WHEN I READ HIS VIDA,
CURRICULA VIDA,
I WAS AMAZED.
[LAUGHTER]
ALSO, IT MEANS WE HAVE
3 AARONS HERE TODAY.
HIS MIDDLE NAME IS AARON,
SO IT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
PATRICK WAS BORN,
AND AS HIS MOTHER WAS
CONSIDERING WHAT TO NAME HIM--
HE HAS TWO OLDER SISTERS.
HIS OLDEST SISTER
IS DEAF.
AND THEY WERE CONSIDERING
CALLING HIM PAT.
THEY WERE THINKING
FOR A MIDDLE NAME
AND NAMED HIM AARON.
THEN, LATER ON,
PAT WAS TELLING ME A STORY
ABOUT HIS MIDDLE NAME, AND I
THOUGHT PERHAPS HE WAS JEWISH.
IT WAS CONFUSING
BECAUSE HE WAS SO INVOLVED
IN THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY.
I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
LATER I MET HIS MOTHER.
AND WE CHECKED
WITH HIS MOTHER
TO FIND OUT WHY
HIS MIDDLE NAME WAS AARON.
I WAS TOLD
NONE OF HIS BUSINESS.
POSSIBLY FROM HIS FATHER.
MAYBE SOMETHING RELATED
WITH THE MAILMAN.
I'M NOT REALLY SURE.
PATRICK GREW UP
IN KANSAS,
ATTENDED THE KANSAS
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF,
GRADUATING IN 1958,
AND THEN WENT
TO GALLAUDET COLLEGE,
WHERE HE GOT
HIS B.A. IN ENGLISH...
IN 1963.
HE RECEIVED HIS MASTER'S
IN DEAF EDUCATION IN 1964
AND TRANSFERRED
TO CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY.
HE WAS ALSO AT AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
WHERE HE STUDIED.
HE WENT TO ST. BERNARD'S
SEMINARY,
AND THEN HE'S BEEN
HERE IN ROCHESTER,
WHERE HE'S BEEN
STUDYING THEOLOGY.
HE ALSO WORKED AT THE KENDALL
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
AS AN INSTRUCTOR
FROM 1964 TILL 1967
AND THEN PURSUED
AN ACTING CAREER
WITH THE NATIONAL THEATER
OF THE DEAF FROM 1969 TO 1979,
10 YEARS.
THAT'S WHERE HE REALLY PICKED UP
HIS SIGNING EXPERTISE.
THEN HE CAME HERE
TO NTID IN 1979,
HIRED AS AN ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR,
AND HE'S BEEN
WORKING HERE SINCE.
PATRICK HAS MUCH EXPERIENCE
AS AN ACTOR
AND ALSO TRANSLATING PLAYS
FROM ENGLISH INTO ASL.
HE HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
IN ASL IN DRAMA,
AND HE'S AIDED
WITH MANY TRANSLATIONS
FOR THE PLAYS
HERE AT NTID.
HE ALSO TEACHES A COURSE
IN TRANSLATION
FROM ENGLISH TO ASL
RELATED TO THEATER.
TODAY HE'LL BE SPEAKING
ON TRANSLATION INTO ASL.
SO LET'S WELCOME
PATRICK GRAYBILL.
[APPLAUSE]
THANK YOU, KEITH.
HELLO, EVERYONE.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE
PRESENTING TODAY.
I'M NOT SURE IF THIS INFORMATION
WILL BE ENTIRELY NEW TO PEOPLE
OR IF YOU'RE ALREADY
FAMILIAR WITH IT.
BUT I'D LIKE TO SHARE
SOME OF THE INSIGHTS
I'VE GAINED
AS I WAS GROWING UP.
LET ME OPEN BY PRESENTING
AN OVERHEAD.
[LAUGHTER]
TRANSLATION.
AS WE CONSIDER TRANSLATION,
YOU KNOW THE KENTUCKY
FRIED CHICKEN ADVERTISEMENTS
TALK ABOUT
"FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD."
REALLY DELICIOUS.
AND PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT A LOT
OF KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN.
IT'S REALLY HELPED
THEIR MARKETING.
NOW, IF YOU TRY AND DO
A TRANSLITERATION
FROM THE ENGLISH
INTO CHINESE CHARACTERS
OR CHINESE LANGUAGE...
IT DOESN'T REALLY WORK
SUCCESSFULLY.
[LAUGHTER]
BECAUSE THE TRANSLATION,
THE IDIOM COMES OUT IN CHINESE
AS "EAT YOUR FINGERS OFF."
NOT EXACTLY
A DELIGHTFUL PROPOSITION.
NOW, I WANT TO ADDRESS TODAY
USING TRANSLATION
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO SEE HOW WE CAN USE
TRANSLATION IN THE CLASSROOM
TO AID STUDENTS
IN COMPREHENDING ENGLISH
AS ONE LANGUAGE THEY USE
AND ASL AS ANOTHER
LANGUAGE THEY USE,
SO THEY'LL HAVE CULTURAL
UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION,
EQUAL RESPECT
FOR BOTH LANGUAGES.
KEITH BRIEFLY DESCRIBED
SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES
I HAVE IN TRANSLATION.
AS I WAS GROWING UP, I LEARNED
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE.
I HAVE 48 YEARS
OF EXPERIENCE,
AND I AM STILL
LEARNING ENGLISH.
SECONDLY, I HAVE
10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
AS AN ACTOR WITH NTD,
THE NATIONAL THEATER
OF THE DEAF,
AND HAVE A LOT
OF EXPERIENCE THERE
TRANSLATING PLAYS IN ASL.
IT REALLY HELPED ME TO DEVELOP
AN INTERNAL UNDERSTANDING
OF THE TRANSLATION PROCESS.
NOW, I KNOW THAT ONE CAN'T DO
TRANSLATIONS 100% ACCURATELY,
BUT WE WORKED
ON TRANSLATIONS
AND KEPT COMING UP
WITH NEW IDEAS,
NEW WAYS OF APPROACHING
OUR TASK.
SO THIS WILL PERHAPS SPARK
SOME DISCUSSION.
AND I DON'T THINK WE'LL HAVE
FINAL SOLUTIONS
HERE TODAY DURING
THE PRESENTATION,
BUT IT CAN SERVE AS THE BASIS
FOR DISCUSSION.
NOW, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
IS USING TWO LANGUAGES,
ASL AND ENGLISH.
ASL USERS WHO SEE ENGLISH
OFTEN HAVE A LOT
OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT
THE LANGUAGE AND THE CULTURE,
AND SIMILARLY,
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
HAVE A LOT OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS
ABOUT ASL.
GOOD TRANSLATIONS CAN HELP
MEDIATE THIS PROBLEM.
THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS WE CAN
APPROACH USING TWO LANGUAGES
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL.
THERE'S A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL
TOOLS WE HAVE--
MEDIA SUCH AS OVERHEADS
AND SLIDES, TRANSPARENCIES,
CAPTIONING.
ALL OF THESE CAN SERVE AS
BRIDGES BETWEEN TWO LANGUAGES.
BUT WHAT I WANT
TO EMPHASIZE TODAY
IS THAT TRANSLATION ITSELF
CAN BE AN OUTSTANDING
EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM.
BEFORE I PROCEED
WITH THE LECTURE,
I'D LIKE TO CLARIFY
SOME TERMINOLOGY.
FIRST, "TRANSLATION."
SECONDLY, "TRANSLITERATION."
TRANSLATE.
AND THIRD, "INTERPRET."
YOU KNOW THAT WE USE
THE SIGN "INTERPRET,"
AND USUALLY WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT LISTENING TO ENGLISH
AND INTERPRETING INTO ASL
OR WATCHING A SIGNED
PRESENTATION IN ASL
AND RENDERING THAT
IN SPOKEN ENGLISH,
WITH THE APPROPRIATE
TIME LAG.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
TRANSLITERATE,
I THINK IT'S SIMILAR
TO THE PROCESS
YOU SEE USED
BY KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN.
THERE MIGHT BE
A SPOKEN MESSAGE,
AND IT'S SIGNED
VERY SIMILARLY,
PRETTY MUCH
WORD FOR WORD...
IN SOME FORM
OF SIGNED ENGLISH...
SO THAT THERE'S
A SOURCE MESSAGE
AND IS TRANSLITERATED
INTO ENGLISH,
ALMOST A WORD FOR WORD CLAUSE
IN ENGLISH WORD ORDER.
NOW, TYPICALLY, THE WAY
THOSE WORDS ARE USED,
OFTEN "TRANSLATE"
IS USED TO TRANSLATE
FROM ONE WRITTEN LANGUAGE
TO ANOTHER WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
IT'S A WRITTEN PROCESS,
AND THERE'S A LOT
OF TIME AVAILABLE
TO STUDY
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AS YOU'RE WORKING INTO
YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE.
CAN EVERYONE SEE
THE OVERHEAD OK?
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TRANSLATION,
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A BRIDGE
BETWEEN TWO LANGUAGES.
IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER
WHICH TWO LANGUAGES
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE
ENGLISH AND ASL.
IT COULD BE ANY LANGUAGE
USED IN THE WORLD.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE,
IT MIGHT BE WRITTEN
MATERIAL, A NOVEL.
IT COULD BE A PLAY.
SO YOU HAVE
THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE MESSAGE
THAT THEN HAS TO BE DECODED
INTO THE MEANING.
YOU NEED TO PRESERVE
THAT MEANING
AND FIND WAYS
TO EXPRESS IT ACCURATELY
IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE.
YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE PEOPLE
WHO USE THAT TARGET LANGUAGE.
PERHAPS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
A POEM OR A STORY OR A PLAY
IN ENGLISH
AS A SOURCE LANGUAGE.
ONE CAN READ THAT,
COMPREHEND THE MEANING,
AND DETERMINE HOW TO
APPROPRIATELY TRANSLATE IT
INTO ASL,
AND DEAF USERS OF ASL
WILL COMPREHEND
THE MESSAGE.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT
IS COMPREHENDING THE MEANING
BEHIND THAT ENGLISH MESSAGE.
IT WOULD BE
VERY EASY FOR US
TO LOOK AT
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AND THEN SIGN IT
ALMOST WORD FOR WORD
IN A TRANSLITERATION,
GLOSSING, PICKING ONE SIGN
FOR EACH ENGLISH WORD.
WHEN THAT'S DONE,
THE COMPREHENSION LEVEL
OF THE ASL USERS
WOULD NOT BE ADEQUATE.
PERHAPS YOU'RE NOT USING
APPROPRIATE GRAMMATICAL
FEATURES, AS ONE DOES.
LET ME GIVE YOU
SOME EXAMPLES.
[LAUGHTER]
LET ME DEMONSTRATE
THE FIRST SENTENCE.
IT'S EASY FOR ME
TO TRANSLITERATE THIS.
[LAUGHTER]
THE MEAT,
FINGER-SPELLING "LOAF,"
DID NOT AGREE WITH HIM.
PERHAPS ASL USERS WHO AREN'T
SKILLED IN ENGLISH YET
BUT WHO ARE STILL ACQUIRING
ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS
WOULD BE CONFUSED BETWEEN
A MEATLOAF THAT YOU EAT
AND A PERSON
WHO IS LAZY.
ONE NEEDS TO TRANSMIT
THE SPECIFIC MESSAGE.
LET ME TRANSLATE THIS.
IN THAT TRANSLATION,
THE MEANING IS PRESERVED.
IT TAKES SOME TIME
TO EXPLAIN A GLOSS.
WAIT A MINUTE.
BEFORE I PROCEED WITH THAT,
I'M CURIOUS--HOW MANY PEOPLE
IN THE AUDIENCE
WOULD LIKE ME TO TAKE TIME
TO EXPLAIN MY SIGN CHOICES
OR HOW I'M DOING
THE SENTENCE IN ASL?
DO I NEED TO ELABORATE
ON THAT FOR ANYONE?
THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE.
OK. GOOD.
FOR FOLKS WHO ARE FLUENT IN ASL,
PLEASE BEAR WITH US,
BECAUSE I'D LIKE
TO MAKE THIS CLEAR.
WE CAN BORROW
THE WORDS OF ENGLISH
AND GLOSS THOSE
INTO SIGNS.
YOU KNOW THAT ASL HAS
NO WRITTEN FORM ITSELF.
SO...ONE THING I COULD DO IS
BORROW THESE WORDS FROM ENGLISH.
FIRST, I SIGNED THIS
FOR "MEAT,"
FINGER-SPELLED "LOAF,"
AND USED THE CLASSIFIER
TO SHOW THE MEATLOAF
A SIZE AND SPACE
SIGNIFIER.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT LOAF,
A LAZY PERSON
WHO LIES AROUND
AND DOES NOTHING,
THE SIGN I JUST SIGNED.
I'M TALKING ABOUT
A SLAB OF MEAT.
FOR HIM, I USED THE SIGN
INDICATING A PERSON
SET APPROPRIATELY
IN SPACE
AND SHOWED HIM EATING
AND SWALLOWING THE MEAT,
INDICATED THE STOMACH,
AND TOGETHER, THE SIGN
I MADE AN UPSET STOMACH.
SO I USED APPROPRIATE
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ASL,
WHICH REALLY HELPS
OUR STUDENTS UNDERSTAND
AND CLARIFIES THE MEANING
BEHIND THAT WRITTEN SENTENCE.
LET ME SHOW YOU
THE SECOND SENTENCE.
IT SHOULD BE
PRETTY EASY.
RIGHT. I WOULD SUGGEST
THAT THE CHILDREN WERE ALL EYES,
SIGNED THIS WAY AS
THE CHILDREN WERE AMAZED.
YOU MIGHT GLOSS THAT.
AT THE CIRCUS,
THE CHILDREN WERE JUST AMAZED
OR FASCINATED.
SURE, ANOTHER WAY TO SIGN IT
IN ASL WOULD BE THIS,
STILL PRESERVING THAT SAME
MEANING OF FA...
MEANING OF FASCINATION
AND AWE.
WHETHER ONE SIGNS "FASCINATION"
OR "AWE" IN A VARIETY OF WAYS,
IT PRESERVES THE MEANING
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE SENTENCE.
ALL RIGHT.
THIRD SAMPLE SENTENCE,
THAT "ACTIONS SPEAK
LOUDER THAN WORDS,"
IS NOT QUITE AS EASY.
MANY OF OUR STUDENTS...
MIGHT LEARN THE MEANING BEHIND
THAT WRITTEN ENGLISH SENTENCE
THROUGH A TRANSLATION PROCESS.
LET ME TAKE SOME TIME
TO EXPLAIN,
SETTING UP ACTIONS
AND WORDS.
WE HAVE ACTIONS.
WE HAVE WORDS.
WHICH CARRIES MORE STRENGTH?
THE ACTION DOES,
APPROPRIATELY SETTING UP
EACH CONCEPT IN SPACE
AND THEN COMPARING
AND CONTRASTING THOSE.
SO IT'S EASY FOR US PERHAPS TO
PRESENT A MEANING OF LANGUAGE,
THE VOCABULARY
AND GRAMMAR, UH...
BUT IT'S NOT EASY
FOR US TO DO THAT,
ALTHOUGH IT'S MUCH EASIER
PERHAPS TO DO THAT
THAN TO TRANSMIT APPROPRIATE
CULTURAL INFORMATION.
THE 3 THINGS
WE NEED TO CONSIDER
ARE THE MEANING, THE GRAMMAR
OF EACH LANGUAGE,
AND THE CULTURAL BACKGROUND
OF THE LANGUAGE USERS.
WHILE THE MEANING AND GRAMMAR
CAN OFTEN BE PRESERVED EASILY,
THERE'S A REAL CHALLENGE
IN PRESENTING INFORMATION
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATELY
WITH EQUAL RESPECT AND STATUS
FOR EACH CULTURE.
IN OUR FOURTH SAMPLE SENTENCE,
IT SAYS,
"I'M SORRY
THAT YOU MISSED THE BOAT."
NOW, YOU COULD STRING TOGETHER
TWO SIGNS GLOSSED,
LIKE THE SIGN FOR "MISS"
AND THE SIGN FOR "BOAT."
BUT THE MEANING
IS NOT PRESERVED.
PERHAPS A SIGN CHOICE
LIKE "TRAIN GONE,"
IF I CAN GLOSS IT
THAT WAY,
WHICH IS USED IN ASL,
HAS THE SAME MEANING.
IT'S SIMILARLY IDIOMATIC
IN BOTH LANGUAGES.
THAT WAY, THE COMPREHENSION
OF THE MEANING IS PRESERVED,
AND THE INFORMATION
IS TRANSMITTED
LINGUISTICALLY AND CULTURALLY
ACCURATELY FOR ASL USERS.
SO...WHAT IS THE TRANSLATOR
RESPONSIBLE FOR?
ONE NEEDS TO ANALYZE
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AND COME UP WITH A TRANSLATION
THAT'S ACCURATE.
SOMETIMES
A TRANSLATION...
SOMEONE DOING A TRANSLATION
HAS DIFFICULTY
UNDERSTANDING ACCURATELY
THE CLARITY
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE MESSAGE.
THERE'S A TENDENCY
TO WATER DOWN THE INFORMATION,
TO SPOON-FEED...
THE SPEAKERS OR HEARERS
IN THE TARGET-LANGUAGE
MESSAGE.
REALLY, IT'S THE TRANSLATOR'S
RESPONSIBILITY
TO PRESENT AN ACCURATE
EQUIVALENT MESSAGE,
AND THE PRESENTATION,
WHETHER SIGNED OR SPOKEN,
NEEDS TO BE CLEAR.
YOU NEED TO CLEARLY
PRESERVE THE MEANING
WITH APPROPRIATE GRAMMAR.
A THIRD CRITERIA
OF A GOOD TRANSLATION
IS IT NEEDS TO BE NATURAL.
THE TRANSLATION
INTO THE TARGET LANGUAGE
MUST PRESERVE NATURAL LANGUAGE
PRINCIPLES AND CHARACTERISTICS.
I'VE BEEN THINKING
FOR A LONG TIME
HOW I MIGHT SHOW
AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING
THAT EVERYONE'S
FAMILIAR WITH,
THAT THEY'VE GROWN UP WITH,
THAT THEY'RE ACCUSTOMED TO...
AND ANALYZE THAT
FOR THE MEANING.
I THINK A SENTENCE
MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH.
WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR
WAS A PASSAGE, AN ENTIRE TEXT
THAT WE COULD ANALYZE...
PERHAPS A FORM
OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS.
SO I'VE TRIED TO
COME UP WITH SOMETHING
WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH,
I'M SURE ALL OF US
HAVE SEEN BEFORE.
I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR
WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
NOW, AS I THINK BACK
AT HOW WE SIGN THAT
GROWING UP IN SCHOOL...
IT WAS ALMOST
A WORD-FOR-WORD GLOSS.
THIS WAY, LITERALLY
"FOR WHICH IT STANDS."
"INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL."
THOSE WERE THE SIGN
CHOICES WE'D SEE
AS WE GREW UP IN SCHOOL.
