COLLECTION NAME:
Deaf Studies, Culture, and History Archives
Record
Filename:
ds_0101_hlibok_cap_01.mp4
Identifier:
ds_0101_hlibok_cap_01.mp4
Title:
Analysis
Creator:
Hlibok, Bruce
Subject:
Deaf Education New York (State) New York
Subject:
Storytelling
Subject:
Deaf, Theater for the
Subject:
Deaf, Writings of the, American
Subject:
American Sign Language literature
Summary:
After answering questions related to his previous night's performance of The Deaf Mute Howls, Hlibok shares his experiences working with oral Deaf teenagers in NYC. Hlibok worked in a mainstream program encouraging the students to tell their stories. These writings were later developed into a play Deaf Watch: Silence! For most of this session, Hlibok shares the writing and stories created by the students he worked with. Simon Carmel describes ASL and number stories in Deaf Folktales, starting at 49:37.
Publisher:
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Digital Publisher:
Rochester Institute of Technology - RIT Libraries - RIT Archive Collections
Contributor:
ASL Literature Conference (1991 National Technical Institute for the Deaf)
Date of Original:
1991
Date of Digitization:
2018
Broad Type:
moving image
Digital File Format:
mp4
Physical Format:
VHS
Dimensions of Original:
93 minutes
Language:
American Sign Language
Language:
English
Original Item Location:
RITDSA.0101
Library Collection:
Sculptures in the Air: An Accessible Online Video Repository of the American Sign Language (ASL) Poetry and Literature Collections
Library Collection:
Karen Christie ASL Literature Collection
Digital Project:
2018-2019 CLIR Grant-ASL Poetry and Literature
Place:
New York - Rochester
RIT Spaces and Places:
Henrietta Campus
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.
Transcript:
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT
GATHERING,
AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE,
THE FIRST AMERICAN
SIGN LANGUAGE
LITERATURE CONFERENCE.
AND SO MANY OF US DON'T KNOW
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASL LIT
AND DEAF LIT.
OBVIOUSLY, ASL LIT INVOLVES
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE,
BUT DEAF LIT DOES NOT.
THAT'S DEPENDENT
ON READING ENGLISH.
SO I HAD A PLAN, AN AGENDA FOR
THIS EVENING, BUT I'M NOT SURE
IF I WANT TO DO THIS.
I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS
WERE OF THE PERFORMANCE
LAST NIGHT.
I LOVE TO GET REJECTION FROM
PEOPLE BECAUSE IF I HEAR
THAT REJECTION, I KNOW
I'M ONTO SOMETHING.
SO I MAKE AN IMPACT
ON OTHER PEOPLE.
I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WANT TO TALK
ABOUT LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE,
BUT I HAVE ANOTHER PROJECT
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
SO I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT UP
TO THE MAJORITY FOR A VOTE.
YOU ALL IN THE AUDIENCE
ARE THE MAJORITY.
I'M GOING TO LEAVE
THIS UP TO YOU.
WE CAN EITHER DISCUSS LAST
NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE BRIEFLY
AND THEN I CAN GET ON TO
TALK ABOUT MY NEW PROJECT.
DO PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT
BOTH OR JUST ONE OR THE OTHER?
BOTH. OK, I'M SEEING
PEOPLE WANT BOTH.
FOR LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE,
I'M GOING TO OPEN UP TO
QUESTIONS FIRST.
MAYBE 2 OR 3 QUESTIONS, AND THEN
WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THAT,
I WILL FOCUS ON
THE NEW PROJECT.
IS THAT ACCEPTABLE?
EVERYBODY'S SITTING THERE.
YOU'RE JUST LIKE MY
SIGN LANGUAGE STUDENTS,
ABSOLUTELY SITTING
THERE WITH NO MOVEMENT.
YES, NOD YOUR HEAD "YES"
IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT.
OH, SOMEBODY WANTS
4 OR 5 QUESTIONS.
OK.
6 OR 7 QUESTIONS? NO.
I THINK I'M GOING TO LIMIT
IT TO 3--3 QUESTIONS.
SO WHAT WERE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT
LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE?
YOU WANT A 4th QUESTION?
WELL, MAYBE THE 4th QUESTION,
I CAN LEAD INTO MY NEW PROJECT.
THAT'S WHAT THE 4th
QUESTION WILL BE.
SO WHAT DID YOU THINK?
- WHY DID YOU DO THIS PLAY?
- WELL, I RECOGNIZED
THAT DEAF PEOPLE TYPICALLY
SOCIALIZE WITH EACH OTHER.
I'M FROM NEW YORK, AND THERE ARE
DIFFERENT GROUPS OF DEAF PEOPLE
WITHIN THE CITY,
BUT I'M FINDING THAT ALL OF US
DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
DEAF CULTURE HISTORICALLY.
WE HAVE NO HEROES.
NONE.
PEOPLE GO, "OH, YEAH, THERE'S
THAT PERSON OR THAT PERSON."
OH, VEDITZ?
YES, HE DID THAT SIGN LANGUAGE
FILM, WHICH WAS BEAUTIFUL
BUT IT WAS SHORT,
BUT WHO WAS VEDITZ?
WHAT WAS HIS FAMILY LIKE?
WHAT WAS HIS UPBRINGING LIKE?
I WANT TO KNOW MORE.
SO, I'LL DEFINITELY BE DOING
SOME MORE INVESTIGATION INTO
HIS LIFE LATER.
I FOUND THIS FASCINATING BOOK
WRITTEN BY ALBERT BALLIN.
WHEN I WAS READING IT, I
FELT THIS SIMILAR EXPERIENCE.
I WENT AHEAD WITH THE BOOK. IT'S
CALLED "THE DEAF MUTE HOWLS."
BALLIN WROTE IN THIS BOOK
THAT DEAF PEOPLE WERE FURIOUS.
AND THEY STILL ARE.
DEAF PEOPLE TYPICALLY ARE
STILL FURIOUS, AND I CAN'T
ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
THOSE WHO ARE FURIOUS HAVE
TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
ONLY THEY KNOW WHY
THEY ARE SO ANGRY.
IS IT COMING FROM SHAME?
IS IT COMING FROM
PAST MISTAKES?
PEOPLE LEFT LAST NIGHT,
IN THE PERFORMANCE. THEY LEFT.
I UNDERSTOOD WHY THE HEARING
PEOPLE LEFT BECAUSE WE HAD NO
VOICE INTERPRETER,
BUT DEAF PEOPLE LEFT AS WELL.
AND I THINK SOMETHING
INSIDE OF THEM,
PERHAPS SHAME OR GUILT,
MADE THEM LEFT.
AND WHAT'S INTERESTING IS,
NO DEAF PERSON WHO LEFT
CAME UP TO TELL ME
WHY THEY LEFT.
SO THAT SILENCE
SPEAKS VOLUMES.
THERE'S A QUESTION
FROM THE AUDIENCE.
- I FOUND IT VERY
INTERESTING IN YOUR DISCUSSION
OR PERFORMANCE
ABOUT A.G. BELL.
THERE ARE BOTH GOOD AND BAD
ASPECTS RELATED TO THE MAN,
BUT IT'S CONFUSING.
WHAT'S THE GENERAL CONSENSUS
RELATED TO A.G. BELL
AMONG DEAF PEOPLE?
OH, HEARING PEOPLE I KNOW,
BUT WHAT ABOUT DEAF PEOPLE?
WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE
READING ABOUT THE GOOD AND BAD
REVIEWS OF A.G. BELL WHILE
YOU WERE DOING THIS PLAY,
AS A PERSON?
- WELL, AS A MAN, I KNOW
THERE ARE DEAF PEOPLE THAT
WERE WILLING TO ACCEPT HIM.
WELL, IT'S LIKE...
WHO CAN SAY?
SOME PEOPLE CAN SAY
A PERSON IS TOO GOOD,
THEREFORE WE HAVE
TO DESTROY THEM?
AND WITH A BAD MAN,
WE ENCOURAGE HIM?
YOU KNOW, A.G. BELL ENCOURAGED
LAWS TO BE PASSED WHERE DEAF
PEOPLE COULDN'T MARRY
OTHER DEAF PEOPLE.
THAT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE
MOST DEAF CHILDREN ARE BORN
FROM HEARING PARENTS.
BUT HIS THOUGHT PROCESS WAS
A LITTLE BIT OFF, A LITTLE
BIT SKEWED.
SO IN THAT AREA, I LOOK
AT HIM AS A "BAD" MAN.
I DON'T SAY HE'S EVIL,
BUT HIS...
I DON'T KNOW. HE HAD AN ODD
THOUGHT PATTERN ABOUT HIM.
- I HAVE BOTH A
COMMENT AND A QUESTION.
I'M REALLY FASCINATED
OF THE SIGNING I SAW.
I KNOW, 30, 40 YEARS
AGO, WE USED TO SIGN
"DEAF AND DUMB"
OR "DEAF-MUTE."
WE STARTED FROM THE EAR,
AND WENT DOWN TO THE MOUTH,
AND THAT BECAME THE
SIGN FOR "DEAF."
AND THE SIGN FOR "HEARING"
USED TO BE FROM THE EAR,
AND NOW IT'S FROM THE MOUTH,
INDICATING SPEAKING.
SO IT'S CHANGED OVER TIME.
SO WE SEE "DEAF" GOING
FROM THE EAR TO THE MOUTH.
BUT YOU WENT FROM THE EAR
AND THEN A HAND SHAPE
OVER THE MOUTH.
WAS THERE A REASON THAT YOU
USED THAT PARTICULAR SIGN?
- FOR CLARITY,
FOR "DEAF AND DUMB." I REALLY
WANTED TO PUT EMPHASIS
ON THE "DUMB,"
THE WORD "DUMB."