AND THEN IMAGINE, HEARING PEOPLE
DID THE SAME THING IN SCHOOL,
RECITED THIS OVER
AND OVER AGAIN BY ROTE...
SIMILARLY TO HOW
DEAF PEOPLE SIGNED IT,
PERHAPS NOT UNDERSTANDING
THE MEANING,
UH, ACCEPTING IT
WITHOUT DISCUSSION AT ALL.
BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE
A FUN EXERCISE PERHAPS
TO TRY AND SIGN IT
IN A WAY THAT REALLY SHOWS
THE MEANING,
WHAT IT REPRESENTS,
TO LOOK AT THAT
TRANSLATION PROCESS
AND SEE IF IT MIGHT HELP
STUDENTS UNDERSTAND
THE MEANING AND THE FEELING
BEHIND THE WORDS.
I DON'T KNOW WHO FIRST
CAME UP WITH THAT TRANSLATION,
THE WORD-FOR-WORD GLOSS
OF "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE
TO THE FLAG."
I HAVE HERE A STATEMENT
FROM THE COMMISSION
ON THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF
FROM THEIR...
ONE OF THEIR REPORTS
I'D LIKE TO SHARE
WITH YOU.
NOW, THIS IS WHY I SUPPORT
THE IDEA SO STRONGLY
OF USING TRANSLATION
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO HELP BOTH HEARING CHILDREN
AND DEAF CHILDREN
UNDERSTAND THEIR LANGUAGE
AND THEIR CULTURE
AND ALSO GAIN INSIGHTS
INTO OTHER LANGUAGES
AND OTHER CULTURES.
I THINK PERHAPS
SOME PEOPLE HERE HAVE
SOME NEGATIVE BIASES TOWARDS ASL
AS A LANGUAGE AND A CULTURE.
PERHAPS SOME DEAF STUDENTS
HAVE NEGATIVE BIASES
TOWARDS ENGLISH
AND THE MAINSTREAM CULTURE.
THROUGH TRANSLATION PROCESS,
IT'S EASY...
IT'S AN EASY WAY TO TRY
AND GAIN INFORMATION
AND SHARE EXPERIENCES
IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE.
I REALLY STRUGGLED
WITH TRYING TO COME UP WITH
AN ACCEPTABLE TRANSLATION.
I LOOKED OVER
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
WRITTEN IN ENGLISH,
AND CERTAINLY I HAVE
A SIGN FOR EACH WORD,
BUT THAT'S NOT SUFFICIENT.
I COULD MAKE SOME APPROPRIATE
GRAMMATICAL CHANGES,
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE.
AND THEN WE GET
TO THE POINT OF CULTURE,
THE CULTURE OF ASL USERS.
GRAMMATICALLY, A DISCOURSE
ALWAYS STARTS WITH THE TOPIC,
THE SUBJECT OF WHAT
THE TEXT WILL BE ABOUT.
IT SEEMS THAT THE TOPIC
IS THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES
AND THE REPUBLIC...
THE GOVERN...
AND THE MEANING
BEHIND A REPUBLIC
IS REALLY OUR FORM
OF GOVERNMENT.
NOW, YOU COULD...
GO ON AND TALK ABOUT
HOW THIS IS MODIFIED.
LET ME GIVE YOU
AN EXAMPLE.
YOU MIGHT HAVE A RED CAR
THAT I BOUGHT YESTERDAY.
IN ASL, FIRST YOU SET UP
THE TOPIC, THE CAR,
AND THEN THAT IT WAS RED
AND I BOUGHT IT YESTERDAY.
THAT'S THE TYPICAL WORD ORDER
IN THE ASL GRAMMAR.
SO, FIRST WE HAVE THE TOPIC,
THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES,
OF OUR REPUBLIC,
THE GOVERNMENT.
AND THEN THE MODIFIERS,
THAT IT'S REPRESENTED
BY THIS FLAG
AND THE CONCEPTS
OF "ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE."
AND FINALLY YOU'D GET
TO THE SUBJECT,
THAT "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE,
I'M IN SUPPORT
AND FAVOR OF THIS."
QUITE A CHANGE IN WORD ORDER
AND PRESENTATIONS OF IDEAS,
BUT IT ADDS GREAT CLARITY
FOR A NATIVE USER OF ASL.
NOW, I'M NOT SUGGESTING
WE SHOULD SIGN IT THIS WAY
IN THE CLASSROOM.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT AT ALL.
BUT AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL,
IT PRESERVES THE MEANING
AND THE CULTURE.
CERTAINLY, WE COULD LEAVE
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IN ITS FROZEN FORM IN ENGLISH
ON THE BLACKBOARD,
AND IT'S PERFECTLY APPROPRIATE
FOR DAILY USE.
OUR STUDENTS CAN
CERTAINLY SIGN THAT.
BUT IN ASL, YOU'D HAVE
THE TOPIC FIRST,
THE FLAG AND THE REPUBLIC,
AND THEN THE MODIFIERS...
"ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
FOR ALL,"
AND FINALLY, "I SUPPORT THIS,
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO."
[LAUGHTER]
TOM HOLCOMBE IN THE AUDIENCE
SAID, "I LIKE THAT TRANSLATION."
I TOLD HIM THANKS.
[LAUGHTER]
GREAT. NOW, IT'S EASY
FOR US TO SAY,
"OH, GREAT.
SWELL TRANSLATION."
AND WE CAN TRANSLATE
FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER.
IT'S ALWAYS
AN EASY PROCESS.
IT CAN ALWAYS BE DONE.
BUT THAT'S NOT TRUE.
SOMETIMES IT'S LITERALLY
IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE
FROM ONE LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE TO ANOTHER.
LET ME ILLUSTRATE THIS
WITH A JOKE I'VE USED
IN MY TRANSLATION CLASSES.
I DON'T WANT TO ENTER INTO
A LOT OF DISCUSSION.
FIRST, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO
IS PRESENT THIS ON THE OVERHEAD,
AND WHEN I'M DONE,
I'LL SIGN IT.
[LAUGHTER]
OK. I'M SINCERELY CURIOUS.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE,
PERHAPS DEAF PEOPLE,
DON'T REALLY
UNDERSTAND THIS JOKE?
BELIEVE ME, YOU'RE NOT
THE ONLY ONES.
I'VE PUT IN A LOT OF STUDY
ON WRITTEN ENGLISH,
AND I CAN UNDERSTAND IT,
BUT I DON'T REALLY FEEL
THE HUMOR BEHIND IT.
I THINK IT'S
KIND OF INTERESTING.
I'VE GOT AN INTELLECTUAL
FASCINATION WITH THAT,
WHY IT'S HUMOROUS
IN ENGLISH,
BUT FRANKLY, IT DOESN'T
TICKLE MY FUNNY BONE.
I'LL TRY AND TRANSLATE
THIS INTO ASL.
I DON'T KNOW
IF IT WILL HELP OR NOT.
THIS IS THE SIGN
I'LL BE USING FOR "HOW,"
FROM ENGLISH CULTURE.
IN ENGLISH, WE'D SAY,
"HOW DO YOU LIKE THE EGG...
HOW DO YOU LIKE
YOUR EGGS?"
AND YOU MIGHT SAY SCRAMBLED
OR POACHED OR FRIED.
LET ME GO AHEAD
AND PERFORM THIS JOKE NOW.
[LAUGHTER]
[CLAPS]
[LAUGHTER]
NOW, I WONDER, IS THAT
MORE COMPREHENSIBLE?
I'M WONDERING ABOUT
THE LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING.
WELL, FINALLY
UNDERSTAND IT MAYBE?
HMM...
UH, I THINK HEARING PEOPLE
CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT,
BUT IT'S FROM
HEARING CULTURE.
YOU KNOW, THE "HOW," H-O-W.
HOW DO YOU LIKE THE EGGS?
AND THE SOUND IS THE SAME
FROM THE INDIAN GREETING--"HOW."
AND THAT RESPONSE, "FRIED,"
UH-UH, JUST DOESN'T WORK.
LET ME EXPLAIN IT.
NOW, WHEN I
EXPLAIN IT THAT WAY...
HE GREETED THE INDIAN
AND SAID, "HO,"
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE "HOW,"
SO THE INDIAN ANSWERED,
"FRIED. THAT'S HOW
I LIKE MY EGGS."
AFTER 17 YEARS,
HE STILL REMEMBERED
EXACTLY WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
THE CONVERSATION.
SO THE DEVIL COULDN'T
TAKE HIS SOUL.
NOW, UNDERSTAND IT?
OK. GREAT.
IS IT FUNNY?
KIND OF CUTE, HUH?
WELL, IT'S PRETTY GOOD.
UH...OK.
BUT STRANGE THING--
MANY DEAF STUDENTS
IN MY CLASS
HAVE THE EXACT SAME RESPONSES
TO MY QUESTION.
"WELL, YEAH, I UNDERSTAND
WHAT YOU'RE SAYING NOW,
BUT YOU'RE NOT FUNNY."
WHEN I WAS WORKING ON
THE TRANSLATION FOR THE PLAY,
THE FOREIGNER FACED SOME SIMILAR
DIFFICULTIES RELATED TO HUMOR.
THE CLASS WOULD STUDY
THE PLAY TO THE POINT
WHERE THEY UNDERSTOOD
THEIR REASONS BEHIND THE HUMOR.
BUT AT THAT STAGE,
ALL THE HUMOR WAS GONE.
IT WAS AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
AND NOT TRULY FUNNY.
SO THERE IS HUMOR IN ENGLISH,
IN THAT SPOKEN LANGUAGE,
WITH THAT CULTURE
THAT CAN'T BE TRANSLATED.
AND, SURE, IF IT'S...
YOU ATTEMPT TO TRANSLATE IT,
PEOPLE CAN SMILE,
PRETEND TO LAUGH POLITELY,
BUT THE HUMOR
ISN'T REALLY THERE.
IT'S SIMILAR PERHAPS
TO THE SIGN-LANGUAGE JOKE
FROM DEAF CULTURE
WHERE THE JOKE LINE...
WHERE THE PUNCH LINE IS
"PLEASE BUT."
A MAN DRIVES UP
TO SOME RAILROAD TRACKS,
AND THE CROSSING GUARDS
ARE DOWN ACROSS THE ROAD,
AND HE WANTS TO...
THE TRAIN GOES BY,
BUT THE GUARDS
DON'T GO UP AGAIN.
SO HE WALKS OVER
TO A MAN AT THE GATEHOUSE
BECAUSE THE GATES
DIDN'T OPEN
AND WRITES ON THE SHEET OF PAPER
"PLEASE BUT."
AND THE GUY
DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT.
NOW, IF YOU'RE A USER OF SIGN
AND YOU SIGN "PLEASE BUT,"
IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE,
AND YOU CAN EXPLAIN THAT PERHAPS
TO A HEARING AUDIENCE.
GO AHEAD. EXPLAIN THAT
TO A NOVICE INTERPRETER SOMETIME
OR EXPLAIN THAT
TO AN INTERPRETER.
AND THEY SAY,
"OK. FINE WITH ME. FINE."
AND THEN THEY COMPREHEND IT,
BUT THE HUMOR IS GONE.
WELL, THAT'S MY POINT.
TRANSLATION AS A PROCESS
CAN HELP STUDENTS
UNDERSTAND THEIR CULTURE,
INCLUDING HUMOR, VOCABULARY,
LINGUISTIC FEATURES,
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES.
FOR HEARING PEOPLE
WHO STUDY ASL,
CERTAINLY THEY CAN UNDERSTAND
THE VOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE,
THE HUMOR IN ASL.
EACH LANGUAGE HAS
ITS OWN SET OF PUNS.
AND THAT'S REALLY
AN ENJOYABLE PROCESS
WHERE YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND
MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART
OF EDUCATION
AND THE ENJOYMENT
AND VITALITY OF LIFE.
LAST YEAR, I DIRECTED A PLAY
CALLED "THE FOREIGNER"...
AND WORKED ON
TRANSLATING THAT.
THE PROCESS I USED
WAS READING THE ENGLISH.
AND FIRST...WELL, I COULDN'T
WRITE INTO ASL.
SO I'D HAVE TO BORROW SOME
OF THE WORDS AND TERMINOLOGY
FROM THE ENGLISH
AND WRITE DOWN A GLOSS,
ALMOST AN OUTLINE
OF ENGLISH KEYWORDS.
THEN, IN THE FIRST WEEK
OF REHEARSAL,
WE GOT TOGETHER
WITH THE CAST,
AND I TOOK TURNS SIGNING SOME OF
THOSE, UH, GLOSSES THAT I HAD,
SOME KEY SENTENCES.
AND SO, WHAT WAS WORKING,
AND WHAT WASN'T?
AND SOME OF THE STUDENTS
WHO GREW UP IN DEAF CULTURE
HAD SOME SUGGESTIONS
FOR ALTERNATE WAYS TO SIGN IT,
AT LEAST ON HOW
THEY UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING.
SO WE WENT THROUGH A PROCESS
OF WORKING ON A TRANSLATION.
AND I LOOKED BACK, AND I SAW
SOME OF THEM I REALLY LIKED,
INCORPORATED
THOSE SUGGESTIONS.
BUT THEN WE DID PASSAGES
THAT JUST SEEMED
IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE.
WE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT
AND THOUGHT INTO IT.
FINALLY, I HAD TO ELECT
TO ELIMINATE SOME PASSAGES
THAT JUST COULDN'T
BE TRANSLATED.
THEY COULD BE VOICED IN ENGLISH,
BUT THEY COULDN'T BE TRANSLATED.
IF WE TRIED
TO GLOSS THOSE,
THEY WOULDN'T BE
HUMOROUS AT ALL
FOR DEAF PEOPLE
IN THE AUDIENCE
OR FOR SIGNERS
IN THE AUDIENCE.
SO WE JUST HAD TO
ELIMINATE THOSE.
THE TROUBLE...
THE PROBLEM WAS
THEY COULDN'T BE TRANSLATED
IN TERMS OF THE CULTURE.
IF YOU LOOK AT
THE SAMPLE HERE,
THE FIRST SENTENCE,
"HERE WE GO."
THEN CHARLIE--
"HERE WE GO."
IF YOU LOOK
AT THE FIRST PASSAGE,
WHERE FROGGY IS SPEAKING...
THAT'S ENGLISH,
SPOKEN ENGLISH FROM BRITAIN.
NOW, HOW DO WE
TRANSLATE THAT INTO ASL?
SHOULD WE USE
A SIGN LIKE THIS,
"FROM NOW ON" OR "WHERE
ARE WE GOING FROM HERE"?
FOR ASL USERS, YOU KNOW
WHY I'M USING THIS,
WHY I WAVE
MY HAND LIKE THAT.
IT'S AN ATTENTION-GETTER.
YOU KNOW, IN ASL,
YOU CAN HOLLER A PERSON'S NAME.
I'M SORRY. IN SPOKEN ENGLISH,
YOU CAN HOLLER A PERSON'S NAME.
SIGNERS DON'T TEND
TO CALL PEOPLE BY NAME.
IT'S A CHARACTERISTIC WAVE
THAT WOULD BE USED
TO GET SOMEONE'S
ATTENTION.
SO IT'S CULTURALLY EQUIVALENT.
IT'S COMPLEMENTARY.
THE CHOICE I USED WASN'T...
WELL, "HERE WE GO FROM HERE."
I USED WHAT? "WE'VE ARRIVED.
WE'VE ARRIVED HERE."
THE PART HERE,
"HELLO, BETH,"
HEARING ACTORS COULD HOLLER,
"HELLO, BETH OR BETTY,"
USING THE NAME SIGN,
BUT IN DEAF CULTURE,
YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T HOLLER
TO GET SOMEONE'S ATTENTION
LIKE THAT, SO WE HAD TO MAKE
SOME MODIFICATIONS
WHERE THEY COULD WALK
TO THE DOOR, OPEN IT UP,
AND WAVE HELLO.
"HELLO, BETTY."
OR "MISS BETTY."
THE SPOKEN ENGLISH LINE
WAS "BETTY, MY LOVE.
"BETTY, MY LOVE.
WHERE IS SHE?"
AND FOR THE SPOKEN LINE
"WHAT TIME DO YOU MAKE IT?"
COULD BE TRANSLATED
PRETTY CLOSELY.
BRENDA.
AARON HAD A QUESTION.
AARON: I'M CURIOUS. AS I'M
WATCHING THE WRITTEN ENGLISH
YOU HAVE WRITTEN
DOWN THERE...
UH, THE SPELLING
IS REALLY DIFFERENT.
INSTEAD OF W-H-A-T,
YOU HAVE W-O-T.
BRITISH OR PERHAPS...
I DON'T KNOW
IF IT'S LOWER-CLASS OR WHAT,
BUT HOW DID YOU SIGNIFY THAT
OR TRANSLATE THAT?
PATRICK: THE QUESTION WAS,
IN THE WRITTEN SCRIPT,
AS YOU READ THROUGH IT...
YOU SEE A VERY BRITISH
WAY OF SPEAKING--
W-O-T FOR "WHAT."
AND "D'YER,"
D'-Y-E-R.
SOMETIMES IT'S IMPOSSIBLE
TO PRESERVE THAT SORT OF THING
GOING FROM ONE LANGUAGE
TO ANOTHER.
YOU CAN TRY IT
IN THE WAY YOU SIGN.
I COULD FORMALLY SIGN,
"WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?"
OR, HITTING A DIFFERENT
REGISTER, "WHAT TIME IS IT?
HEY, MAN, WHAT TIME?"
SO YOU COULD DO IT
PERHAPS WITH REGISTER.
KEITH...
KEITH WAS ASKING ME...
PERHAPS THROUGH CLOTHING,
DRESSING APPROPRIATELY,
YOU COULD SHOW
SOME OF THAT, SURE.
THAT'S A DIRECTOR'S DECISION,
ANY TIME YOU'RE DOING A PLAY
AND THAT TECHNIQUE HELPS.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO
FOCUS ON NOW
IS THE LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS,
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.
UH, WE'RE...
TIME IS REALLY SHORT.
I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU
ONE MORE OVERHEAD.
[LAUGHTER]
I STRUGGLED TRYING TO
TRANSLATE THAT INTO ASL.
WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION,
PUT A LOT OF EFFORT
INTO WORKING ON
THE TRANSLATION PROCESS
AND ULTIMATELY DECIDED
IT WAS TOTALLY PART
OF A SPOKEN-LANGUAGE
HEARING CULTURE.
WE HAD TO CUT THIS
OUT OF THE PLAY.
MY CURRENT FEELING IS,
IF I WAS DIRECT...
IF I WERE DIRECTING
THIS PLAY AGAIN
WITH A DIFFERENT CAST, MAYBE
I COULD FIND A WAY TO DO IT,
BUT MY DECISION,
WHEN I WAS DIRECTING IT,
WAS TO JUST CUT IT OUT
AND DELETE IT.
OR THEY'RE MAKING
THAT COMPARISON
ABOUT CALLING
A TONGUE FLOPPY.
IT'S JUST SUCH A PUN,
SUCH A DOUBLE MEANING INVOLVED,
THE DOUBLE ENTENDRE.
IN DEAF CULTURE,
A SIGNED LANGUAGE,
YOU DON'T SPEAK
WITH YOUR TONGUE.
YOU COMMUNICATE
WITH YOUR HANDS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU COULD
SIGN SOME WAY APPROPRIATELY
AS "FLOPPY HAND" OR DO
SOMETHING TO SIGNIFY THAT,
BUT IT'S NOT EASY.
IT'S CERTAINLY NOT EASY
TO TRANSLATE APPROPRIATELY.
BUT I HAVE TO EMPHASIZE
IT'S A MARVELOUS TOOL
FOR STUDYING LANGUAGE,
AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR STUDYING
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE,
TWO LANGUAGES
AND TWO CULTURES
IN A COMPLEMENTARY WAY
WITH EQUAL RESPECT AND STATUS.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
NOW WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT
OF TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
I'LL WARN YOU, I MIGHT NOT
HAVE THE ANSWERS.
BUT WE COULD GO AHEAD,
START WITH SOME QUESTIONS.
CAROL.
CAROL: YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
COMPARISONS IN TRANSLATIONS
WITH ENGLISH AND ASL.
I'M REALLY ENJOYING
WATCHING THE COMPARISONS.
YOU TALKED ABOUT ENGLISH
BEING A WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
UH...I'M WONDERING HOW YOU CAN
DO ALL THOSE TRANSFORMATIONS
IN TERMS OF WORD ORDER,
MAKING ALL THE GRAMMATICAL
AND LINGUISTIC CHANGES
YOU NEED TO MAKE.
WHERE DO YOU GET
THE TIME TO DO THAT?
I MEAN, HOW WOULD I HAVE
ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE
ALL THOSE CHANGES
AND PRESENT THEM TO A TEACHER?
PATRICK: OK. SO YOU'RE SAYING
THAT PERHAPS YOU'D WANT TO...
YOUR FINAL PRODUCT, YOUR TARGET
IS A WRITTEN ESSAY IN ENGLISH,
AND PERHAPS YOU WANT TO START
WITH A SOURCE LANGUAGE,
CREATING IN ASL BECAUSE YOU KNOW
YOUR OWN LANGUAGE.
NOW, WE KNOW ASL DOESN'T
HAVE A WRITTEN FORM.
SO YOU'D HAVE TO PERHAPS
BORROW SOME WORDS FROM ENGLISH,
GET DOWN A ROUGH DRAFT.
AND THEN YOU HAVE PERHAPS IN ASL
GRAMMATICAL ORDER.
THEN LOOK OVER
WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN,
SEE WHEN YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THE MEANING,
WHAT YOU'VE COME UP WITH
FROM THAT THOUGHT PROCESS,
AND THEN GO THROUGH A PROCESS
OF TRANSLATING IT INTO ENGLISH,
WHICH IS
YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE.
PERHAPS THAT APPROACH
WOULD WORK FOR YOU.
IT'S CERTAINLY
WORTH A TRY.
BUT IT REALLY REQUIRES THAT
THE PERSON KNOW TWO LANGUAGES.
AND GARY MOWELL
JUST SUGGESTED
THAT PERHAPS YOU COULD
SIGN YOUR ESSAY,
VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF
WHILE YOU'RE SIGNING IT,
SEE IF YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THAT PRESENTATION.
IF NOT, MAKE SOME REVISIONS,
VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF AGAIN,
AND WHEN YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THE PRODUCT
IN THAT SOURCE
LANGUAGE OF ASL,
THEN GO THROUGH
YOUR TRANSLATION.
YES, FARLEY?
FARLEY: LET ME STAND UP.
I NOTICED YOU TALKING
ABOUT CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
AND A METHOD
OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION.
I'VE NOTICED
THAT DEAF TEACHERS
TEND TO REALLY GIVE A LOT
OF EXAMPLES, EMPHASIZE EXAMPLES,
AND THEN FINALLY GET
TO ENGLISH...
AN ENGLISH PRESENTATION.
I THINK THE HEARING TEACHERS
I'VE OBSERVED
OFTEN WILL GO AHEAD,
GIVE A LECTURE,
THEN GIVE EXAMPLES
NEAR THE END.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S
AN IMPORTANT TECHNIQUE PERHAPS
TO GIVE EXAMPLES FIRST
AND THEN EXPLAIN THE MEANING.
FOR EXAMPLE,
IN YOUR PRESENTATION,
FIRST YOU GAVE EXAMPLES
OF TRANSLATION
AND THEN WENT INTO
SOME OF THE MORE THEORETICAL
PARTS OF YOUR TALK.
PATRICK: OK. I GUESS
WHAT YOU'RE SAYING
IS YOU FEEL
THAT DEAF TEACHERS
OFTEN WILL START OUT INITIALLY
BY PRESENTING SOME EXAMPLES
AND THEN WILL SHOW THE ENGLISH,
HOW THAT'S DONE IN ENGLISH,
WHEREAS HEARING TEACHERS USE...
WILL PRESENT
THE ENGLISH SENTENCE
OR ENGLISH DISCOURSE FIRST
AND THEN USE SOME EXAMPLES
TO EXPLAIN HOW THAT WORKS.
IT MAY BE A CULTURAL
DIFFERENCE.
YES, PERHAPS IT IS,
BUT I CAUTION YOU
THAT I THINK IT'S EASY
FOR US TO START WITH EXAMPLES
AND PERHAPS MAKES IT EASIER
FOR OUR STUDENTS
TO LEARN AND COMPREHEND.
ONE CAUTION IS WE NEED
TO AVOID SPOON-FEEDING.
PERHAPS WE COULD START
WITH THE ENGLISH,
SEE WHAT'S UNDERSTOOD FROM
THE ENGLISH SOURCE LANGUAGE,
AND THEN START
TRANSLATING,
AND AFTER WE GO THROUGH
THAT PROCESS,
PROVIDE MORE EXAMPLES
THAT MIGHT AID IN COMPREHENSION.
I THINK IF WE PROVIDE
TOO MUCH FOR THE STUDENTS,
THEY WON'T BE CHALLENGED,
HAVE TO THINK ON THEIR OWN
AND WORK ON THE PROBLEM
INDEPENDENTLY.
IS TRANSLATION THE SAME
AS PRESENTING EXAMPLES TO YOU?
OK. TO ME, TRANSLATION
IS EQUIVALENT
TO PRESENTING THE MEANING.
THE QUESTION IS
IS, TO ME,
IS TRANSLATION EQUIVALENT
TO GIVING EXAMPLES?
NO.
[LAUGHTER]
I WANT TO FIND MY OVERHEAD
WITH THE 4 SENTENCES ON IT.
[LAUGHTER]
I DIDN'T REALLY
GIVE EXAMPLES.
I SIGNED IT ONE WAY
AND PRESENTED A TRANSLATION
IN SIGN LANGUAGE, PRESERVING
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ASL,
CHANGING WORD ORDER
WHEN NECESSARY.
SO I THINK TRANSLATION
ISN'T EXACTLY EQUIVALENT
TO GIVING A SERIES
OF EXAMPLES.
OK. YOU'RE ASKING WHAT TYPE
OF EXAMPLES YOU MIGHT GIVE.
I'M SURE YOU'VE PROBABLY
HAD AN EXPERIENCE BEFORE
OF EATING MEATLOAF
OR VEGETABLES,
AND THE NEXT DAY
YOU HAD INDIGESTION.
THAT MIGHT BE AN EXAMPLE
OR EXPLANATION YOU COULD USE
BUT THAT'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
FROM THE STRAIGHT TRANSLATION
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE
SENTENCE.
OK. BARBARA, RAY HOLCOMBE.
RAY: OK. WHEN THE STUDENTS
HAVE A SCRIPT,
DO YOU FEEL
THAT THE STUDENTS
SHOULD READ THROUGH
THE SCRIPT FIRST
AND THEN LOOK AT THE SENTENCES
AND THE DIALOGUE,
OR DO YOU PRESENT
THE TRANSLATION FIRST,
BEFORE THEY'RE EXPECTED
TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PLAY?
PATRICK: OK.
THE QUESTION IS,
WHEN I HAND OUT
A SCRIPT TO A CAST--
AND WE'RE FOCUSING
ON A PLAY--
DO WE LOOK
AT A SENTENCE LEVEL,
TRANSLATING SENTENCE
BY SENTENCE,
OR DO WE REQUIRE THEM
TO READ THROUGH
THE WHOLE SCRIPT FIRST,
DEVELOP A BASIC UNDERSTANDING,
AND THEN GO BACK
AND PERFORM THE TRANSLATION,
PERHAPS AT A SENTENCE LEVEL?
WE CAN SAY IT THIS WAY--
I THINK I'VE DONE IT INCORRECTLY
OR INEFFICIENTLY IN THE PAST.
I USED TO GO THROUGH
SENTENCE BY SENTENCE,
TRANSLATING EACH SENTENCE.
THEN, AT THE END
OF A PASSAGE,
I'D REALIZE, "OH, WAIT A MINUTE.
THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS."
I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK
AND START OVER.
SO WHAT I DO NOW IS TAKE
AN ENTIRE PASSAGE FIRST,
UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS
OF THAT PASSAGE,
ANALYZE THE DISCOURSE
AT THAT LEVEL,
AT A PASSAGE LEVEL,
THEN GO BACK AND START
TRANSLATING AT A SENTENCE LEVEL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
[INDISTINCT]
HOLD ON ONE MOMENT.
ONE MOMENT.
I HAVE TWO ARTICLES
THAT INCORPORATE
BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
ONE IS BY M.J. BIENVENU.
THE OTHER ARTICLE
IS WRITTEN BY AN INSTRUCTOR
AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY,
DR. TOM THOR, WHO TALKS
ABOUT GOOD TRANSLATIONS
OR POOR TRANSLATIONS AND WHAT
ARE SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS.
I HAVE 60 COPIES
HERE WITH ME.
I HOPE THAT WILL BE ENOUGH.
IF IT'S INSUFFICIENT,
YOU COULD PUT YOUR NAME DOWN
ON THE SAME LIST
AS WE USED FOR THE NOTES,
AND I'LL GET YOU A COPY.
[WOMAN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY]
PLEASE REMEMBER TO TURN OFF
YOUR LOOP MONITORS
AND PUT THEM BACK
ON THE CART IN THERE.
SECONDLY, JUST A REMINDER,
IF YOU WANT NOTES,
PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THEM.
YOU WILL GET THEM
EVENTUALLY.
AND THIRDLY,
THE DISCUSSION SECTION
IS IN THE VISITORS
CENTER THERE.
IT'S TEA AND COOKIES
AND COFFEE.
SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR A WONDERFUL LECTURE.
[APPLAUSE]
MEG DAIS,
AND I AND SUSAN FISHER
AND KEITH
COORDINATE
THE LECTURE SERIES.
IF YOU HAVE
YOUR LOOP MONITORS...
ARE THEY WORKING OK?
MAN: I CAN GET
A SOUND CHECK.
ACTUALLY, THEY'RE
WORKING OK, YES.
MEG: UM, A FEW DETAILS
BEFORE KEITH INTRODUCES
PATRICK GRAYBILL, OUR LECTURER.
FIRST, OUR DISCUSSION GROUP
IS IN THE VISITORS CENTER.
IT'S...IT STARTS AT 2:00,
AND IT GOES UNTIL 3:00.
UM, THE NEXT THING IS
THERE'S A SIGN-UP SHEET...
RIGHT HERE, AND I WANT PEOPLE TO
WRITE YOUR NAMES AND ADDRESSES,
AND IF YOU WANT NOTES,
WRITE THAT, WRITE THAT ALSO.
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
MEG: THAT'S FINE.
THAT'S FINE.
BUT I WANT
ALL OF YOUR NAMES.
THANKS.
OH, ANOTHER QUESTION.
[LAUGHTER]
AND YOU CAN PAY FOR IT.
[LAUGHTER]
UM...OUR NOTE...
OUR NOTE TAKER IS SAM...
IS IT S-C-A-E-R-E-R?
YEAH? OK. THANKS.
UM, AND OUR INTERPRETERS
ARE, FOR VOICING, UM,
YOUR...YOUR SIGN NAME
IS AARON?
[LAUGHTER]
AND FOR, UM,
THE ASL INTERPRETING,
IT'S AARON BRACE.
ENGLISH?
THE NEXT LECTURER
IS TORI ARLER,
AND THAT'S ON...
I HAVE TO CHECK.
FEBRUARY 16th.
IT'S A TUESDAY.
UM, WE HAVE MORE BROCHURES
RIGHT HERE IF YOU NEED THEM.
AND THAT'S ALL.
I THINK THAT YOU KNOW THE
PURPOSE FOR THE LECTURE SERIES,
AND THAT'S TO INTRODUCE
NEW IDEAS AND RESEARCH TO YOU
FOR USING IN THE CLASSROOM
AND IN YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU GET
THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.
ANYWAY, NOW IT'S TIME FOR KEITH
TO INTRODUCE OUR LECTURER.
THANK YOU.
KEITH: THANK YOU.
I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR
WITH PATRICK GRAYBILL'S
SIGN NAME,
WHICH IS "PEACHY"
ON THE CHEST.
I'VE KNOWN PATRICK
ABOUT 7 YEARS,
AND WHEN I READ HIS VIDA,
CURRICULA VIDA,
I WAS AMAZED.
[LAUGHTER]
ALSO, IT MEANS WE HAVE
3 AARONS HERE TODAY.
HIS MIDDLE NAME IS AARON,
SO IT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
PATRICK WAS BORN,
AND AS HIS MOTHER WAS
CONSIDERING WHAT TO NAME HIM--
HE HAS TWO OLDER SISTERS.
HIS OLDEST SISTER
IS DEAF.
AND THEY WERE CONSIDERING
CALLING HIM PAT.
THEY WERE THINKING
FOR A MIDDLE NAME
AND NAMED HIM AARON.
THEN, LATER ON,
PAT WAS TELLING ME A STORY
ABOUT HIS MIDDLE NAME, AND I
THOUGHT PERHAPS HE WAS JEWISH.
IT WAS CONFUSING
BECAUSE HE WAS SO INVOLVED
IN THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY.
I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
LATER I MET HIS MOTHER.
AND WE CHECKED
WITH HIS MOTHER
TO FIND OUT WHY
HIS MIDDLE NAME WAS AARON.
I WAS TOLD
NONE OF HIS BUSINESS.
POSSIBLY FROM HIS FATHER.
MAYBE SOMETHING RELATED
WITH THE MAILMAN.
I'M NOT REALLY SURE.
PATRICK GREW UP
IN KANSAS,
ATTENDED THE KANSAS
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF,
GRADUATING IN 1958,
AND THEN WENT
TO GALLAUDET COLLEGE,
WHERE HE GOT
HIS B.A. IN ENGLISH...
IN 1963.
HE RECEIVED HIS MASTER'S
IN DEAF EDUCATION IN 1964
AND TRANSFERRED
TO CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY.
HE WAS ALSO AT AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
WHERE HE STUDIED.
HE WENT TO ST. BERNARD'S
SEMINARY,
AND THEN HE'S BEEN
HERE IN ROCHESTER,
WHERE HE'S BEEN
STUDYING THEOLOGY.
HE ALSO WORKED AT THE KENDALL
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
AS AN INSTRUCTOR
FROM 1964 TILL 1967
AND THEN PURSUED
AN ACTING CAREER
WITH THE NATIONAL THEATER
OF THE DEAF FROM 1969 TO 1979,
10 YEARS.
THAT'S WHERE HE REALLY PICKED UP
HIS SIGNING EXPERTISE.
THEN HE CAME HERE
TO NTID IN 1979,
HIRED AS AN ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR,
AND HE'S BEEN
WORKING HERE SINCE.
PATRICK HAS MUCH EXPERIENCE
AS AN ACTOR
AND ALSO TRANSLATING PLAYS
FROM ENGLISH INTO ASL.
HE HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
IN ASL IN DRAMA,
AND HE'S AIDED
WITH MANY TRANSLATIONS
FOR THE PLAYS
HERE AT NTID.
HE ALSO TEACHES A COURSE
IN TRANSLATION
FROM ENGLISH TO ASL
RELATED TO THEATER.
TODAY HE'LL BE SPEAKING
ON TRANSLATION INTO ASL.
SO LET'S WELCOME
PATRICK GRAYBILL.
[APPLAUSE]
THANK YOU, KEITH.
HELLO, EVERYONE.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE
PRESENTING TODAY.
I'M NOT SURE IF THIS INFORMATION
WILL BE ENTIRELY NEW TO PEOPLE
OR IF YOU'RE ALREADY
FAMILIAR WITH IT.
BUT I'D LIKE TO SHARE
SOME OF THE INSIGHTS
I'VE GAINED
AS I WAS GROWING UP.
LET ME OPEN BY PRESENTING
AN OVERHEAD.
[LAUGHTER]
TRANSLATION.
AS WE CONSIDER TRANSLATION,
YOU KNOW THE KENTUCKY
FRIED CHICKEN ADVERTISEMENTS
TALK ABOUT
"FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD."
REALLY DELICIOUS.
AND PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT A LOT
OF KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN.
IT'S REALLY HELPED
THEIR MARKETING.
NOW, IF YOU TRY AND DO
A TRANSLITERATION
FROM THE ENGLISH
INTO CHINESE CHARACTERS
OR CHINESE LANGUAGE...
IT DOESN'T REALLY WORK
SUCCESSFULLY.
[LAUGHTER]
BECAUSE THE TRANSLATION,
THE IDIOM COMES OUT IN CHINESE
AS "EAT YOUR FINGERS OFF."
NOT EXACTLY
A DELIGHTFUL PROPOSITION.
NOW, I WANT TO ADDRESS TODAY
USING TRANSLATION
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO SEE HOW WE CAN USE
TRANSLATION IN THE CLASSROOM
TO AID STUDENTS
IN COMPREHENDING ENGLISH
AS ONE LANGUAGE THEY USE
AND ASL AS ANOTHER
LANGUAGE THEY USE,
SO THEY'LL HAVE CULTURAL
UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION,
EQUAL RESPECT
FOR BOTH LANGUAGES.
KEITH BRIEFLY DESCRIBED
SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES
I HAVE IN TRANSLATION.
AS I WAS GROWING UP, I LEARNED
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE.
I HAVE 48 YEARS
OF EXPERIENCE,
AND I AM STILL
LEARNING ENGLISH.
SECONDLY, I HAVE
10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
AS AN ACTOR WITH NTD,
THE NATIONAL THEATER
OF THE DEAF,
AND HAVE A LOT
OF EXPERIENCE THERE
TRANSLATING PLAYS IN ASL.
IT REALLY HELPED ME TO DEVELOP
AN INTERNAL UNDERSTANDING
OF THE TRANSLATION PROCESS.
NOW, I KNOW THAT ONE CAN'T DO
TRANSLATIONS 100% ACCURATELY,
BUT WE WORKED
ON TRANSLATIONS
AND KEPT COMING UP
WITH NEW IDEAS,
NEW WAYS OF APPROACHING
OUR TASK.