IF YOU PUT IT ON YOUR
FOREHEAD, IT MEANS "STUPID."
BUT IF YOU PUT IT ON
YOUR MOUTH, IT MEANS YOU
CAN'T TALK.
SO I WAS PLAYING
WITH THE SIGNS.
SO INSTEAD OF "STUPID,"
IT'S "DUMB ON THE MOUTH."
AND I THINK I'M ALLOWED
TO PLAY WITH THE SIGNS
A LITTLE BIT.
I THINK THAT'S ALLOWED.
- IN YOUR PLAY, THERE'S
THE DEAF MAN WHO CHALLENGES
A.G. BELL.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF
THAT'S BASED ON FACT.
- YES, IT DID HAPPEN.
HE WAS CHALLENGED.
A.G. BELL'S WIFE MABEL WAS
DEAF, BEAUTIFUL, AND NOT
TOO SMART.
SHE WAS YOUR
TYPICAL HOUSEWIFE,
JUST A HOUSEWIFE.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER BEYOND
THAT, I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT SHE
DID ACTUALLY HELP HER HUSBAND
BELL IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE TELEPHONE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THAT.
SHE HELPED DEALING WITH
HOW SOUND IS CONVERTED TO
VIBRATIONS, AND HE WAS ABLE
TO USE THE VIBRATIONS TO TEACH
DEAF PEOPLE TO TALK.
JUST AN INTERESTING FACT.
I THINK WE HAVE
ANOTHER QUESTION.
- I WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL
THE VARIOUS SIGNS FOR "DEAF"
AND "DEAF-MUTE" AND HOW
YOU USED IT FOR EMPHASIS,
BUT THAT CHARACTER WAS NOT
ASHAMED OF BEING DEAF.
- OH, NO. THAT CHARACTER
WAS NOT ASHAMED AT ALL.
- BUT I DO NOTICE TODAY THAT
DEAF PEOPLE RESENT THE SIGN
OR WORDS "DEAF-MUTE,"
"DEAF-MUTE."
I DON'T MIND IT BECAUSE
MANY OF US CAN'T SPEAK.
IT'S REALLY NOTHING.
THAT'S ALL
I WANTED TO SAY.
- WELL, PEOPLE WHO ARE
INSIDE A GROUP HAVE A RIGHT TO
SELF-IDENTIFY THEMSELVES.
THEY CAN USE A WORD--
LIKE, IF A HEARING PERSON
WERE TO CALL ME "DEAF-MUTE,"
I WOULD SAY, "NO.
I CAN CALL MYSELF THAT,
BUT YOU CANNOT."
IT'S LIKE A WHITE PERSON CALLING
A BLACK PERSON A NIGGER.
BLACK PEOPLE CAN
CALL THEMSELVES THAT.
THEY CAN.
WITHIN THE GROUP,
YOU'RE ALLOWED.
YOU CAN PLAY WITH THE WORDS.
YOU CAN INSULT EACH OTHER.
AND IT WOULD BE THE SAME THING
IF A STRAIGHT PERSON WERE TO
CALL ANOTHER PERSON A FAG.
A PERSON WITHIN THE LGBT
COMMUNITY CAN USE THAT WORD,
BUT SOMEBODY OUTSIDE CANNOT.
SO IT'S ONLY WITHIN A GROUP
CAN YOU USE THOSE WORDS TO
PLAY OR TO OPPRESS EACH OTHER,
DEPENDING ON HOW YOU'RE USING
THE WORD OR USING
THE LANGUAGE,
BUT IT'S ONLY
WITHIN THE GROUP.
ANYBODY WITHIN A GROUP HAS
TO DECIDE WHAT THEIR LANGUAGE
IS GONNA BE, NOT SOMEBODY
FROM THE OUTSIDE.
IT HAS TO BE DONE INTERNALLY.
- LAST NIGHT'S PLAY--
I GUESS I WANTED MORE
CONVERSATION ABOUT--
WAIT. I MISSED
YOUR SPELLING.
OH, THE AUTHOR, BALLIN.
WHY DID THE DEAF CHARACTER TRY
TO CONVINCE A.G. BELL TO SIGN?
BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY WHY
HE REFUSED TO SIGN.
I GUESS I WANTED MORE
ELABORATION ON WHY BELL
DIDN'T SIGN.
- ACTUALLY, THE ORIGINAL
PLAY IS 3 1/2 HOURS LONG.
LAST NIGHT, I CUT IT DOWN TO 2
HOURS, AND SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT
IT WAS TOO LONG?
I HAD ONE PERSON COME UP
TO ME AND SAY,
"WOW, THAT SHOW WAS
ONLY AN HOUR LONG!"
AND I TOLD THEM, "NO.
IT WAS ACTUALLY 2 HOURS."
AND THEY WERE ASTONISHED
THAT THEY WATCHED IT THAT
ENTIRE TIME.
I APPLAUD THEM.