SO THIS WILL PERHAPS SPARK
SOME DISCUSSION.
AND I DON'T THINK WE'LL HAVE
FINAL SOLUTIONS
HERE TODAY DURING
THE PRESENTATION,
BUT IT CAN SERVE AS THE BASIS
FOR DISCUSSION.
NOW, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
IS USING TWO LANGUAGES,
ASL AND ENGLISH.
ASL USERS WHO SEE ENGLISH
OFTEN HAVE A LOT
OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT
THE LANGUAGE AND THE CULTURE,
AND SIMILARLY,
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
HAVE A LOT OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS
ABOUT ASL.
GOOD TRANSLATIONS CAN HELP
MEDIATE THIS PROBLEM.
THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS WE CAN
APPROACH USING TWO LANGUAGES
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL.
THERE'S A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL
TOOLS WE HAVE--
MEDIA SUCH AS OVERHEADS
AND SLIDES, TRANSPARENCIES,
CAPTIONING.
ALL OF THESE CAN SERVE AS
BRIDGES BETWEEN TWO LANGUAGES.
BUT WHAT I WANT
TO EMPHASIZE TODAY
IS THAT TRANSLATION ITSELF
CAN BE AN OUTSTANDING
EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM.
BEFORE I PROCEED
WITH THE LECTURE,
I'D LIKE TO CLARIFY
SOME TERMINOLOGY.
FIRST, "TRANSLATION."
SECONDLY, "TRANSLITERATION."
TRANSLATE.
AND THIRD, "INTERPRET."
YOU KNOW THAT WE USE
THE SIGN "INTERPRET,"
AND USUALLY WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT LISTENING TO ENGLISH
AND INTERPRETING INTO ASL
OR WATCHING A SIGNED
PRESENTATION IN ASL
AND RENDERING THAT
IN SPOKEN ENGLISH,
WITH THE APPROPRIATE
TIME LAG.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
TRANSLITERATE,
I THINK IT'S SIMILAR
TO THE PROCESS
YOU SEE USED
BY KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN.
THERE MIGHT BE
A SPOKEN MESSAGE,
AND IT'S SIGNED
VERY SIMILARLY,
PRETTY MUCH
WORD FOR WORD...
IN SOME FORM
OF SIGNED ENGLISH...
SO THAT THERE'S
A SOURCE MESSAGE
AND IS TRANSLITERATED
INTO ENGLISH,
ALMOST A WORD FOR WORD CLAUSE
IN ENGLISH WORD ORDER.
NOW, TYPICALLY, THE WAY
THOSE WORDS ARE USED,
OFTEN "TRANSLATE"
IS USED TO TRANSLATE
FROM ONE WRITTEN LANGUAGE
TO ANOTHER WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
IT'S A WRITTEN PROCESS,
AND THERE'S A LOT
OF TIME AVAILABLE
TO STUDY
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AS YOU'RE WORKING INTO
YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE.
CAN EVERYONE SEE
THE OVERHEAD OK?
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TRANSLATION,
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A BRIDGE
BETWEEN TWO LANGUAGES.
IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER
WHICH TWO LANGUAGES
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE
ENGLISH AND ASL.
IT COULD BE ANY LANGUAGE
USED IN THE WORLD.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE,
IT MIGHT BE WRITTEN
MATERIAL, A NOVEL.
IT COULD BE A PLAY.
SO YOU HAVE
THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE MESSAGE
THAT THEN HAS TO BE DECODED
INTO THE MEANING.
YOU NEED TO PRESERVE
THAT MEANING
AND FIND WAYS
TO EXPRESS IT ACCURATELY
IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE.
YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE PEOPLE
WHO USE THAT TARGET LANGUAGE.
PERHAPS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
A POEM OR A STORY OR A PLAY
IN ENGLISH
AS A SOURCE LANGUAGE.
ONE CAN READ THAT,
COMPREHEND THE MEANING,
AND DETERMINE HOW TO
APPROPRIATELY TRANSLATE IT
INTO ASL,
AND DEAF USERS OF ASL
WILL COMPREHEND
THE MESSAGE.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT
IS COMPREHENDING THE MEANING
BEHIND THAT ENGLISH MESSAGE.
IT WOULD BE
VERY EASY FOR US
TO LOOK AT
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AND THEN SIGN IT
ALMOST WORD FOR WORD
IN A TRANSLITERATION,
GLOSSING, PICKING ONE SIGN
FOR EACH ENGLISH WORD.
WHEN THAT'S DONE,
THE COMPREHENSION LEVEL
OF THE ASL USERS
WOULD NOT BE ADEQUATE.
PERHAPS YOU'RE NOT USING
APPROPRIATE GRAMMATICAL
FEATURES, AS ONE DOES.
LET ME GIVE YOU
SOME EXAMPLES.
[LAUGHTER]
LET ME DEMONSTRATE
THE FIRST SENTENCE.
IT'S EASY FOR ME
TO TRANSLITERATE THIS.
[LAUGHTER]
THE MEAT,
FINGER-SPELLING "LOAF,"
DID NOT AGREE WITH HIM.
PERHAPS ASL USERS WHO AREN'T
SKILLED IN ENGLISH YET
BUT WHO ARE STILL ACQUIRING
ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS
WOULD BE CONFUSED BETWEEN
A MEATLOAF THAT YOU EAT
AND A PERSON
WHO IS LAZY.
ONE NEEDS TO TRANSMIT
THE SPECIFIC MESSAGE.
LET ME TRANSLATE THIS.
IN THAT TRANSLATION,
THE MEANING IS PRESERVED.
IT TAKES SOME TIME
TO EXPLAIN A GLOSS.
WAIT A MINUTE.
BEFORE I PROCEED WITH THAT,
I'M CURIOUS--HOW MANY PEOPLE
IN THE AUDIENCE
WOULD LIKE ME TO TAKE TIME
TO EXPLAIN MY SIGN CHOICES
OR HOW I'M DOING
THE SENTENCE IN ASL?
DO I NEED TO ELABORATE
ON THAT FOR ANYONE?
THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE.
OK. GOOD.
FOR FOLKS WHO ARE FLUENT IN ASL,
PLEASE BEAR WITH US,
BECAUSE I'D LIKE
TO MAKE THIS CLEAR.
WE CAN BORROW
THE WORDS OF ENGLISH
AND GLOSS THOSE
INTO SIGNS.
YOU KNOW THAT ASL HAS
NO WRITTEN FORM ITSELF.
SO...ONE THING I COULD DO IS
BORROW THESE WORDS FROM ENGLISH.
FIRST, I SIGNED THIS
FOR "MEAT,"
FINGER-SPELLED "LOAF,"
AND USED THE CLASSIFIER
TO SHOW THE MEATLOAF
A SIZE AND SPACE
SIGNIFIER.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT LOAF,
A LAZY PERSON
WHO LIES AROUND
AND DOES NOTHING,
THE SIGN I JUST SIGNED.
I'M TALKING ABOUT
A SLAB OF MEAT.
FOR HIM, I USED THE SIGN
INDICATING A PERSON
SET APPROPRIATELY
IN SPACE
AND SHOWED HIM EATING
AND SWALLOWING THE MEAT,
INDICATED THE STOMACH,
AND TOGETHER, THE SIGN
I MADE AN UPSET STOMACH.
SO I USED APPROPRIATE
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ASL,
WHICH REALLY HELPS
OUR STUDENTS UNDERSTAND
AND CLARIFIES THE MEANING
BEHIND THAT WRITTEN SENTENCE.
LET ME SHOW YOU
THE SECOND SENTENCE.
IT SHOULD BE
PRETTY EASY.
RIGHT. I WOULD SUGGEST
THAT THE CHILDREN WERE ALL EYES,
SIGNED THIS WAY AS
THE CHILDREN WERE AMAZED.
YOU MIGHT GLOSS THAT.
AT THE CIRCUS,
THE CHILDREN WERE JUST AMAZED
OR FASCINATED.
SURE, ANOTHER WAY TO SIGN IT
IN ASL WOULD BE THIS,
STILL PRESERVING THAT SAME
MEANING OF FA...
MEANING OF FASCINATION
AND AWE.
WHETHER ONE SIGNS "FASCINATION"
OR "AWE" IN A VARIETY OF WAYS,
IT PRESERVES THE MEANING
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE SENTENCE.
ALL RIGHT.
THIRD SAMPLE SENTENCE,
THAT "ACTIONS SPEAK
LOUDER THAN WORDS,"
IS NOT QUITE AS EASY.
MANY OF OUR STUDENTS...
MIGHT LEARN THE MEANING BEHIND
THAT WRITTEN ENGLISH SENTENCE
THROUGH A TRANSLATION PROCESS.
LET ME TAKE SOME TIME
TO EXPLAIN,
SETTING UP ACTIONS
AND WORDS.
WE HAVE ACTIONS.
WE HAVE WORDS.
WHICH CARRIES MORE STRENGTH?
THE ACTION DOES,
APPROPRIATELY SETTING UP
EACH CONCEPT IN SPACE
AND THEN COMPARING
AND CONTRASTING THOSE.
SO IT'S EASY FOR US PERHAPS TO
PRESENT A MEANING OF LANGUAGE,
THE VOCABULARY
AND GRAMMAR, UH...
BUT IT'S NOT EASY
FOR US TO DO THAT,
ALTHOUGH IT'S MUCH EASIER
PERHAPS TO DO THAT
THAN TO TRANSMIT APPROPRIATE
CULTURAL INFORMATION.
THE 3 THINGS
WE NEED TO CONSIDER
ARE THE MEANING, THE GRAMMAR
OF EACH LANGUAGE,
AND THE CULTURAL BACKGROUND
OF THE LANGUAGE USERS.
WHILE THE MEANING AND GRAMMAR
CAN OFTEN BE PRESERVED EASILY,
THERE'S A REAL CHALLENGE
IN PRESENTING INFORMATION
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATELY
WITH EQUAL RESPECT AND STATUS
FOR EACH CULTURE.
IN OUR FOURTH SAMPLE SENTENCE,
IT SAYS,
"I'M SORRY
THAT YOU MISSED THE BOAT."
NOW, YOU COULD STRING TOGETHER
TWO SIGNS GLOSSED,
LIKE THE SIGN FOR "MISS"
AND THE SIGN FOR "BOAT."
BUT THE MEANING
IS NOT PRESERVED.
PERHAPS A SIGN CHOICE
LIKE "TRAIN GONE,"
IF I CAN GLOSS IT
THAT WAY,
WHICH IS USED IN ASL,
HAS THE SAME MEANING.
IT'S SIMILARLY IDIOMATIC
IN BOTH LANGUAGES.
THAT WAY, THE COMPREHENSION
OF THE MEANING IS PRESERVED,
AND THE INFORMATION
IS TRANSMITTED
LINGUISTICALLY AND CULTURALLY
ACCURATELY FOR ASL USERS.
SO...WHAT IS THE TRANSLATOR
RESPONSIBLE FOR?
ONE NEEDS TO ANALYZE
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AND COME UP WITH A TRANSLATION
THAT'S ACCURATE.
SOMETIMES
A TRANSLATION...
SOMEONE DOING A TRANSLATION
HAS DIFFICULTY
UNDERSTANDING ACCURATELY
THE CLARITY
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE MESSAGE.
THERE'S A TENDENCY
TO WATER DOWN THE INFORMATION,
TO SPOON-FEED...
THE SPEAKERS OR HEARERS
IN THE TARGET-LANGUAGE
MESSAGE.
REALLY, IT'S THE TRANSLATOR'S
RESPONSIBILITY
TO PRESENT AN ACCURATE
EQUIVALENT MESSAGE,
AND THE PRESENTATION,
WHETHER SIGNED OR SPOKEN,
NEEDS TO BE CLEAR.
YOU NEED TO CLEARLY
PRESERVE THE MEANING
WITH APPROPRIATE GRAMMAR.
A THIRD CRITERIA
OF A GOOD TRANSLATION
IS IT NEEDS TO BE NATURAL.
THE TRANSLATION
INTO THE TARGET LANGUAGE
MUST PRESERVE NATURAL LANGUAGE
PRINCIPLES AND CHARACTERISTICS.
I'VE BEEN THINKING
FOR A LONG TIME
HOW I MIGHT SHOW
AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING
THAT EVERYONE'S
FAMILIAR WITH,
THAT THEY'VE GROWN UP WITH,
THAT THEY'RE ACCUSTOMED TO...
AND ANALYZE THAT
FOR THE MEANING.
I THINK A SENTENCE
MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH.
WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR
WAS A PASSAGE, AN ENTIRE TEXT
THAT WE COULD ANALYZE...
PERHAPS A FORM
OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS.
SO I'VE TRIED TO
COME UP WITH SOMETHING
WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH,
I'M SURE ALL OF US
HAVE SEEN BEFORE.
I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR
WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
NOW, AS I THINK BACK
AT HOW WE SIGN THAT
GROWING UP IN SCHOOL...
IT WAS ALMOST
A WORD-FOR-WORD GLOSS.
THIS WAY, LITERALLY
"FOR WHICH IT STANDS."
"INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL."
THOSE WERE THE SIGN
CHOICES WE'D SEE
AS WE GREW UP IN SCHOOL.
AND THEN IMAGINE, HEARING PEOPLE
DID THE SAME THING IN SCHOOL,
RECITED THIS OVER
AND OVER AGAIN BY ROTE...
SIMILARLY TO HOW
DEAF PEOPLE SIGNED IT,
PERHAPS NOT UNDERSTANDING
THE MEANING,
UH, ACCEPTING IT
WITHOUT DISCUSSION AT ALL.
BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE
A FUN EXERCISE PERHAPS
TO TRY AND SIGN IT
IN A WAY THAT REALLY SHOWS
THE MEANING,
WHAT IT REPRESENTS,
TO LOOK AT THAT
TRANSLATION PROCESS
AND SEE IF IT MIGHT HELP
STUDENTS UNDERSTAND
THE MEANING AND THE FEELING
BEHIND THE WORDS.
I DON'T KNOW WHO FIRST
CAME UP WITH THAT TRANSLATION,
THE WORD-FOR-WORD GLOSS
OF "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE
TO THE FLAG."
I HAVE HERE A STATEMENT
FROM THE COMMISSION
ON THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF
FROM THEIR...
ONE OF THEIR REPORTS
I'D LIKE TO SHARE
WITH YOU.
NOW, THIS IS WHY I SUPPORT
THE IDEA SO STRONGLY
OF USING TRANSLATION
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO HELP BOTH HEARING CHILDREN
AND DEAF CHILDREN
UNDERSTAND THEIR LANGUAGE
AND THEIR CULTURE
AND ALSO GAIN INSIGHTS
INTO OTHER LANGUAGES
AND OTHER CULTURES.
I THINK PERHAPS
SOME PEOPLE HERE HAVE
SOME NEGATIVE BIASES TOWARDS ASL
AS A LANGUAGE AND A CULTURE.
PERHAPS SOME DEAF STUDENTS
HAVE NEGATIVE BIASES
TOWARDS ENGLISH
AND THE MAINSTREAM CULTURE.
THROUGH TRANSLATION PROCESS,
IT'S EASY...
IT'S AN EASY WAY TO TRY
AND GAIN INFORMATION
AND SHARE EXPERIENCES
IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE.
I REALLY STRUGGLED
WITH TRYING TO COME UP WITH
AN ACCEPTABLE TRANSLATION.
I LOOKED OVER
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
WRITTEN IN ENGLISH,
AND CERTAINLY I HAVE
A SIGN FOR EACH WORD,
BUT THAT'S NOT SUFFICIENT.
I COULD MAKE SOME APPROPRIATE
GRAMMATICAL CHANGES,
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE.
AND THEN WE GET
TO THE POINT OF CULTURE,
THE CULTURE OF ASL USERS.
GRAMMATICALLY, A DISCOURSE
ALWAYS STARTS WITH THE TOPIC,
THE SUBJECT OF WHAT
THE TEXT WILL BE ABOUT.
IT SEEMS THAT THE TOPIC
IS THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES
AND THE REPUBLIC...
THE GOVERN...
AND THE MEANING
BEHIND A REPUBLIC
IS REALLY OUR FORM
OF GOVERNMENT.
NOW, YOU COULD...
GO ON AND TALK ABOUT
HOW THIS IS MODIFIED.
LET ME GIVE YOU
AN EXAMPLE.
YOU MIGHT HAVE A RED CAR
THAT I BOUGHT YESTERDAY.
IN ASL, FIRST YOU SET UP
THE TOPIC, THE CAR,
AND THEN THAT IT WAS RED
AND I BOUGHT IT YESTERDAY.
THAT'S THE TYPICAL WORD ORDER
IN THE ASL GRAMMAR.
SO, FIRST WE HAVE THE TOPIC,
THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES,
OF OUR REPUBLIC,
THE GOVERNMENT.
AND THEN THE MODIFIERS,
THAT IT'S REPRESENTED
BY THIS FLAG
AND THE CONCEPTS
OF "ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE."
AND FINALLY YOU'D GET
TO THE SUBJECT,
THAT "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE,
I'M IN SUPPORT
AND FAVOR OF THIS."
QUITE A CHANGE IN WORD ORDER
AND PRESENTATIONS OF IDEAS,
BUT IT ADDS GREAT CLARITY
FOR A NATIVE USER OF ASL.
NOW, I'M NOT SUGGESTING
WE SHOULD SIGN IT THIS WAY
IN THE CLASSROOM.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT AT ALL.
BUT AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL,
IT PRESERVES THE MEANING
AND THE CULTURE.
CERTAINLY, WE COULD LEAVE
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IN ITS FROZEN FORM IN ENGLISH
ON THE BLACKBOARD,
AND IT'S PERFECTLY APPROPRIATE
FOR DAILY USE.
OUR STUDENTS CAN
CERTAINLY SIGN THAT.
BUT IN ASL, YOU'D HAVE
THE TOPIC FIRST,
THE FLAG AND THE REPUBLIC,
AND THEN THE MODIFIERS...
"ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
FOR ALL,"
AND FINALLY, "I SUPPORT THIS,
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO."
[LAUGHTER]
TOM HOLCOMBE IN THE AUDIENCE
SAID, "I LIKE THAT TRANSLATION."
I TOLD HIM THANKS.
[LAUGHTER]
GREAT. NOW, IT'S EASY
FOR US TO SAY,
"OH, GREAT.
SWELL TRANSLATION."
AND WE CAN TRANSLATE
FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER.
IT'S ALWAYS
AN EASY PROCESS.
IT CAN ALWAYS BE DONE.
BUT THAT'S NOT TRUE.
SOMETIMES IT'S LITERALLY
IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE
FROM ONE LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE TO ANOTHER.
LET ME ILLUSTRATE THIS
WITH A JOKE I'VE USED
IN MY TRANSLATION CLASSES.
I DON'T WANT TO ENTER INTO
A LOT OF DISCUSSION.
FIRST, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO
IS PRESENT THIS ON THE OVERHEAD,
AND WHEN I'M DONE,
I'LL SIGN IT.