I ALSO APPLAUD THE PEOPLE
WHO SAT THROUGH THE
3 1/2-HOUR VERSION.
ONCE THEY WERE FINISHED,
I ASKED THEM IF THEY WERE OK,
AND THEY WERE DUMBFOUNDED.
SO THE 3 1/2-HOUR PLAY--
I HAD MORE DETAILS IN THAT,
BUT FOR THE SAKE OF TIME,
I HAD TO EDIT.
I HAD TO EDIT IT DOWN
AND CUT OUT SOME PIECES,
SO I APOLOGIZE ABOUT THAT.
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE
ABOUT IT, YOU CAN READ
BALLIN'S BOOK.
IT'S OUT-OF-PRINT, I THINK,
BUT GALLAUDET LIBRARY HAS IT
AND NTID LIBRARY HAS IT.
I KNOW THAT BECAUSE I WAS
UP ON THE THIRD FLOOR, AND I
WALKED BY AND I SAW THIS BOOK
ABOUT FAMOUS DEAF PEOPLE,
AND I PULLED IT OUT.
IT WAS BALLIN'S BOOK WITH
HIS PICTURE AND A SYNOPSIS.
AND I USED THAT SYNOPSIS IN
MY PROGRAM LAST NIGHT,
IF YOU READ IT.
IT'S THE SAME SYNOPSIS.
I THOUGHT THAT
WAS PRETTY NICE.
ANOTHER QUESTION.
I HOPE THAT HELPS.
- THAT 3 1/2-HOUR VERSION,
WILL YOU PRODUCE THAT AGAIN?
- I HAVE A VERSION
ON VIDEOTAPE
WITH VOICE INTERPRETATION.
I HAVE IT ON VIDEOTAPE...
BUT I'M NOT GOING TO
SHOW IT, NOT YET.
I'M SAVING THIS.
ONCE I HAVE A COLLECTION,
THEN I'LL ADD IT TO THAT.
THAT'S ONE THING ABOUT
DEAF LIT, ASL LIT.
WE THINK, "OH, ONE
STORY IS ENOUGH."
BUT I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO MAKE
COLLECTIONS, A BODY OF WORK
TO PRESENT, A
COMPLETE SET OF WORK.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO
JUST DO ONE AND DONE.
I WANT TO COMPLETE A
COLLECTION, EXPAND ON IT,
SO I'M HOLDING THE VIDEOTAPE
UNTIL I HAVE A COLLECTION.
AND THEN ONCE I HAVE THAT,
THE VIDEOTAPE WILL
BE PART OF THAT.
I DON'T HAVE THE 3 1/2-HOUR
VERSION ON VIDEOTAPE.
IT'S A 2-HOUR VERSION.
AGAIN, IF YOU WANT TO READ
MORE ABOUT THIS, YOU HAVE TO
READ THE BOOK.
ONE MORE QUESTION.
- IS THAT PLAY IN THE BOOK
OF THE DEAF CHARACTERS
IN LITERATURE?
IS THAT STILL IN PRINT, OR
IS THIS A DIFFERENT STORY?
- NO. THE BOOK IS CALLED
"ANGELS AND OUTCASTS."
IT'S A COLLECTION OF
STORIES OF DEAF LITERATURE,
AND THERE'S AN EXCERPT IN THERE
CALLED "THE DEAF MUTE HOWLS,"
BUT IT'S VERY SHORT.
THE FULL VERSION
ISN'T PUBLISHED THERE,
BUT THAT'S A GOOD START.
THAT ONE STORY, AND THEN
THERE ARE MANY OTHER WORKS
IN THAT BOOK,
SO THANKS FOR
BRINGING THAT UP.
THAT COLLECTION,
"ANGELS AND OUTCASTS"--
IT'S A GOOD BOOK.
ALL RIGHT, ONE LAST QUESTION.
- OK, WAS "THE
DEAF MUTE HOWLS"
WRITTEN AS A PLAY FIRST?
- OK, WANT TO MAKE SURE
EVERYONE SAW THAT QUESTION.
WAS "THE DEAF MUTE HOWLS"
WRITTEN ORIGINALLY AS A PLAY?
NO.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY
A BOOK, NOT A NOVEL.
IT'S A WORK OF NON-FICTION.
IT INCLUDED HISTORY,
HISTORICAL FACTS.
SO I TOOK INFORMATION FROM THAT
AND THEN WROTE THE PLAY.
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND,
BALLIN WROTE IN VERY
ELABORATE ENGLISH.
I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW, HE
WAS A VERY SKILLED WRITER.
MANY DEAF FOLKS BACK THEN
WERE SKILLED IN ENGLISH.
OK, I'M GONNA SET THAT ASIDE,
USING THIS COMMENT ON ENGLISH.
GREAT. THAT'S A PERFECT
LEAD-IN TO WHAT I WANT
TO TALK ABOUT NEXT.
SO WE'RE DONE WITH THE PLAY.
IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS,
I'LL ANSWER LATER.