[LAUGHTER]
OK. I'M SINCERELY CURIOUS.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE,
PERHAPS DEAF PEOPLE,
DON'T REALLY
UNDERSTAND THIS JOKE?
BELIEVE ME, YOU'RE NOT
THE ONLY ONES.
I'VE PUT IN A LOT OF STUDY
ON WRITTEN ENGLISH,
AND I CAN UNDERSTAND IT,
BUT I DON'T REALLY FEEL
THE HUMOR BEHIND IT.
I THINK IT'S
KIND OF INTERESTING.
I'VE GOT AN INTELLECTUAL
FASCINATION WITH THAT,
WHY IT'S HUMOROUS
IN ENGLISH,
BUT FRANKLY, IT DOESN'T
TICKLE MY FUNNY BONE.
I'LL TRY AND TRANSLATE
THIS INTO ASL.
I DON'T KNOW
IF IT WILL HELP OR NOT.
THIS IS THE SIGN
I'LL BE USING FOR "HOW,"
FROM ENGLISH CULTURE.
IN ENGLISH, WE'D SAY,
"HOW DO YOU LIKE THE EGG...
HOW DO YOU LIKE
YOUR EGGS?"
AND YOU MIGHT SAY SCRAMBLED
OR POACHED OR FRIED.
LET ME GO AHEAD
AND PERFORM THIS JOKE NOW.
[LAUGHTER]
[CLAPS]
[LAUGHTER]
NOW, I WONDER, IS THAT
MORE COMPREHENSIBLE?
I'M WONDERING ABOUT
THE LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING.
WELL, FINALLY
UNDERSTAND IT MAYBE?
HMM...
UH, I THINK HEARING PEOPLE
CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT,
BUT IT'S FROM
HEARING CULTURE.
YOU KNOW, THE "HOW," H-O-W.
HOW DO YOU LIKE THE EGGS?
AND THE SOUND IS THE SAME
FROM THE INDIAN GREETING--"HOW."
AND THAT RESPONSE, "FRIED,"
UH-UH, JUST DOESN'T WORK.
LET ME EXPLAIN IT.
NOW, WHEN I
EXPLAIN IT THAT WAY...
HE GREETED THE INDIAN
AND SAID, "HO,"
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE "HOW,"
SO THE INDIAN ANSWERED,
"FRIED. THAT'S HOW
I LIKE MY EGGS."
AFTER 17 YEARS,
HE STILL REMEMBERED
EXACTLY WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
THE CONVERSATION.
SO THE DEVIL COULDN'T
TAKE HIS SOUL.
NOW, UNDERSTAND IT?
OK. GREAT.
IS IT FUNNY?
KIND OF CUTE, HUH?
WELL, IT'S PRETTY GOOD.
UH...OK.
BUT STRANGE THING--
MANY DEAF STUDENTS
IN MY CLASS
HAVE THE EXACT SAME RESPONSES
TO MY QUESTION.
"WELL, YEAH, I UNDERSTAND
WHAT YOU'RE SAYING NOW,
BUT YOU'RE NOT FUNNY."
WHEN I WAS WORKING ON
THE TRANSLATION FOR THE PLAY,
THE FOREIGNER FACED SOME SIMILAR
DIFFICULTIES RELATED TO HUMOR.
THE CLASS WOULD STUDY
THE PLAY TO THE POINT
WHERE THEY UNDERSTOOD
THEIR REASONS BEHIND THE HUMOR.
BUT AT THAT STAGE,
ALL THE HUMOR WAS GONE.
IT WAS AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
AND NOT TRULY FUNNY.
SO THERE IS HUMOR IN ENGLISH,
IN THAT SPOKEN LANGUAGE,
WITH THAT CULTURE
THAT CAN'T BE TRANSLATED.
AND, SURE, IF IT'S...
YOU ATTEMPT TO TRANSLATE IT,
PEOPLE CAN SMILE,
PRETEND TO LAUGH POLITELY,
BUT THE HUMOR
ISN'T REALLY THERE.
IT'S SIMILAR PERHAPS
TO THE SIGN-LANGUAGE JOKE
FROM DEAF CULTURE
WHERE THE JOKE LINE...
WHERE THE PUNCH LINE IS
"PLEASE BUT."
A MAN DRIVES UP
TO SOME RAILROAD TRACKS,
AND THE CROSSING GUARDS
ARE DOWN ACROSS THE ROAD,
AND HE WANTS TO...
THE TRAIN GOES BY,
BUT THE GUARDS
DON'T GO UP AGAIN.
SO HE WALKS OVER
TO A MAN AT THE GATEHOUSE
BECAUSE THE GATES
DIDN'T OPEN
AND WRITES ON THE SHEET OF PAPER
"PLEASE BUT."
AND THE GUY
DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT.
NOW, IF YOU'RE A USER OF SIGN
AND YOU SIGN "PLEASE BUT,"
IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE,
AND YOU CAN EXPLAIN THAT PERHAPS
TO A HEARING AUDIENCE.
GO AHEAD. EXPLAIN THAT
TO A NOVICE INTERPRETER SOMETIME
OR EXPLAIN THAT
TO AN INTERPRETER.
AND THEY SAY,
"OK. FINE WITH ME. FINE."
AND THEN THEY COMPREHEND IT,
BUT THE HUMOR IS GONE.
WELL, THAT'S MY POINT.
TRANSLATION AS A PROCESS
CAN HELP STUDENTS
UNDERSTAND THEIR CULTURE,
INCLUDING HUMOR, VOCABULARY,
LINGUISTIC FEATURES,
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES.
FOR HEARING PEOPLE
WHO STUDY ASL,
CERTAINLY THEY CAN UNDERSTAND
THE VOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE,
THE HUMOR IN ASL.
EACH LANGUAGE HAS
ITS OWN SET OF PUNS.
AND THAT'S REALLY
AN ENJOYABLE PROCESS
WHERE YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND
MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART
OF EDUCATION
AND THE ENJOYMENT
AND VITALITY OF LIFE.
LAST YEAR, I DIRECTED A PLAY
CALLED "THE FOREIGNER"...
AND WORKED ON
TRANSLATING THAT.
THE PROCESS I USED
WAS READING THE ENGLISH.
AND FIRST...WELL, I COULDN'T
WRITE INTO ASL.
SO I'D HAVE TO BORROW SOME
OF THE WORDS AND TERMINOLOGY
FROM THE ENGLISH
AND WRITE DOWN A GLOSS,
ALMOST AN OUTLINE
OF ENGLISH KEYWORDS.
THEN, IN THE FIRST WEEK
OF REHEARSAL,
WE GOT TOGETHER
WITH THE CAST,
AND I TOOK TURNS SIGNING SOME OF
THOSE, UH, GLOSSES THAT I HAD,
SOME KEY SENTENCES.
AND SO, WHAT WAS WORKING,
AND WHAT WASN'T?
AND SOME OF THE STUDENTS
WHO GREW UP IN DEAF CULTURE
HAD SOME SUGGESTIONS
FOR ALTERNATE WAYS TO SIGN IT,
AT LEAST ON HOW
THEY UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING.
SO WE WENT THROUGH A PROCESS
OF WORKING ON A TRANSLATION.
AND I LOOKED BACK, AND I SAW
SOME OF THEM I REALLY LIKED,
INCORPORATED
THOSE SUGGESTIONS.
BUT THEN WE DID PASSAGES
THAT JUST SEEMED
IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE.
WE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT
AND THOUGHT INTO IT.
FINALLY, I HAD TO ELECT
TO ELIMINATE SOME PASSAGES
THAT JUST COULDN'T
BE TRANSLATED.
THEY COULD BE VOICED IN ENGLISH,
BUT THEY COULDN'T BE TRANSLATED.
IF WE TRIED
TO GLOSS THOSE,
THEY WOULDN'T BE
HUMOROUS AT ALL
FOR DEAF PEOPLE
IN THE AUDIENCE
OR FOR SIGNERS
IN THE AUDIENCE.
SO WE JUST HAD TO
ELIMINATE THOSE.
THE TROUBLE...
THE PROBLEM WAS
THEY COULDN'T BE TRANSLATED
IN TERMS OF THE CULTURE.
IF YOU LOOK AT
THE SAMPLE HERE,
THE FIRST SENTENCE,
"HERE WE GO."
THEN CHARLIE--
"HERE WE GO."
IF YOU LOOK
AT THE FIRST PASSAGE,
WHERE FROGGY IS SPEAKING...
THAT'S ENGLISH,
SPOKEN ENGLISH FROM BRITAIN.
NOW, HOW DO WE
TRANSLATE THAT INTO ASL?
SHOULD WE USE
A SIGN LIKE THIS,
"FROM NOW ON" OR "WHERE
ARE WE GOING FROM HERE"?
FOR ASL USERS, YOU KNOW
WHY I'M USING THIS,
WHY I WAVE
MY HAND LIKE THAT.
IT'S AN ATTENTION-GETTER.
YOU KNOW, IN ASL,
YOU CAN HOLLER A PERSON'S NAME.
I'M SORRY. IN SPOKEN ENGLISH,
YOU CAN HOLLER A PERSON'S NAME.
SIGNERS DON'T TEND
TO CALL PEOPLE BY NAME.
IT'S A CHARACTERISTIC WAVE
THAT WOULD BE USED
TO GET SOMEONE'S
ATTENTION.
SO IT'S CULTURALLY EQUIVALENT.
IT'S COMPLEMENTARY.
THE CHOICE I USED WASN'T...
WELL, "HERE WE GO FROM HERE."
I USED WHAT? "WE'VE ARRIVED.
WE'VE ARRIVED HERE."
THE PART HERE,
"HELLO, BETH,"
HEARING ACTORS COULD HOLLER,
"HELLO, BETH OR BETTY,"
USING THE NAME SIGN,
BUT IN DEAF CULTURE,
YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T HOLLER
TO GET SOMEONE'S ATTENTION
LIKE THAT, SO WE HAD TO MAKE
SOME MODIFICATIONS
WHERE THEY COULD WALK
TO THE DOOR, OPEN IT UP,
AND WAVE HELLO.
"HELLO, BETTY."
OR "MISS BETTY."
THE SPOKEN ENGLISH LINE
WAS "BETTY, MY LOVE.
"BETTY, MY LOVE.
WHERE IS SHE?"
AND FOR THE SPOKEN LINE
"WHAT TIME DO YOU MAKE IT?"
COULD BE TRANSLATED
PRETTY CLOSELY.
BRENDA.
AARON HAD A QUESTION.
AARON: I'M CURIOUS. AS I'M
WATCHING THE WRITTEN ENGLISH
YOU HAVE WRITTEN
DOWN THERE...
UH, THE SPELLING
IS REALLY DIFFERENT.
INSTEAD OF W-H-A-T,
YOU HAVE W-O-T.
BRITISH OR PERHAPS...
I DON'T KNOW
IF IT'S LOWER-CLASS OR WHAT,
BUT HOW DID YOU SIGNIFY THAT
OR TRANSLATE THAT?
PATRICK: THE QUESTION WAS,
IN THE WRITTEN SCRIPT,
AS YOU READ THROUGH IT...
YOU SEE A VERY BRITISH
WAY OF SPEAKING--
W-O-T FOR "WHAT."
AND "D'YER,"
D'-Y-E-R.
SOMETIMES IT'S IMPOSSIBLE
TO PRESERVE THAT SORT OF THING
GOING FROM ONE LANGUAGE
TO ANOTHER.
YOU CAN TRY IT
IN THE WAY YOU SIGN.
I COULD FORMALLY SIGN,
"WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?"
OR, HITTING A DIFFERENT
REGISTER, "WHAT TIME IS IT?
HEY, MAN, WHAT TIME?"
SO YOU COULD DO IT
PERHAPS WITH REGISTER.
KEITH...
KEITH WAS ASKING ME...
PERHAPS THROUGH CLOTHING,
DRESSING APPROPRIATELY,
YOU COULD SHOW
SOME OF THAT, SURE.
THAT'S A DIRECTOR'S DECISION,
ANY TIME YOU'RE DOING A PLAY
AND THAT TECHNIQUE HELPS.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO
FOCUS ON NOW
IS THE LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS,
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.
UH, WE'RE...
TIME IS REALLY SHORT.
I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU
ONE MORE OVERHEAD.
[LAUGHTER]
I STRUGGLED TRYING TO
TRANSLATE THAT INTO ASL.
WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION,
PUT A LOT OF EFFORT
INTO WORKING ON
THE TRANSLATION PROCESS
AND ULTIMATELY DECIDED
IT WAS TOTALLY PART
OF A SPOKEN-LANGUAGE
HEARING CULTURE.
WE HAD TO CUT THIS
OUT OF THE PLAY.
MY CURRENT FEELING IS,
IF I WAS DIRECT...
IF I WERE DIRECTING
THIS PLAY AGAIN
WITH A DIFFERENT CAST, MAYBE
I COULD FIND A WAY TO DO IT,
BUT MY DECISION,
WHEN I WAS DIRECTING IT,
WAS TO JUST CUT IT OUT
AND DELETE IT.
OR THEY'RE MAKING
THAT COMPARISON
ABOUT CALLING
A TONGUE FLOPPY.
IT'S JUST SUCH A PUN,
SUCH A DOUBLE MEANING INVOLVED,
THE DOUBLE ENTENDRE.
IN DEAF CULTURE,
A SIGNED LANGUAGE,
YOU DON'T SPEAK
WITH YOUR TONGUE.
YOU COMMUNICATE
WITH YOUR HANDS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU COULD
SIGN SOME WAY APPROPRIATELY
AS "FLOPPY HAND" OR DO
SOMETHING TO SIGNIFY THAT,
BUT IT'S NOT EASY.
IT'S CERTAINLY NOT EASY
TO TRANSLATE APPROPRIATELY.
BUT I HAVE TO EMPHASIZE
IT'S A MARVELOUS TOOL
FOR STUDYING LANGUAGE,
AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR STUDYING
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE,
TWO LANGUAGES
AND TWO CULTURES
IN A COMPLEMENTARY WAY
WITH EQUAL RESPECT AND STATUS.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
NOW WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT
OF TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
I'LL WARN YOU, I MIGHT NOT
HAVE THE ANSWERS.
BUT WE COULD GO AHEAD,
START WITH SOME QUESTIONS.
CAROL.
CAROL: YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
COMPARISONS IN TRANSLATIONS
WITH ENGLISH AND ASL.
I'M REALLY ENJOYING
WATCHING THE COMPARISONS.
YOU TALKED ABOUT ENGLISH
BEING A WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
UH...I'M WONDERING HOW YOU CAN
DO ALL THOSE TRANSFORMATIONS
IN TERMS OF WORD ORDER,
MAKING ALL THE GRAMMATICAL
AND LINGUISTIC CHANGES
YOU NEED TO MAKE.
WHERE DO YOU GET
THE TIME TO DO THAT?
I MEAN, HOW WOULD I HAVE
ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE
ALL THOSE CHANGES
AND PRESENT THEM TO A TEACHER?
PATRICK: OK. SO YOU'RE SAYING
THAT PERHAPS YOU'D WANT TO...
YOUR FINAL PRODUCT, YOUR TARGET
IS A WRITTEN ESSAY IN ENGLISH,
AND PERHAPS YOU WANT TO START
WITH A SOURCE LANGUAGE,
CREATING IN ASL BECAUSE YOU KNOW
YOUR OWN LANGUAGE.
NOW, WE KNOW ASL DOESN'T
HAVE A WRITTEN FORM.
SO YOU'D HAVE TO PERHAPS
BORROW SOME WORDS FROM ENGLISH,
GET DOWN A ROUGH DRAFT.
AND THEN YOU HAVE PERHAPS IN ASL
GRAMMATICAL ORDER.
THEN LOOK OVER
WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN,
SEE WHEN YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THE MEANING,
WHAT YOU'VE COME UP WITH
FROM THAT THOUGHT PROCESS,
AND THEN GO THROUGH A PROCESS
OF TRANSLATING IT INTO ENGLISH,
WHICH IS
YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE.
PERHAPS THAT APPROACH
WOULD WORK FOR YOU.
IT'S CERTAINLY
WORTH A TRY.
BUT IT REALLY REQUIRES THAT
THE PERSON KNOW TWO LANGUAGES.
AND GARY MOWELL
JUST SUGGESTED
THAT PERHAPS YOU COULD
SIGN YOUR ESSAY,
VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF
WHILE YOU'RE SIGNING IT,
SEE IF YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THAT PRESENTATION.
IF NOT, MAKE SOME REVISIONS,
VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF AGAIN,
AND WHEN YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THE PRODUCT
IN THAT SOURCE
LANGUAGE OF ASL,
THEN GO THROUGH
YOUR TRANSLATION.
YES, FARLEY?
FARLEY: LET ME STAND UP.
I NOTICED YOU TALKING
ABOUT CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
AND A METHOD
OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION.
I'VE NOTICED
THAT DEAF TEACHERS
TEND TO REALLY GIVE A LOT
OF EXAMPLES, EMPHASIZE EXAMPLES,
AND THEN FINALLY GET
TO ENGLISH...
AN ENGLISH PRESENTATION.
I THINK THE HEARING TEACHERS
I'VE OBSERVED
OFTEN WILL GO AHEAD,
GIVE A LECTURE,
THEN GIVE EXAMPLES
NEAR THE END.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S
AN IMPORTANT TECHNIQUE PERHAPS
TO GIVE EXAMPLES FIRST
AND THEN EXPLAIN THE MEANING.
FOR EXAMPLE,
IN YOUR PRESENTATION,
FIRST YOU GAVE EXAMPLES
OF TRANSLATION
AND THEN WENT INTO
SOME OF THE MORE THEORETICAL
PARTS OF YOUR TALK.
PATRICK: OK. I GUESS
WHAT YOU'RE SAYING
IS YOU FEEL
THAT DEAF TEACHERS
OFTEN WILL START OUT INITIALLY
BY PRESENTING SOME EXAMPLES
AND THEN WILL SHOW THE ENGLISH,
HOW THAT'S DONE IN ENGLISH,
WHEREAS HEARING TEACHERS USE...
WILL PRESENT
THE ENGLISH SENTENCE
OR ENGLISH DISCOURSE FIRST
AND THEN USE SOME EXAMPLES
TO EXPLAIN HOW THAT WORKS.
IT MAY BE A CULTURAL
DIFFERENCE.
YES, PERHAPS IT IS,
BUT I CAUTION YOU
THAT I THINK IT'S EASY
FOR US TO START WITH EXAMPLES
AND PERHAPS MAKES IT EASIER
FOR OUR STUDENTS
TO LEARN AND COMPREHEND.
ONE CAUTION IS WE NEED
TO AVOID SPOON-FEEDING.
PERHAPS WE COULD START
WITH THE ENGLISH,
SEE WHAT'S UNDERSTOOD FROM
THE ENGLISH SOURCE LANGUAGE,
AND THEN START
TRANSLATING,
AND AFTER WE GO THROUGH
THAT PROCESS,
PROVIDE MORE EXAMPLES
THAT MIGHT AID IN COMPREHENSION.
I THINK IF WE PROVIDE
TOO MUCH FOR THE STUDENTS,
THEY WON'T BE CHALLENGED,
HAVE TO THINK ON THEIR OWN
AND WORK ON THE PROBLEM
INDEPENDENTLY.
IS TRANSLATION THE SAME
AS PRESENTING EXAMPLES TO YOU?
OK. TO ME, TRANSLATION
IS EQUIVALENT
TO PRESENTING THE MEANING.
THE QUESTION IS
IS, TO ME,
IS TRANSLATION EQUIVALENT
TO GIVING EXAMPLES?
NO.
[LAUGHTER]
I WANT TO FIND MY OVERHEAD
WITH THE 4 SENTENCES ON IT.
[LAUGHTER]
I DIDN'T REALLY
GIVE EXAMPLES.
I SIGNED IT ONE WAY
AND PRESENTED A TRANSLATION
IN SIGN LANGUAGE, PRESERVING
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ASL,
CHANGING WORD ORDER
WHEN NECESSARY.
SO I THINK TRANSLATION
ISN'T EXACTLY EQUIVALENT
TO GIVING A SERIES
OF EXAMPLES.
OK. YOU'RE ASKING WHAT TYPE
OF EXAMPLES YOU MIGHT GIVE.
I'M SURE YOU'VE PROBABLY
HAD AN EXPERIENCE BEFORE
OF EATING MEATLOAF
OR VEGETABLES,
AND THE NEXT DAY
YOU HAD INDIGESTION.
THAT MIGHT BE AN EXAMPLE
OR EXPLANATION YOU COULD USE
BUT THAT'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
FROM THE STRAIGHT TRANSLATION
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE
SENTENCE.
OK. BARBARA, RAY HOLCOMBE.
RAY: OK. WHEN THE STUDENTS
HAVE A SCRIPT,
DO YOU FEEL
THAT THE STUDENTS
SHOULD READ THROUGH
THE SCRIPT FIRST
AND THEN LOOK AT THE SENTENCES
AND THE DIALOGUE,
OR DO YOU PRESENT
THE TRANSLATION FIRST,
BEFORE THEY'RE EXPECTED
TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PLAY?
PATRICK: OK.
THE QUESTION IS,
WHEN I HAND OUT
A SCRIPT TO A CAST--
AND WE'RE FOCUSING
ON A PLAY--
DO WE LOOK
AT A SENTENCE LEVEL,
TRANSLATING SENTENCE
BY SENTENCE,
OR DO WE REQUIRE THEM
TO READ THROUGH
THE WHOLE SCRIPT FIRST,
DEVELOP A BASIC UNDERSTANDING,
AND THEN GO BACK
AND PERFORM THE TRANSLATION,
PERHAPS AT A SENTENCE LEVEL?
WE CAN SAY IT THIS WAY--
I THINK I'VE DONE IT INCORRECTLY
OR INEFFICIENTLY IN THE PAST.
I USED TO GO THROUGH
SENTENCE BY SENTENCE,
TRANSLATING EACH SENTENCE.
THEN, AT THE END
OF A PASSAGE,
I'D REALIZE, "OH, WAIT A MINUTE.
THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS."
I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK
AND START OVER.
SO WHAT I DO NOW IS TAKE
AN ENTIRE PASSAGE FIRST,
UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS
OF THAT PASSAGE,
ANALYZE THE DISCOURSE
AT THAT LEVEL,
AT A PASSAGE LEVEL,
THEN GO BACK AND START
TRANSLATING AT A SENTENCE LEVEL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
[INDISTINCT]
HOLD ON ONE MOMENT.
ONE MOMENT.
I HAVE TWO ARTICLES
THAT INCORPORATE
BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
ONE IS BY M.J. BIENVENU.
THE OTHER ARTICLE
IS WRITTEN BY AN INSTRUCTOR
AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY,
DR. TOM THOR, WHO TALKS
ABOUT GOOD TRANSLATIONS
OR POOR TRANSLATIONS AND WHAT
ARE SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS.
I HAVE 60 COPIES
HERE WITH ME.
I HOPE THAT WILL BE ENOUGH.
IF IT'S INSUFFICIENT,
YOU COULD PUT YOUR NAME DOWN
ON THE SAME LIST
AS WE USED FOR THE NOTES,
AND I'LL GET YOU A COPY.
[WOMAN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY]
PLEASE REMEMBER TO TURN OFF
YOUR LOOP MONITORS
AND PUT THEM BACK
ON THE CART IN THERE.
SECONDLY, JUST A REMINDER,
IF YOU WANT NOTES,
PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THEM.
YOU WILL GET THEM
EVENTUALLY.
AND THIRDLY,
THE DISCUSSION SECTION
IS IN THE VISITORS
CENTER THERE.
IT'S TEA AND COOKIES
AND COFFEE.
SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR A WONDERFUL LECTURE.
[APPLAUSE]
transcript
MY NAME IS, UM...
MEG DAIS,
AND I AND SUSAN FISHER
AND KEITH
COORDINATE
THE LECTURE SERIES.
IF YOU HAVE
YOUR LOOP MONITORS...
ARE THEY WORKING OK?
MAN: I CAN GET
A SOUND CHECK.
ACTUALLY, THEY'RE
WORKING OK, YES.
MEG: UM, A FEW DETAILS
BEFORE KEITH INTRODUCES
PATRICK GRAYBILL, OUR LECTURER.
FIRST, OUR DISCUSSION GROUP
IS IN THE VISITORS CENTER.
IT'S...IT STARTS AT 2:00,
AND IT GOES UNTIL 3:00.
UM, THE NEXT THING IS
THERE'S A SIGN-UP SHEET...
RIGHT HERE, AND I WANT PEOPLE TO
WRITE YOUR NAMES AND ADDRESSES,
AND IF YOU WANT NOTES,
WRITE THAT, WRITE THAT ALSO.
[WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
MEG: THAT'S FINE.
THAT'S FINE.
BUT I WANT
ALL OF YOUR NAMES.
THANKS.
OH, ANOTHER QUESTION.
[LAUGHTER]
AND YOU CAN PAY FOR IT.
[LAUGHTER]
UM...OUR NOTE...
OUR NOTE TAKER IS SAM...
IS IT S-C-A-E-R-E-R?
YEAH? OK. THANKS.
UM, AND OUR INTERPRETERS
ARE, FOR VOICING, UM,
YOUR...YOUR SIGN NAME
IS AARON?
[LAUGHTER]
AND FOR, UM,
THE ASL INTERPRETING,
IT'S AARON BRACE.
ENGLISH?
THE NEXT LECTURER
IS TORI ARLER,
AND THAT'S ON...
I HAVE TO CHECK.
FEBRUARY 16th.
IT'S A TUESDAY.
UM, WE HAVE MORE BROCHURES
RIGHT HERE IF YOU NEED THEM.
AND THAT'S ALL.
I THINK THAT YOU KNOW THE
PURPOSE FOR THE LECTURE SERIES,
AND THAT'S TO INTRODUCE
NEW IDEAS AND RESEARCH TO YOU
FOR USING IN THE CLASSROOM
AND IN YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU GET
THAT KIND OF INFORMATION.
ANYWAY, NOW IT'S TIME FOR KEITH
TO INTRODUCE OUR LECTURER.
THANK YOU.
KEITH: THANK YOU.
I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR
WITH PATRICK GRAYBILL'S
SIGN NAME,
WHICH IS "PEACHY"
ON THE CHEST.
I'VE KNOWN PATRICK
ABOUT 7 YEARS,
AND WHEN I READ HIS VIDA,
CURRICULA VIDA,
I WAS AMAZED.
[LAUGHTER]
ALSO, IT MEANS WE HAVE
3 AARONS HERE TODAY.
HIS MIDDLE NAME IS AARON,
SO IT'S REALLY INTERESTING.
PATRICK WAS BORN,
AND AS HIS MOTHER WAS
CONSIDERING WHAT TO NAME HIM--
HE HAS TWO OLDER SISTERS.
HIS OLDEST SISTER
IS DEAF.
AND THEY WERE CONSIDERING
CALLING HIM PAT.
THEY WERE THINKING
FOR A MIDDLE NAME
AND NAMED HIM AARON.
THEN, LATER ON,
PAT WAS TELLING ME A STORY
ABOUT HIS MIDDLE NAME, AND I
THOUGHT PERHAPS HE WAS JEWISH.
IT WAS CONFUSING
BECAUSE HE WAS SO INVOLVED
IN THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY.
I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT
WHAT WAS GOING ON.
LATER I MET HIS MOTHER.
AND WE CHECKED
WITH HIS MOTHER
TO FIND OUT WHY
HIS MIDDLE NAME WAS AARON.
I WAS TOLD
NONE OF HIS BUSINESS.
POSSIBLY FROM HIS FATHER.
MAYBE SOMETHING RELATED
WITH THE MAILMAN.
I'M NOT REALLY SURE.
PATRICK GREW UP
IN KANSAS,
ATTENDED THE KANSAS
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF,
GRADUATING IN 1958,
AND THEN WENT
TO GALLAUDET COLLEGE,
WHERE HE GOT
HIS B.A. IN ENGLISH...
IN 1963.
HE RECEIVED HIS MASTER'S
IN DEAF EDUCATION IN 1964
AND TRANSFERRED
TO CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY.
HE WAS ALSO AT AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
WHERE HE STUDIED.
HE WENT TO ST. BERNARD'S
SEMINARY,
AND THEN HE'S BEEN
HERE IN ROCHESTER,
WHERE HE'S BEEN
STUDYING THEOLOGY.
HE ALSO WORKED AT THE KENDALL
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
AS AN INSTRUCTOR
FROM 1964 TILL 1967
AND THEN PURSUED
AN ACTING CAREER
WITH THE NATIONAL THEATER
OF THE DEAF FROM 1969 TO 1979,
10 YEARS.
THAT'S WHERE HE REALLY PICKED UP
HIS SIGNING EXPERTISE.
THEN HE CAME HERE
TO NTID IN 1979,
HIRED AS AN ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR,
AND HE'S BEEN
WORKING HERE SINCE.
PATRICK HAS MUCH EXPERIENCE
AS AN ACTOR
AND ALSO TRANSLATING PLAYS
FROM ENGLISH INTO ASL.
HE HAS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE
IN ASL IN DRAMA,
AND HE'S AIDED
WITH MANY TRANSLATIONS
FOR THE PLAYS
HERE AT NTID.
HE ALSO TEACHES A COURSE
IN TRANSLATION
FROM ENGLISH TO ASL
RELATED TO THEATER.
TODAY HE'LL BE SPEAKING
ON TRANSLATION INTO ASL.
SO LET'S WELCOME
PATRICK GRAYBILL.
[APPLAUSE]
THANK YOU, KEITH.
HELLO, EVERYONE.
I'M REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE
PRESENTING TODAY.
I'M NOT SURE IF THIS INFORMATION
WILL BE ENTIRELY NEW TO PEOPLE
OR IF YOU'RE ALREADY
FAMILIAR WITH IT.
BUT I'D LIKE TO SHARE
SOME OF THE INSIGHTS
I'VE GAINED
AS I WAS GROWING UP.
LET ME OPEN BY PRESENTING
AN OVERHEAD.
[LAUGHTER]
TRANSLATION.
AS WE CONSIDER TRANSLATION,
YOU KNOW THE KENTUCKY
FRIED CHICKEN ADVERTISEMENTS
TALK ABOUT
"FINGER-LICKIN' GOOD."
REALLY DELICIOUS.
AND PEOPLE HAVE BOUGHT A LOT
OF KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN.
IT'S REALLY HELPED
THEIR MARKETING.
NOW, IF YOU TRY AND DO
A TRANSLITERATION
FROM THE ENGLISH
INTO CHINESE CHARACTERS
OR CHINESE LANGUAGE...
IT DOESN'T REALLY WORK
SUCCESSFULLY.
[LAUGHTER]
BECAUSE THE TRANSLATION,
THE IDIOM COMES OUT IN CHINESE
AS "EAT YOUR FINGERS OFF."
NOT EXACTLY
A DELIGHTFUL PROPOSITION.
NOW, I WANT TO ADDRESS TODAY
USING TRANSLATION
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO SEE HOW WE CAN USE
TRANSLATION IN THE CLASSROOM
TO AID STUDENTS
IN COMPREHENDING ENGLISH
AS ONE LANGUAGE THEY USE
AND ASL AS ANOTHER
LANGUAGE THEY USE,
SO THEY'LL HAVE CULTURAL
UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION,
EQUAL RESPECT
FOR BOTH LANGUAGES.
KEITH BRIEFLY DESCRIBED
SOME OF THE EXPERIENCES
I HAVE IN TRANSLATION.
AS I WAS GROWING UP, I LEARNED
ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE.
I HAVE 48 YEARS
OF EXPERIENCE,
AND I AM STILL
LEARNING ENGLISH.
SECONDLY, I HAVE
10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
AS AN ACTOR WITH NTD,
THE NATIONAL THEATER
OF THE DEAF,
AND HAVE A LOT
OF EXPERIENCE THERE
TRANSLATING PLAYS IN ASL.
IT REALLY HELPED ME TO DEVELOP
AN INTERNAL UNDERSTANDING
OF THE TRANSLATION PROCESS.
NOW, I KNOW THAT ONE CAN'T DO
TRANSLATIONS 100% ACCURATELY,
BUT WE WORKED
ON TRANSLATIONS
AND KEPT COMING UP
WITH NEW IDEAS,
NEW WAYS OF APPROACHING
OUR TASK.
SO THIS WILL PERHAPS SPARK
SOME DISCUSSION.
AND I DON'T THINK WE'LL HAVE
FINAL SOLUTIONS
HERE TODAY DURING
THE PRESENTATION,
BUT IT CAN SERVE AS THE BASIS
FOR DISCUSSION.
NOW, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
IS USING TWO LANGUAGES,
ASL AND ENGLISH.
ASL USERS WHO SEE ENGLISH
OFTEN HAVE A LOT
OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT
THE LANGUAGE AND THE CULTURE,
AND SIMILARLY,
ENGLISH SPEAKERS
HAVE A LOT OF MISUNDERSTANDINGS
ABOUT ASL.
GOOD TRANSLATIONS CAN HELP
MEDIATE THIS PROBLEM.
THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS WE CAN
APPROACH USING TWO LANGUAGES
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL.
THERE'S A LOT OF EDUCATIONAL
TOOLS WE HAVE--
MEDIA SUCH AS OVERHEADS
AND SLIDES, TRANSPARENCIES,
CAPTIONING.
ALL OF THESE CAN SERVE AS
BRIDGES BETWEEN TWO LANGUAGES.
BUT WHAT I WANT
TO EMPHASIZE TODAY
IS THAT TRANSLATION ITSELF
CAN BE AN OUTSTANDING
EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO USE IN THE CLASSROOM.
BEFORE I PROCEED
WITH THE LECTURE,
I'D LIKE TO CLARIFY
SOME TERMINOLOGY.
FIRST, "TRANSLATION."
SECONDLY, "TRANSLITERATION."
TRANSLATE.
AND THIRD, "INTERPRET."
YOU KNOW THAT WE USE
THE SIGN "INTERPRET,"
AND USUALLY WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT LISTENING TO ENGLISH
AND INTERPRETING INTO ASL
OR WATCHING A SIGNED
PRESENTATION IN ASL
AND RENDERING THAT
IN SPOKEN ENGLISH,
WITH THE APPROPRIATE
TIME LAG.
AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
TRANSLITERATE,
I THINK IT'S SIMILAR
TO THE PROCESS
YOU SEE USED
BY KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN.
THERE MIGHT BE
A SPOKEN MESSAGE,
AND IT'S SIGNED
VERY SIMILARLY,
PRETTY MUCH
WORD FOR WORD...
IN SOME FORM
OF SIGNED ENGLISH...
SO THAT THERE'S
A SOURCE MESSAGE
AND IS TRANSLITERATED
INTO ENGLISH,
ALMOST A WORD FOR WORD CLAUSE
IN ENGLISH WORD ORDER.
NOW, TYPICALLY, THE WAY
THOSE WORDS ARE USED,
OFTEN "TRANSLATE"
IS USED TO TRANSLATE
FROM ONE WRITTEN LANGUAGE
TO ANOTHER WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
IT'S A WRITTEN PROCESS,
AND THERE'S A LOT
OF TIME AVAILABLE
TO STUDY
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AS YOU'RE WORKING INTO
YOUR TARGET LANGUAGE.
CAN EVERYONE SEE
THE OVERHEAD OK?
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TRANSLATION,
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A BRIDGE
BETWEEN TWO LANGUAGES.
IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER
WHICH TWO LANGUAGES
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE
ENGLISH AND ASL.
IT COULD BE ANY LANGUAGE
USED IN THE WORLD.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE,
IT MIGHT BE WRITTEN
MATERIAL, A NOVEL.
IT COULD BE A PLAY.
SO YOU HAVE
THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE MESSAGE
THAT THEN HAS TO BE DECODED
INTO THE MEANING.
YOU NEED TO PRESERVE
THAT MEANING
AND FIND WAYS
TO EXPRESS IT ACCURATELY
IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE.
YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE PEOPLE
WHO USE THAT TARGET LANGUAGE.
PERHAPS YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
A POEM OR A STORY OR A PLAY
IN ENGLISH
AS A SOURCE LANGUAGE.
ONE CAN READ THAT,
COMPREHEND THE MEANING,
AND DETERMINE HOW TO
APPROPRIATELY TRANSLATE IT
INTO ASL,
AND DEAF USERS OF ASL
WILL COMPREHEND
THE MESSAGE.
WHAT'S IMPORTANT
IS COMPREHENDING THE MEANING
BEHIND THAT ENGLISH MESSAGE.
IT WOULD BE
VERY EASY FOR US
TO LOOK AT
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AND THEN SIGN IT
ALMOST WORD FOR WORD
IN A TRANSLITERATION,
GLOSSING, PICKING ONE SIGN
FOR EACH ENGLISH WORD.
WHEN THAT'S DONE,
THE COMPREHENSION LEVEL
OF THE ASL USERS
WOULD NOT BE ADEQUATE.
PERHAPS YOU'RE NOT USING
APPROPRIATE GRAMMATICAL
FEATURES, AS ONE DOES.
LET ME GIVE YOU
SOME EXAMPLES.
[LAUGHTER]
LET ME DEMONSTRATE
THE FIRST SENTENCE.
IT'S EASY FOR ME
TO TRANSLITERATE THIS.
[LAUGHTER]
THE MEAT,
FINGER-SPELLING "LOAF,"
DID NOT AGREE WITH HIM.
PERHAPS ASL USERS WHO AREN'T
SKILLED IN ENGLISH YET
BUT WHO ARE STILL ACQUIRING
ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS
WOULD BE CONFUSED BETWEEN
A MEATLOAF THAT YOU EAT
AND A PERSON
WHO IS LAZY.
ONE NEEDS TO TRANSMIT
THE SPECIFIC MESSAGE.
LET ME TRANSLATE THIS.
IN THAT TRANSLATION,
THE MEANING IS PRESERVED.
IT TAKES SOME TIME
TO EXPLAIN A GLOSS.