SINCE I'VE BEEN WORKING AS
A PLAYWRIGHT, I HAVEN'T BEEN
FOCUSING ON THE TECHNIQUE
AND THE DETAILS AND ANALYSIS.
MY CONCERN HAS BEEN ABOUT
ONCE FOLKS DO ALL
THE ANALYSIS, THEN THEY SAY
THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO DO.
BUT WE NEED TO DEVELOP
MORE WORKS, MORE WRITING.
SO MY TOPIC IS "NOT HOW,
BUT WHAT?"
WHAT IS ASL LIT?
IT'S IMPORTANT TO DO ALL THE
ANALYSIS, ALL THE RESEARCH.
IT'S IMPORTANT,
BUT MY FOCUS IS
ON THE STORIES THEMSELVES.
WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM?
WHO IS TELLING THESE STORIES?
SO I'VE BEEN WORKING ON
A THEATER PROJECT
WITH A GROUP.
A GROUP OF INNER-CITY
KIDS, DEAF KIDS
WHO ARE DEAF-ORAL KIDS.
THESE KIDS TELL ME, "LOOK,
I CAN WRITE GOOD ENGLISH,
"BUT I'M STILL DEAF.
"WHY DO DEAF PEOPLE REJECT ME?
I'M STILL DEAF."
ARE THEY NOT PART OF ASL LIT,
TOO, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE ORAL,
EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE
WRITING IN ENGLISH?
SO I WANT YOU TO THINK
REALLY CRITICALLY ABOUT THIS.
ONE THING THAT I WAS
QUITE DISAPPOINTED WITH
IS I WISH I HAD A VIDEOTAPE
OF THEM TO SHOW YOU.
I HAVE ONE, BUT I THOUGHT
TONIGHT WE WOULD ONLY HAVE
A TV SCREEN, AND I DIDN'T WANT
TO SHOW IT ON A SMALL SCREEN.
BUT I FIND OUT THAT WE DO HAVE
A LARGE SCREEN, SO I APOLOGIZE
FOR NOT BRINGING
THIS VIDEOTAPE.
I DID FILM THE STUDENTS
SIGNING THEIR STORIES,
AND I ENDED UP WITH A PROJECT
OF A 20-MINUTE VIDEOTAPE.
MICHELLE BANKS WAS INVOLVED
IN THAT PROJECT AS WELL.
WHAT I ENVISION WAS THESE
STORIES ARE PART OF ASL LIT,
JUST LIKE BEN BAHAN'S "BIRD
OF A DIFFERENT FEATHER" STORY,
BUT ALSO STORIES ABOUT
DEAF LIVES, NOT METAPHORS,
NOT ALLEGORIES.
THOSE ARE BEAUTIFUL,
BUT TRUE STORIES.
WE TEND TO IGNORE THOSE.
STORIES LIKE MYTHS AND
FABLES HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN,
AND THAT'S FINE.
BUT WHERE ARE THE TRUE
STORIES HAPPENING TODAY?
SO I STARTED
COLLECTING THESE STORIES.
THESE STORIES ARE FROM ORAL-
DEAF PEOPLE WHO HAVE WRITTEN
THEIR STORIES WITH THE HOPE
THAT LATER THEY'LL BE SIGNED
AND BECOME PART OF ASL LIT.
BECAUSE TRULY, THEIR STORIES,
THEIR LIVES ARE VERY MUCH
THE SAME AS THE STORIES OF
DEAF PEOPLE WHO SIGN.
I WANT TO SHARE MANY
INTERESTING POINTS--
ONE OF THEM BEING IS THAT ALL
THE WRITING WAS DONE WHEN ALL
THE HEARING PEOPLE
WERE OUT OF THE ROOM.
THE STUDENTS' WRITING
WAS DIFFERENT.
IF A HEARING PERSON WAS IN
THE ROOM WITH US, THE STUDENTS
FELT THAT THEY
COULDN'T TELL THE TRUTH.
AND IF THEY TOLD THE TRUTH,
THEY WOULD BE PUNISHED.
ISN'T THAT AWFUL?
THEY HAD THAT FEAR OF A
HEARING TEACHER LOOKING OVER
THEIR WRITING AND JUDGING IT
AND NOT LIKING IT.
SO I WENT AHEAD AND ACTED
OUT FOR THE STUDENTS.
AFTER I DID THE ACTING,
A SOCIAL WORKER GOT UP
AND SAID, "WELL, YOU
JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.
"THESE ARE DEAF TEENAGERS.
IT'S QUITE APPROPRIATE
FOR THEM TO BE ANGRY."
AND I SAID, "I'M 29 YEARS OLD.
I'M NOT A TEENAGER ANYMORE.
"I'M 29 YEARS OLD,
AND I'M STILL ANGRY.
IS THERE SOMETHING
WRONG WITH ME?"
BUT SHE JUST DID NOT
UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE DEAF.
THEY JUST WANTED TO ARGUE
ABOUT WHY DEAF TEENAGERS
ARE ANGRY.
SO THEY CAN
EXPRESS THIS ANGER.
I'LL SHOW YOU ONE SHORT STORY.
THIS IS WRITTEN BY A GIRL.
I'M GONNA LET YOU KNOW,
THE INTERPRETERS HAVE
A SCRIPT, HAVE THE EXACT
SAME SCRIPT THAT I HAVE.
A LOT OF THE WRITING IS
IN ENGLISH, WRITTEN BY
THE DEAF-ORAL STUDENTS,
AND I'M GOING TO SIGN IT.
SO I'VE MADE SOME
MODIFICATIONS FOR SIGN.
WE CAN ADD ASL LATER.
THAT'S FINE.
ANYBODY CAN DO THAT.
I'M HAPPY TO GIVE THESE
SCRIPTS TO YOU TO TRANSLATE.
BUT THIS GIRL WAS SENT HOME.
SCHOOL WAS FINISHED,
AND SHE WENT HOME.
AND SHE NOTICED HER
MOM WAS CRYING.
AND SHE ASKED HER MOM,
AND HER MOM LOOKED AT HER.
AND MOM SAID, "I'M
A SINNER. I'M A SINNER.
GOD IS PUNISHING ME
BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAF."
AND THE GIRL LOOKED AT HER MOM
AND WENT STRAIGHT UP TO HER
BEDROOM AND CLOSED THE DOOR.
A COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER,
THE DOOR OPENS, AND MOM COMES
INTO THE BEDROOM AND
SAYS, "I'M SORRY.
I DIDN'T MEAN THAT."
AND THE GIRL LOOKS TO HER MOM
AND SAYS, "I'M A SINNER, TOO.
"I'M A SINNER.
GOD IS PUNISHING ME BECAUSE
GOD GAVE ME HEARING PARENTS."
HEARING PEOPLE LOVE TO
FEEL SORRY FOR DEAF PEOPLE.
AND DEAF PEOPLE FEEL SORRY
THAT THEY HAVE HEARING PEOPLE.
HERE'S ANOTHER EXCERPT I HAVE.
THE GIRL WAS 16 YEARS OLD.
ALL OF THE TEENAGERS I WORKED
WITH WERE BETWEEN 16 AND 17
YEARS OLD.
WONDERFUL STUDENTS,
WONDERFUL PEOPLE.
AS I WAS WORKING WITH THEM,
THEY WOULD SAY TO ME,
"YOU'RE NOT DEAF.
YOU CAN'T BE DEAF.
YOU'RE A TEACHER."
AND I SAID, "YEAH, I'M DEAF,
AND I CAN BE A TEACHER."
SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO
GATHER THESE KIDS' STORIES.
WE'VE COLLECTED THE PAST,
BUT WE HAVE TO
COLLECT THE PRESENT.
FOR TALKING ABOUT DEAF
CHILDREN, THESE TEENAGERS--
THEY'RE OUR HISTORY,
THE HISTORY OF OPPRESSION IN
A MAINSTREAM SCHOOL.
WE HAVE TO COLLECT THOSE
STORIES FOR FUTURE,
TO BE ABLE TO ANALYZE
THEM AND TO SIGN THEM.
WE ALREADY KNOW THAT HEARING
TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM
CHANGES THE DYNAMIC...
AND IT MAKES THE ASL
LITERATURE BASED IN FEAR.
STORIES TOLD OUT OF FEAR DON'T
REALLY SEEM TO BE EFFECTIVE.
THE STORIES I COLLECTED
WERE MORE HONEST.
AND THEY'RE ALL HERE.
THEY'RE TRUE.
THIS IS WRITTEN BY
A GIRL WHO COMES FROM
A FRENCH-CREOLE FAMILY,
AND SHE WRITES,
"ENGLISH IS IMPORTANT.
IF I DON'T WRITE IN ENGLISH,
THEN I'M STUPID."
WELL, I GUESS IN ONE WAY,
SHE IS RIGHT.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW ENGLISH...
BUT IT CAUSES THIS
CONTRADICTION IN DEAF PEOPLE.
SO SHE GOES ON TO SAY,
"MY FAMILY LOVES ME
"BECAUSE I'M DEAF.
"THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO SIGN...
"AND I DON'T KNOW
HOW TO ENGLISH.
"THEY SPEAK ONLY FRENCH-CREOLE.
THEY'RE NICE TO ME BECAUSE
WE'RE IN THE SAME BOAT."
"BOTH OF US DON'T KNOW ENGLISH,
"BUT MY FATHER DRINKS A LOT
AND BAWLS ME OUT...IN CREOLE.
"WHEN I'M ANGRY, I YELL
BACK AT HIM AND I SIGN.
"NO ONE GETS HURT BECAUSE NO
ONE UNDERSTANDS EACH OTHER.
"BUT WE'RE SAD SOMETIMES.
I GUESS THAT'S OK."
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
PAGE 2 FOR THE INTERPRETERS.