WAIT A MINUTE.
BEFORE I PROCEED WITH THAT,
I'M CURIOUS--HOW MANY PEOPLE
IN THE AUDIENCE
WOULD LIKE ME TO TAKE TIME
TO EXPLAIN MY SIGN CHOICES
OR HOW I'M DOING
THE SENTENCE IN ASL?
DO I NEED TO ELABORATE
ON THAT FOR ANYONE?
THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE.
OK. GOOD.
FOR FOLKS WHO ARE FLUENT IN ASL,
PLEASE BEAR WITH US,
BECAUSE I'D LIKE
TO MAKE THIS CLEAR.
WE CAN BORROW
THE WORDS OF ENGLISH
AND GLOSS THOSE
INTO SIGNS.
YOU KNOW THAT ASL HAS
NO WRITTEN FORM ITSELF.
SO...ONE THING I COULD DO IS
BORROW THESE WORDS FROM ENGLISH.
FIRST, I SIGNED THIS
FOR "MEAT,"
FINGER-SPELLED "LOAF,"
AND USED THE CLASSIFIER
TO SHOW THE MEATLOAF
A SIZE AND SPACE
SIGNIFIER.
I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT LOAF,
A LAZY PERSON
WHO LIES AROUND
AND DOES NOTHING,
THE SIGN I JUST SIGNED.
I'M TALKING ABOUT
A SLAB OF MEAT.
FOR HIM, I USED THE SIGN
INDICATING A PERSON
SET APPROPRIATELY
IN SPACE
AND SHOWED HIM EATING
AND SWALLOWING THE MEAT,
INDICATED THE STOMACH,
AND TOGETHER, THE SIGN
I MADE AN UPSET STOMACH.
SO I USED APPROPRIATE
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ASL,
WHICH REALLY HELPS
OUR STUDENTS UNDERSTAND
AND CLARIFIES THE MEANING
BEHIND THAT WRITTEN SENTENCE.
LET ME SHOW YOU
THE SECOND SENTENCE.
IT SHOULD BE
PRETTY EASY.
RIGHT. I WOULD SUGGEST
THAT THE CHILDREN WERE ALL EYES,
SIGNED THIS WAY AS
THE CHILDREN WERE AMAZED.
YOU MIGHT GLOSS THAT.
AT THE CIRCUS,
THE CHILDREN WERE JUST AMAZED
OR FASCINATED.
SURE, ANOTHER WAY TO SIGN IT
IN ASL WOULD BE THIS,
STILL PRESERVING THAT SAME
MEANING OF FA...
MEANING OF FASCINATION
AND AWE.
WHETHER ONE SIGNS "FASCINATION"
OR "AWE" IN A VARIETY OF WAYS,
IT PRESERVES THE MEANING
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE SENTENCE.
ALL RIGHT.
THIRD SAMPLE SENTENCE,
THAT "ACTIONS SPEAK
LOUDER THAN WORDS,"
IS NOT QUITE AS EASY.
MANY OF OUR STUDENTS...
MIGHT LEARN THE MEANING BEHIND
THAT WRITTEN ENGLISH SENTENCE
THROUGH A TRANSLATION PROCESS.
LET ME TAKE SOME TIME
TO EXPLAIN,
SETTING UP ACTIONS
AND WORDS.
WE HAVE ACTIONS.
WE HAVE WORDS.
WHICH CARRIES MORE STRENGTH?
THE ACTION DOES,
APPROPRIATELY SETTING UP
EACH CONCEPT IN SPACE
AND THEN COMPARING
AND CONTRASTING THOSE.
SO IT'S EASY FOR US PERHAPS TO
PRESENT A MEANING OF LANGUAGE,
THE VOCABULARY
AND GRAMMAR, UH...
BUT IT'S NOT EASY
FOR US TO DO THAT,
ALTHOUGH IT'S MUCH EASIER
PERHAPS TO DO THAT
THAN TO TRANSMIT APPROPRIATE
CULTURAL INFORMATION.
THE 3 THINGS
WE NEED TO CONSIDER
ARE THE MEANING, THE GRAMMAR
OF EACH LANGUAGE,
AND THE CULTURAL BACKGROUND
OF THE LANGUAGE USERS.
WHILE THE MEANING AND GRAMMAR
CAN OFTEN BE PRESERVED EASILY,
THERE'S A REAL CHALLENGE
IN PRESENTING INFORMATION
CULTURALLY APPROPRIATELY
WITH EQUAL RESPECT AND STATUS
FOR EACH CULTURE.
IN OUR FOURTH SAMPLE SENTENCE,
IT SAYS,
"I'M SORRY
THAT YOU MISSED THE BOAT."
NOW, YOU COULD STRING TOGETHER
TWO SIGNS GLOSSED,
LIKE THE SIGN FOR "MISS"
AND THE SIGN FOR "BOAT."
BUT THE MEANING
IS NOT PRESERVED.
PERHAPS A SIGN CHOICE
LIKE "TRAIN GONE,"
IF I CAN GLOSS IT
THAT WAY,
WHICH IS USED IN ASL,
HAS THE SAME MEANING.
IT'S SIMILARLY IDIOMATIC
IN BOTH LANGUAGES.
THAT WAY, THE COMPREHENSION
OF THE MEANING IS PRESERVED,
AND THE INFORMATION
IS TRANSMITTED
LINGUISTICALLY AND CULTURALLY
ACCURATELY FOR ASL USERS.
SO...WHAT IS THE TRANSLATOR
RESPONSIBLE FOR?
ONE NEEDS TO ANALYZE
THE SOURCE LANGUAGE
AND COME UP WITH A TRANSLATION
THAT'S ACCURATE.
SOMETIMES
A TRANSLATION...
SOMEONE DOING A TRANSLATION
HAS DIFFICULTY
UNDERSTANDING ACCURATELY
THE CLARITY
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE MESSAGE.
THERE'S A TENDENCY
TO WATER DOWN THE INFORMATION,
TO SPOON-FEED...
THE SPEAKERS OR HEARERS
IN THE TARGET-LANGUAGE
MESSAGE.
REALLY, IT'S THE TRANSLATOR'S
RESPONSIBILITY
TO PRESENT AN ACCURATE
EQUIVALENT MESSAGE,
AND THE PRESENTATION,
WHETHER SIGNED OR SPOKEN,
NEEDS TO BE CLEAR.
YOU NEED TO CLEARLY
PRESERVE THE MEANING
WITH APPROPRIATE GRAMMAR.
A THIRD CRITERIA
OF A GOOD TRANSLATION
IS IT NEEDS TO BE NATURAL.
THE TRANSLATION
INTO THE TARGET LANGUAGE
MUST PRESERVE NATURAL LANGUAGE
PRINCIPLES AND CHARACTERISTICS.
I'VE BEEN THINKING
FOR A LONG TIME
HOW I MIGHT SHOW
AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING
THAT EVERYONE'S
FAMILIAR WITH,
THAT THEY'VE GROWN UP WITH,
THAT THEY'RE ACCUSTOMED TO...
AND ANALYZE THAT
FOR THE MEANING.
I THINK A SENTENCE
MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH.
WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR
WAS A PASSAGE, AN ENTIRE TEXT
THAT WE COULD ANALYZE...
PERHAPS A FORM
OF DISCOURSE ANALYSIS.
SO I'VE TRIED TO
COME UP WITH SOMETHING
WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH,
I'M SURE ALL OF US
HAVE SEEN BEFORE.
I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR
WITH THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
NOW, AS I THINK BACK
AT HOW WE SIGN THAT
GROWING UP IN SCHOOL...
IT WAS ALMOST
A WORD-FOR-WORD GLOSS.
THIS WAY, LITERALLY
"FOR WHICH IT STANDS."
"INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL."
THOSE WERE THE SIGN
CHOICES WE'D SEE
AS WE GREW UP IN SCHOOL.
AND THEN IMAGINE, HEARING PEOPLE
DID THE SAME THING IN SCHOOL,
RECITED THIS OVER
AND OVER AGAIN BY ROTE...
SIMILARLY TO HOW
DEAF PEOPLE SIGNED IT,
PERHAPS NOT UNDERSTANDING
THE MEANING,
UH, ACCEPTING IT
WITHOUT DISCUSSION AT ALL.
BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE
A FUN EXERCISE PERHAPS
TO TRY AND SIGN IT
IN A WAY THAT REALLY SHOWS
THE MEANING,
WHAT IT REPRESENTS,
TO LOOK AT THAT
TRANSLATION PROCESS
AND SEE IF IT MIGHT HELP
STUDENTS UNDERSTAND
THE MEANING AND THE FEELING
BEHIND THE WORDS.
I DON'T KNOW WHO FIRST
CAME UP WITH THAT TRANSLATION,
THE WORD-FOR-WORD GLOSS
OF "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE
TO THE FLAG."
I HAVE HERE A STATEMENT
FROM THE COMMISSION
ON THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF
FROM THEIR...
ONE OF THEIR REPORTS
I'D LIKE TO SHARE
WITH YOU.
NOW, THIS IS WHY I SUPPORT
THE IDEA SO STRONGLY
OF USING TRANSLATION
AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
TO HELP BOTH HEARING CHILDREN
AND DEAF CHILDREN
UNDERSTAND THEIR LANGUAGE
AND THEIR CULTURE
AND ALSO GAIN INSIGHTS
INTO OTHER LANGUAGES
AND OTHER CULTURES.
I THINK PERHAPS
SOME PEOPLE HERE HAVE
SOME NEGATIVE BIASES TOWARDS ASL
AS A LANGUAGE AND A CULTURE.
PERHAPS SOME DEAF STUDENTS
HAVE NEGATIVE BIASES
TOWARDS ENGLISH
AND THE MAINSTREAM CULTURE.
THROUGH TRANSLATION PROCESS,
IT'S EASY...
IT'S AN EASY WAY TO TRY
AND GAIN INFORMATION
AND SHARE EXPERIENCES
IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE.
I REALLY STRUGGLED
WITH TRYING TO COME UP WITH
AN ACCEPTABLE TRANSLATION.
I LOOKED OVER
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
WRITTEN IN ENGLISH,
AND CERTAINLY I HAVE
A SIGN FOR EACH WORD,
BUT THAT'S NOT SUFFICIENT.
I COULD MAKE SOME APPROPRIATE
GRAMMATICAL CHANGES,
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE.
AND THEN WE GET
TO THE POINT OF CULTURE,
THE CULTURE OF ASL USERS.
GRAMMATICALLY, A DISCOURSE
ALWAYS STARTS WITH THE TOPIC,
THE SUBJECT OF WHAT
THE TEXT WILL BE ABOUT.
IT SEEMS THAT THE TOPIC
IS THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES
AND THE REPUBLIC...
THE GOVERN...
AND THE MEANING
BEHIND A REPUBLIC
IS REALLY OUR FORM
OF GOVERNMENT.
NOW, YOU COULD...
GO ON AND TALK ABOUT
HOW THIS IS MODIFIED.
LET ME GIVE YOU
AN EXAMPLE.
YOU MIGHT HAVE A RED CAR
THAT I BOUGHT YESTERDAY.
IN ASL, FIRST YOU SET UP
THE TOPIC, THE CAR,
AND THEN THAT IT WAS RED
AND I BOUGHT IT YESTERDAY.
THAT'S THE TYPICAL WORD ORDER
IN THE ASL GRAMMAR.
SO, FIRST WE HAVE THE TOPIC,
THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES,
OF OUR REPUBLIC,
THE GOVERNMENT.
AND THEN THE MODIFIERS,
THAT IT'S REPRESENTED
BY THIS FLAG
AND THE CONCEPTS
OF "ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE."
AND FINALLY YOU'D GET
TO THE SUBJECT,
THAT "I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE,
I'M IN SUPPORT
AND FAVOR OF THIS."
QUITE A CHANGE IN WORD ORDER
AND PRESENTATIONS OF IDEAS,
BUT IT ADDS GREAT CLARITY
FOR A NATIVE USER OF ASL.
NOW, I'M NOT SUGGESTING
WE SHOULD SIGN IT THIS WAY
IN THE CLASSROOM.
I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT AT ALL.
BUT AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL,
IT PRESERVES THE MEANING
AND THE CULTURE.
CERTAINLY, WE COULD LEAVE
THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
IN ITS FROZEN FORM IN ENGLISH
ON THE BLACKBOARD,
AND IT'S PERFECTLY APPROPRIATE
FOR DAILY USE.
OUR STUDENTS CAN
CERTAINLY SIGN THAT.
BUT IN ASL, YOU'D HAVE
THE TOPIC FIRST,
THE FLAG AND THE REPUBLIC,
AND THEN THE MODIFIERS...
"ONE NATION UNDER GOD,
INDIVISIBLE,
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
FOR ALL,"
AND FINALLY, "I SUPPORT THIS,
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO."
[LAUGHTER]
TOM HOLCOMBE IN THE AUDIENCE
SAID, "I LIKE THAT TRANSLATION."
I TOLD HIM THANKS.
[LAUGHTER]
GREAT. NOW, IT'S EASY
FOR US TO SAY,
"OH, GREAT.
SWELL TRANSLATION."
AND WE CAN TRANSLATE
FROM ONE LANGUAGE TO ANOTHER.
IT'S ALWAYS
AN EASY PROCESS.
IT CAN ALWAYS BE DONE.
BUT THAT'S NOT TRUE.
SOMETIMES IT'S LITERALLY
IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE
FROM ONE LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE TO ANOTHER.
LET ME ILLUSTRATE THIS
WITH A JOKE I'VE USED
IN MY TRANSLATION CLASSES.
I DON'T WANT TO ENTER INTO
A LOT OF DISCUSSION.
FIRST, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO
IS PRESENT THIS ON THE OVERHEAD,
AND WHEN I'M DONE,
I'LL SIGN IT.
[LAUGHTER]
OK. I'M SINCERELY CURIOUS.
HOW MANY PEOPLE HERE,
PERHAPS DEAF PEOPLE,
DON'T REALLY
UNDERSTAND THIS JOKE?
BELIEVE ME, YOU'RE NOT
THE ONLY ONES.
I'VE PUT IN A LOT OF STUDY
ON WRITTEN ENGLISH,
AND I CAN UNDERSTAND IT,
BUT I DON'T REALLY FEEL
THE HUMOR BEHIND IT.
I THINK IT'S
KIND OF INTERESTING.
I'VE GOT AN INTELLECTUAL
FASCINATION WITH THAT,
WHY IT'S HUMOROUS
IN ENGLISH,
BUT FRANKLY, IT DOESN'T
TICKLE MY FUNNY BONE.
I'LL TRY AND TRANSLATE
THIS INTO ASL.
I DON'T KNOW
IF IT WILL HELP OR NOT.
THIS IS THE SIGN
I'LL BE USING FOR "HOW,"
FROM ENGLISH CULTURE.
IN ENGLISH, WE'D SAY,
"HOW DO YOU LIKE THE EGG...
HOW DO YOU LIKE
YOUR EGGS?"
AND YOU MIGHT SAY SCRAMBLED
OR POACHED OR FRIED.
LET ME GO AHEAD
AND PERFORM THIS JOKE NOW.
[LAUGHTER]
[CLAPS]
[LAUGHTER]
NOW, I WONDER, IS THAT
MORE COMPREHENSIBLE?
I'M WONDERING ABOUT
THE LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING.
WELL, FINALLY
UNDERSTAND IT MAYBE?
HMM...
UH, I THINK HEARING PEOPLE
CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT,
BUT IT'S FROM
HEARING CULTURE.
YOU KNOW, THE "HOW," H-O-W.
HOW DO YOU LIKE THE EGGS?
AND THE SOUND IS THE SAME
FROM THE INDIAN GREETING--"HOW."
AND THAT RESPONSE, "FRIED,"
UH-UH, JUST DOESN'T WORK.
LET ME EXPLAIN IT.
NOW, WHEN I
EXPLAIN IT THAT WAY...
HE GREETED THE INDIAN
AND SAID, "HO,"
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE "HOW,"
SO THE INDIAN ANSWERED,
"FRIED. THAT'S HOW
I LIKE MY EGGS."
AFTER 17 YEARS,
HE STILL REMEMBERED
EXACTLY WHERE THEY LEFT OFF
THE CONVERSATION.
SO THE DEVIL COULDN'T
TAKE HIS SOUL.
NOW, UNDERSTAND IT?
OK. GREAT.
IS IT FUNNY?
KIND OF CUTE, HUH?
WELL, IT'S PRETTY GOOD.
UH...OK.
BUT STRANGE THING--
MANY DEAF STUDENTS
IN MY CLASS
HAVE THE EXACT SAME RESPONSES
TO MY QUESTION.
"WELL, YEAH, I UNDERSTAND
WHAT YOU'RE SAYING NOW,
BUT YOU'RE NOT FUNNY."
WHEN I WAS WORKING ON
THE TRANSLATION FOR THE PLAY,
THE FOREIGNER FACED SOME SIMILAR
DIFFICULTIES RELATED TO HUMOR.
THE CLASS WOULD STUDY
THE PLAY TO THE POINT
WHERE THEY UNDERSTOOD
THEIR REASONS BEHIND THE HUMOR.
BUT AT THAT STAGE,
ALL THE HUMOR WAS GONE.
IT WAS AN INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
AND NOT TRULY FUNNY.
SO THERE IS HUMOR IN ENGLISH,
IN THAT SPOKEN LANGUAGE,
WITH THAT CULTURE
THAT CAN'T BE TRANSLATED.
AND, SURE, IF IT'S...
YOU ATTEMPT TO TRANSLATE IT,
PEOPLE CAN SMILE,
PRETEND TO LAUGH POLITELY,
BUT THE HUMOR
ISN'T REALLY THERE.
IT'S SIMILAR PERHAPS
TO THE SIGN-LANGUAGE JOKE
FROM DEAF CULTURE
WHERE THE JOKE LINE...
WHERE THE PUNCH LINE IS
"PLEASE BUT."
A MAN DRIVES UP
TO SOME RAILROAD TRACKS,
AND THE CROSSING GUARDS
ARE DOWN ACROSS THE ROAD,
AND HE WANTS TO...
THE TRAIN GOES BY,
BUT THE GUARDS
DON'T GO UP AGAIN.
SO HE WALKS OVER
TO A MAN AT THE GATEHOUSE
BECAUSE THE GATES
DIDN'T OPEN
AND WRITES ON THE SHEET OF PAPER
"PLEASE BUT."
AND THE GUY
DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT.
NOW, IF YOU'RE A USER OF SIGN
AND YOU SIGN "PLEASE BUT,"
IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE,
AND YOU CAN EXPLAIN THAT PERHAPS
TO A HEARING AUDIENCE.
GO AHEAD. EXPLAIN THAT
TO A NOVICE INTERPRETER SOMETIME
OR EXPLAIN THAT
TO AN INTERPRETER.
AND THEY SAY,
"OK. FINE WITH ME. FINE."
AND THEN THEY COMPREHEND IT,
BUT THE HUMOR IS GONE.
WELL, THAT'S MY POINT.