SOME OF THE STUDENTS IN
THE GROUP WERE BLACK,
AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
THEIR STYLE OF SIGNING
WAS REALLY INTERESTING.
SOME OF YOU ATTENDED
THE WORKSHOP LAST NIGHT--
NO, I'M SORRY.
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON
FROM MICHELLE BANKS.
AND I CERTAINLY CAN'T REPLICATE
THEIR STYLE OF SIGNING.
THAT'S WHY WISH I HAD THE
VIDEOTAPE TO SHOW YOU,
BUT ANYWAY, THIS STUDENT
WRITES--NEVERTHELESS, THE MAN
WHO WROTE THIS WAS VERY WISE,
BUT HE EARNED "F"s IN SCHOOL.
AND HERE IT IS.
"I TALK. I SIGN.
"IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME,
WELL, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU.
"WHY?
"YOUR STORY AND MY STORY.
"THERE'S A MAN AND A WOMAN
WHO HAD A CUTE BABY.
THE MOTHER AND FATHER
TALKED TO THE BABY...
"TALKED AT THE BABY.
THEY DIDN'T REALLY
SEE THE BABY."
"THE MOTHER AND FATHER DECIDED
TO SHAKE THE BABY AND SHAKE
"THE BABY TO GET A RESPONSE,
BUT THEY DIDN'T SEE THE BABY.
"THEY SPANK THE BABY, AND STILL
THEY DIDN'T SEE THE BABY.
"THE MOTHER AND FATHER
BROUGHT IN A DOCTOR TO LOOK
AT THE BABY."
"THE DOCTOR ROUGHLY HANDLED THE
BABY AND YELLED AT THE BABY,
BUT HE DIDN'T SEE
THE BABY EITHER."
"THE DOCTOR PROCLAIMED
THAT THE BABY WAS BROKEN.
THE BABY WAS DEAF AND
DUMB AND SHOULD BE DEAD."
"THE BABY--THE BABY CRIED.
"NO.
"NO, HE DIDN'T CRY.
"THE MOTHER AND FATHER
COULD BE HEARD CRYING.
"THEY GREW FRUSTRATED
AND CALLED THE BABY BAD.
"AND PICKED HIM UP IN
FRUSTRATION AND SHOOK HIM AGAIN
AND COMMANDED HIM TO TALK."
THAT WAS WRITTEN BY
A 15-YEAR-OLD KID.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
- AGAIN, THE
QUESTION WAS REPEATED.
HOW OLD WAS THAT STUDENT?
15.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
"MY MOTHER TOLD ME SHE FELT
PUNISHED FROM GOD BECAUSE I
"WAS BORN DEAF.
"SHE TOLD ME THAT HEARING
PEOPLE WERE BETTER THAN
"DEAF PEOPLE.
WHY? SHE NEVER EXPLAINED."
THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE.
ANOTHER ONE
WROTE, "NO, NO.
"HEARING PEOPLE ARE BETTER THAN
DEAF PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY CAN
"LEARN TO SPEAK
ENGLISH AND SOCIALIZE
"USING THAT ENGLISH.
"HEARING PEOPLE ARE LUCKY
THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO
LEARN TO SIGN."
WOW.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
"I FALL ON MY KNEES PRAYING
TO GOD THAT MY MOTHER WOULD
"LEARN TO SIGN,
BUT SHE WON'T
BECAUSE SHE'S TOO LAZY."
AFTER I WROTE THE PLAY BASED
ON THE WRITING THAT THESE
TEENAGERS DID, TWO OTHER
DEAF PEOPLE WANTED TO
PERFORM THE PLAY.
AND THERE WERE TWO DEAF
MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS THAT BANNED
THIS PLAY.
IT WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST
DEAF PLAY TO BE BANNED
BY A SCHOOL.
ONE OF THE SCHOOLS WAS
THE WHITNEY YOUNG SCHOOL
IN CHICAGO BANNED IT.
AND THE OTHER ONE--OH,
I FORGET THE NAME OF IT.
IT WAS A WHILE AGO.
BUT THEY JUST--
THEY "WEREN'T INTERESTED."
BUT IT WAS SO SURPRISING THAT
THESE SCHOOLS BANNED IT.
THE KIDS WERE SHOCKED BY THAT,
THAT THE PRINCIPAL BANNED
THIS PLAY FROM BEING SEEN.
- WHAT'S THE TITLE
OF THIS PLAY?
- THE TITLE IS
"DEAF WATCH SILENCE."
"DEAF WATCH SILENCE."
THEN I ASKED THE STUDENTS
TO WRITE SENTENCES
WITH REPETITIONS
OF TWO PHRASES.
AND ONE OF THE LINES CAUSED
SUCH CHAOS, MAKING A TEACHER
SO MAD, SHE WALKED OUT.
SHE GLARED AT ME.
BUT I SAID, "THIS IS THE
STUDENT'S WORK, NOT MINE."