TRANSLATION AS A PROCESS
CAN HELP STUDENTS
UNDERSTAND THEIR CULTURE,
INCLUDING HUMOR, VOCABULARY,
LINGUISTIC FEATURES,
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES.
FOR HEARING PEOPLE
WHO STUDY ASL,
CERTAINLY THEY CAN UNDERSTAND
THE VOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE,
THE HUMOR IN ASL.
EACH LANGUAGE HAS
ITS OWN SET OF PUNS.
AND THAT'S REALLY
AN ENJOYABLE PROCESS
WHERE YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND
MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE.
THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART
OF EDUCATION
AND THE ENJOYMENT
AND VITALITY OF LIFE.
LAST YEAR, I DIRECTED A PLAY
CALLED "THE FOREIGNER"...
AND WORKED ON
TRANSLATING THAT.
THE PROCESS I USED
WAS READING THE ENGLISH.
AND FIRST...WELL, I COULDN'T
WRITE INTO ASL.
SO I'D HAVE TO BORROW SOME
OF THE WORDS AND TERMINOLOGY
FROM THE ENGLISH
AND WRITE DOWN A GLOSS,
ALMOST AN OUTLINE
OF ENGLISH KEYWORDS.
THEN, IN THE FIRST WEEK
OF REHEARSAL,
WE GOT TOGETHER
WITH THE CAST,
AND I TOOK TURNS SIGNING SOME OF
THOSE, UH, GLOSSES THAT I HAD,
SOME KEY SENTENCES.
AND SO, WHAT WAS WORKING,
AND WHAT WASN'T?
AND SOME OF THE STUDENTS
WHO GREW UP IN DEAF CULTURE
HAD SOME SUGGESTIONS
FOR ALTERNATE WAYS TO SIGN IT,
AT LEAST ON HOW
THEY UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING.
SO WE WENT THROUGH A PROCESS
OF WORKING ON A TRANSLATION.
AND I LOOKED BACK, AND I SAW
SOME OF THEM I REALLY LIKED,
INCORPORATED
THOSE SUGGESTIONS.
BUT THEN WE DID PASSAGES
THAT JUST SEEMED
IMPOSSIBLE TO TRANSLATE.
WE PUT A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT
AND THOUGHT INTO IT.
FINALLY, I HAD TO ELECT
TO ELIMINATE SOME PASSAGES
THAT JUST COULDN'T
BE TRANSLATED.
THEY COULD BE VOICED IN ENGLISH,
BUT THEY COULDN'T BE TRANSLATED.
IF WE TRIED
TO GLOSS THOSE,
THEY WOULDN'T BE
HUMOROUS AT ALL
FOR DEAF PEOPLE
IN THE AUDIENCE
OR FOR SIGNERS
IN THE AUDIENCE.
SO WE JUST HAD TO
ELIMINATE THOSE.
THE TROUBLE...
THE PROBLEM WAS
THEY COULDN'T BE TRANSLATED
IN TERMS OF THE CULTURE.
IF YOU LOOK AT
THE SAMPLE HERE,
THE FIRST SENTENCE,
"HERE WE GO."
THEN CHARLIE--
"HERE WE GO."
IF YOU LOOK
AT THE FIRST PASSAGE,
WHERE FROGGY IS SPEAKING...
THAT'S ENGLISH,
SPOKEN ENGLISH FROM BRITAIN.
NOW, HOW DO WE
TRANSLATE THAT INTO ASL?
SHOULD WE USE
A SIGN LIKE THIS,
"FROM NOW ON" OR "WHERE
ARE WE GOING FROM HERE"?
FOR ASL USERS, YOU KNOW
WHY I'M USING THIS,
WHY I WAVE
MY HAND LIKE THAT.
IT'S AN ATTENTION-GETTER.
YOU KNOW, IN ASL,
YOU CAN HOLLER A PERSON'S NAME.
I'M SORRY. IN SPOKEN ENGLISH,
YOU CAN HOLLER A PERSON'S NAME.
SIGNERS DON'T TEND
TO CALL PEOPLE BY NAME.
IT'S A CHARACTERISTIC WAVE
THAT WOULD BE USED
TO GET SOMEONE'S
ATTENTION.
SO IT'S CULTURALLY EQUIVALENT.
IT'S COMPLEMENTARY.
THE CHOICE I USED WASN'T...
WELL, "HERE WE GO FROM HERE."
I USED WHAT? "WE'VE ARRIVED.
WE'VE ARRIVED HERE."
THE PART HERE,
"HELLO, BETH,"
HEARING ACTORS COULD HOLLER,
"HELLO, BETH OR BETTY,"
USING THE NAME SIGN,
BUT IN DEAF CULTURE,
YOU CERTAINLY CAN'T HOLLER
TO GET SOMEONE'S ATTENTION
LIKE THAT, SO WE HAD TO MAKE
SOME MODIFICATIONS
WHERE THEY COULD WALK
TO THE DOOR, OPEN IT UP,
AND WAVE HELLO.
"HELLO, BETTY."
OR "MISS BETTY."
THE SPOKEN ENGLISH LINE
WAS "BETTY, MY LOVE.
"BETTY, MY LOVE.
WHERE IS SHE?"
AND FOR THE SPOKEN LINE
"WHAT TIME DO YOU MAKE IT?"
COULD BE TRANSLATED
PRETTY CLOSELY.
BRENDA.
AARON HAD A QUESTION.
AARON: I'M CURIOUS. AS I'M
WATCHING THE WRITTEN ENGLISH
YOU HAVE WRITTEN
DOWN THERE...
UH, THE SPELLING
IS REALLY DIFFERENT.
INSTEAD OF W-H-A-T,
YOU HAVE W-O-T.
BRITISH OR PERHAPS...
I DON'T KNOW
IF IT'S LOWER-CLASS OR WHAT,
BUT HOW DID YOU SIGNIFY THAT
OR TRANSLATE THAT?
PATRICK: THE QUESTION WAS,
IN THE WRITTEN SCRIPT,
AS YOU READ THROUGH IT...
YOU SEE A VERY BRITISH
WAY OF SPEAKING--
W-O-T FOR "WHAT."
AND "D'YER,"
D'-Y-E-R.
SOMETIMES IT'S IMPOSSIBLE
TO PRESERVE THAT SORT OF THING
GOING FROM ONE LANGUAGE
TO ANOTHER.
YOU CAN TRY IT
IN THE WAY YOU SIGN.
I COULD FORMALLY SIGN,
"WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?"
OR, HITTING A DIFFERENT
REGISTER, "WHAT TIME IS IT?
HEY, MAN, WHAT TIME?"
SO YOU COULD DO IT
PERHAPS WITH REGISTER.
KEITH...
KEITH WAS ASKING ME...
PERHAPS THROUGH CLOTHING,
DRESSING APPROPRIATELY,
YOU COULD SHOW
SOME OF THAT, SURE.
THAT'S A DIRECTOR'S DECISION,
ANY TIME YOU'RE DOING A PLAY
AND THAT TECHNIQUE HELPS.
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO
FOCUS ON NOW
IS THE LANGUAGE CONSIDERATIONS,
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.
UH, WE'RE...
TIME IS REALLY SHORT.
I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU
ONE MORE OVERHEAD.
[LAUGHTER]
I STRUGGLED TRYING TO
TRANSLATE THAT INTO ASL.
WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION,
PUT A LOT OF EFFORT
INTO WORKING ON
THE TRANSLATION PROCESS
AND ULTIMATELY DECIDED
IT WAS TOTALLY PART
OF A SPOKEN-LANGUAGE
HEARING CULTURE.
WE HAD TO CUT THIS
OUT OF THE PLAY.
MY CURRENT FEELING IS,
IF I WAS DIRECT...
IF I WERE DIRECTING
THIS PLAY AGAIN
WITH A DIFFERENT CAST, MAYBE
I COULD FIND A WAY TO DO IT,
BUT MY DECISION,
WHEN I WAS DIRECTING IT,
WAS TO JUST CUT IT OUT
AND DELETE IT.
OR THEY'RE MAKING
THAT COMPARISON
ABOUT CALLING
A TONGUE FLOPPY.
IT'S JUST SUCH A PUN,
SUCH A DOUBLE MEANING INVOLVED,
THE DOUBLE ENTENDRE.
IN DEAF CULTURE,
A SIGNED LANGUAGE,
YOU DON'T SPEAK
WITH YOUR TONGUE.
YOU COMMUNICATE
WITH YOUR HANDS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU COULD
SIGN SOME WAY APPROPRIATELY
AS "FLOPPY HAND" OR DO
SOMETHING TO SIGNIFY THAT,
BUT IT'S NOT EASY.
IT'S CERTAINLY NOT EASY
TO TRANSLATE APPROPRIATELY.
BUT I HAVE TO EMPHASIZE
IT'S A MARVELOUS TOOL
FOR STUDYING LANGUAGE,
AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL FOR STUDYING
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE,
TWO LANGUAGES
AND TWO CULTURES
IN A COMPLEMENTARY WAY
WITH EQUAL RESPECT AND STATUS.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
NOW WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT
OF TIME FOR QUESTIONS.
I'LL WARN YOU, I MIGHT NOT
HAVE THE ANSWERS.
BUT WE COULD GO AHEAD,
START WITH SOME QUESTIONS.
CAROL.
CAROL: YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
COMPARISONS IN TRANSLATIONS
WITH ENGLISH AND ASL.
I'M REALLY ENJOYING
WATCHING THE COMPARISONS.
YOU TALKED ABOUT ENGLISH
BEING A WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
UH...I'M WONDERING HOW YOU CAN
DO ALL THOSE TRANSFORMATIONS
IN TERMS OF WORD ORDER,
MAKING ALL THE GRAMMATICAL
AND LINGUISTIC CHANGES
YOU NEED TO MAKE.
WHERE DO YOU GET
THE TIME TO DO THAT?
I MEAN, HOW WOULD I HAVE
ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE
ALL THOSE CHANGES
AND PRESENT THEM TO A TEACHER?
PATRICK: OK. SO YOU'RE SAYING
THAT PERHAPS YOU'D WANT TO...
YOUR FINAL PRODUCT, YOUR TARGET
IS A WRITTEN ESSAY IN ENGLISH,
AND PERHAPS YOU WANT TO START
WITH A SOURCE LANGUAGE,
CREATING IN ASL BECAUSE YOU KNOW
YOUR OWN LANGUAGE.
NOW, WE KNOW ASL DOESN'T
HAVE A WRITTEN FORM.
SO YOU'D HAVE TO PERHAPS
BORROW SOME WORDS FROM ENGLISH,
GET DOWN A ROUGH DRAFT.
AND THEN YOU HAVE PERHAPS IN ASL
GRAMMATICAL ORDER.
THEN LOOK OVER
WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN,
SEE WHEN YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THE MEANING,
WHAT YOU'VE COME UP WITH
FROM THAT THOUGHT PROCESS,
AND THEN GO THROUGH A PROCESS
OF TRANSLATING IT INTO ENGLISH,
WHICH IS
YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE.
PERHAPS THAT APPROACH
WOULD WORK FOR YOU.
IT'S CERTAINLY
WORTH A TRY.
BUT IT REALLY REQUIRES THAT
THE PERSON KNOW TWO LANGUAGES.
AND GARY MOWELL
JUST SUGGESTED
THAT PERHAPS YOU COULD
SIGN YOUR ESSAY,
VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF
WHILE YOU'RE SIGNING IT,
SEE IF YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THAT PRESENTATION.
IF NOT, MAKE SOME REVISIONS,
VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF AGAIN,
AND WHEN YOU'RE SATISFIED
WITH THE PRODUCT
IN THAT SOURCE
LANGUAGE OF ASL,
THEN GO THROUGH
YOUR TRANSLATION.
YES, FARLEY?
FARLEY: LET ME STAND UP.
I NOTICED YOU TALKING
ABOUT CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
AND A METHOD
OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION.
I'VE NOTICED
THAT DEAF TEACHERS
TEND TO REALLY GIVE A LOT
OF EXAMPLES, EMPHASIZE EXAMPLES,
AND THEN FINALLY GET
TO ENGLISH...
AN ENGLISH PRESENTATION.
I THINK THE HEARING TEACHERS
I'VE OBSERVED
OFTEN WILL GO AHEAD,
GIVE A LECTURE,
THEN GIVE EXAMPLES
NEAR THE END.
I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S
AN IMPORTANT TECHNIQUE PERHAPS
TO GIVE EXAMPLES FIRST
AND THEN EXPLAIN THE MEANING.
FOR EXAMPLE,
IN YOUR PRESENTATION,
FIRST YOU GAVE EXAMPLES
OF TRANSLATION
AND THEN WENT INTO
SOME OF THE MORE THEORETICAL
PARTS OF YOUR TALK.
PATRICK: OK. I GUESS
WHAT YOU'RE SAYING
IS YOU FEEL
THAT DEAF TEACHERS
OFTEN WILL START OUT INITIALLY
BY PRESENTING SOME EXAMPLES
AND THEN WILL SHOW THE ENGLISH,
HOW THAT'S DONE IN ENGLISH,
WHEREAS HEARING TEACHERS USE...
WILL PRESENT
THE ENGLISH SENTENCE
OR ENGLISH DISCOURSE FIRST
AND THEN USE SOME EXAMPLES
TO EXPLAIN HOW THAT WORKS.
IT MAY BE A CULTURAL
DIFFERENCE.
YES, PERHAPS IT IS,
BUT I CAUTION YOU
THAT I THINK IT'S EASY
FOR US TO START WITH EXAMPLES
AND PERHAPS MAKES IT EASIER
FOR OUR STUDENTS
TO LEARN AND COMPREHEND.
ONE CAUTION IS WE NEED
TO AVOID SPOON-FEEDING.
PERHAPS WE COULD START
WITH THE ENGLISH,
SEE WHAT'S UNDERSTOOD FROM
THE ENGLISH SOURCE LANGUAGE,
AND THEN START
TRANSLATING,
AND AFTER WE GO THROUGH
THAT PROCESS,
PROVIDE MORE EXAMPLES
THAT MIGHT AID IN COMPREHENSION.
I THINK IF WE PROVIDE
TOO MUCH FOR THE STUDENTS,
THEY WON'T BE CHALLENGED,
HAVE TO THINK ON THEIR OWN
AND WORK ON THE PROBLEM
INDEPENDENTLY.
IS TRANSLATION THE SAME
AS PRESENTING EXAMPLES TO YOU?
OK. TO ME, TRANSLATION
IS EQUIVALENT
TO PRESENTING THE MEANING.
THE QUESTION IS
IS, TO ME,
IS TRANSLATION EQUIVALENT
TO GIVING EXAMPLES?
NO.
[LAUGHTER]
I WANT TO FIND MY OVERHEAD
WITH THE 4 SENTENCES ON IT.
[LAUGHTER]
I DIDN'T REALLY
GIVE EXAMPLES.
I SIGNED IT ONE WAY
AND PRESENTED A TRANSLATION
IN SIGN LANGUAGE, PRESERVING
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF ASL,
CHANGING WORD ORDER
WHEN NECESSARY.
SO I THINK TRANSLATION
ISN'T EXACTLY EQUIVALENT
TO GIVING A SERIES
OF EXAMPLES.
OK. YOU'RE ASKING WHAT TYPE
OF EXAMPLES YOU MIGHT GIVE.
I'M SURE YOU'VE PROBABLY
HAD AN EXPERIENCE BEFORE
OF EATING MEATLOAF
OR VEGETABLES,
AND THE NEXT DAY
YOU HAD INDIGESTION.
THAT MIGHT BE AN EXAMPLE
OR EXPLANATION YOU COULD USE
BUT THAT'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT
FROM THE STRAIGHT TRANSLATION
OF THE SOURCE-LANGUAGE
SENTENCE.
OK. BARBARA, RAY HOLCOMBE.
RAY: OK. WHEN THE STUDENTS
HAVE A SCRIPT,
DO YOU FEEL
THAT THE STUDENTS
SHOULD READ THROUGH
THE SCRIPT FIRST
AND THEN LOOK AT THE SENTENCES
AND THE DIALOGUE,
OR DO YOU PRESENT
THE TRANSLATION FIRST,
BEFORE THEY'RE EXPECTED
TO UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PLAY?
PATRICK: OK.
THE QUESTION IS,
WHEN I HAND OUT
A SCRIPT TO A CAST--
AND WE'RE FOCUSING
ON A PLAY--
DO WE LOOK
AT A SENTENCE LEVEL,
TRANSLATING SENTENCE
BY SENTENCE,
OR DO WE REQUIRE THEM
TO READ THROUGH
THE WHOLE SCRIPT FIRST,
DEVELOP A BASIC UNDERSTANDING,
AND THEN GO BACK
AND PERFORM THE TRANSLATION,
PERHAPS AT A SENTENCE LEVEL?
WE CAN SAY IT THIS WAY--
I THINK I'VE DONE IT INCORRECTLY
OR INEFFICIENTLY IN THE PAST.
I USED TO GO THROUGH
SENTENCE BY SENTENCE,
TRANSLATING EACH SENTENCE.
THEN, AT THE END
OF A PASSAGE,
I'D REALIZE, "OH, WAIT A MINUTE.
THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS."
I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK
AND START OVER.
SO WHAT I DO NOW IS TAKE
AN ENTIRE PASSAGE FIRST,
UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS
OF THAT PASSAGE,
ANALYZE THE DISCOURSE
AT THAT LEVEL,
AT A PASSAGE LEVEL,
THEN GO BACK AND START
TRANSLATING AT A SENTENCE LEVEL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE]
[INDISTINCT]
HOLD ON ONE MOMENT.
ONE MOMENT.
I HAVE TWO ARTICLES
THAT INCORPORATE
BACKGROUND INFORMATION.
ONE IS BY M.J. BIENVENU.
THE OTHER ARTICLE
IS WRITTEN BY AN INSTRUCTOR
AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY,
DR. TOM THOR, WHO TALKS
ABOUT GOOD TRANSLATIONS
OR POOR TRANSLATIONS AND WHAT
ARE SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS.
I HAVE 60 COPIES
HERE WITH ME.
I HOPE THAT WILL BE ENOUGH.
IF IT'S INSUFFICIENT,
YOU COULD PUT YOUR NAME DOWN
ON THE SAME LIST
AS WE USED FOR THE NOTES,
AND I'LL GET YOU A COPY.
[WOMAN SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY]
PLEASE REMEMBER TO TURN OFF
YOUR LOOP MONITORS
AND PUT THEM BACK
ON THE CART IN THERE.
SECONDLY, JUST A REMINDER,
IF YOU WANT NOTES,
PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THEM.
YOU WILL GET THEM
EVENTUALLY.
AND THIRDLY,
THE DISCUSSION SECTION
IS IN THE VISITORS
CENTER THERE.
IT'S TEA AND COOKIES
AND COFFEE.
SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH
FOR A WONDERFUL LECTURE.
[APPLAUSE]
Transcript
false
Notes:
"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."
notes
"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."
Notes
false
Other Title:
Heart of the hydrogen jukebox
other_title
Heart of the hydrogen jukebox
Other Title
false