HERE'S ONE.
"MY MOTHER IS HEARING.
MY MOTHER IS HEARING.
"SHE LOVES ME A LOT.
SHE LOVES ME A LOT.
"I THANK HER.
I THANK HER.
"SHE SEND ME GO.
SHE SEND ME GO.
"GOOD SCHOOL.
GOOD SCHOOL.
"SHE FELT. SHE FELT.
"BUT BUT BUT BUT
"I DO NOTHING.
I DO NOTHING.
"DEAF SCHOOL.
DEAF SCHOOL.
"MOVE TO DIFFERENT CLASS.
MOVE TO DIFFERENT CLASS.
"WE DEAF MOVE AS A GROUP
IN THE SCHOOL.
"WE DEAF MOVE AS A GROUP
IN SCHOOL.
"WE CHAT AND SIGN.
WE CHAT AND SIGN.
"BUT THE TEACHER
BUT THE TEACHER
"TEACHER STUPID.
"WHY THEY TALK?
"THEY DON'T SIGN.
"THEY TEACH.
"THEY DON'T SIGN.
"BUT HOW DO THEY KNOW
EVERYTHING EXCEPT SIGN?
"WHEN I SIGN, THEY NOD THEIR
HEADS UNCOMPREHENDINGLY.
"WHEN THEY TALK, I NOD MY
HEAD UNCOMPREHENDINGLY.
"WHEN A TEACHER ASKS ME
A QUESTION, I LOOK
"AT THE INTERPRETER.
"I'M CONFUSED.
"WHO ASKED ME?
"THE TEACHER OR
THE INTERPRETER?
"I'M CONFUSED.
I'M CONFUSED.
"WHO'S THE TEACHER?
WHO'S THE TEACHER?
"IS IT THE PERSON WHO
KNOWS HOW TO SIGN?
"IS IT THE PERSON WHO
DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SIGN?
"PEOPLE CALL ME STUPID
BECAUSE I CAN'T TALK.
"SO WHY CAN'T I CALL TEACHERS
WHO CAN'T SIGN STUPID?
"WHY CAN'T WE CALL PEOPLE
WHO CAN'T SIGN STUPID?
WHY CAN'T WE CALL PEOPLE
WHO CAN'T SIGN STUPID?"
THIS NEXT ONE IS A
LITTLE MORE POSITIVE.
"GOOD, GOOD, GOOD.
"COMMUNICATION,
COMMUNICATION.
"WHY? FUN, FUN, FUN.
"HOURS, HOURS, HOURS.
WASTED, WASTED.
"CLASS WASTED, WASTED, WASTED.
CLASS WASTED, WASTED, CLASS.
"FORGET IT.
TIME TO CHAT.
"TIME TO CHAT.
TIME TO CHAT.
"COME ON
"WITH DEAF FRIENDS,
"DEAF FRIENDS,
DEAF FRIENDS,
"HUDDLED TOGETHER IN A HALLWAY.
HUDDLED TOGETHER IN A HALLWAY.
"HUDDLED TOGETHER
IN A HALLWAY.
"AND WE WHAT?
AND WE WHAT?
"SKIP SKIP SKIP,
SKIP CLASS CLASS.
"BECAUSE, BECAUSE, BECAUSE
"HEAR BELL?
HEAR BELL? HEAR BELL?
"NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING
"AND, AND, AND,
"WE LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
TO CHAT, CHAT, CHAT.
HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS
AND HOURS AND HOURS."
REALLY, THAT'S TRUE OF A
LOT OF DEAF STUDENTS
IN MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS.
THEY SKIP CLASSES 'CAUSE THEY'RE
IN THE HALLWAY, CHATTING
AND CAN'T BE BOTHERED
WITH THE BELL.
- A QUESTION FROM THE
AUDIENCE IS DID THEY WRITE
THE REPETITION 3 TIMES?
I MEAN, IS IT
WRITTEN THAT WAY?
- YES. I ASKED THE STUDENTS
BECAUSE WRITING IS SO
DEPENDENT ON SOUND.
AND I DIDN'T WANT SOUND
INVOLVED, SO I WANTED TO
CHANGE IT TO NUMBERS
AS OPPOSED TO SOUND.
SO TO PLAY WITH THE NUMBERS,
THE RHYTHM OF NUMBERS.
AND I GAVE THEM
THAT ASSIGNMENT.
AND IN TRANSLATING THAT INTO
SIGN, WE CAN DO THE SIGN
3 TIMES LIKE THIS, "PLAY, PLAY,
PLAY" OR "CHAT, CHAT, CHAT."
SO IT'S THE RHYTHM OF HOW
MANY TIMES WE DO THE SIGN.
I MET, MET, MET.
YOU CAN JUST SWEEP THE
SIGN BACK-AND-FORTH.
AGAIN, IT'S THE RHYTHM
OF 3 FOR THESE.
I FIND THAT INTERESTING.
- A QUESTION FROM
THE AUDIENCE IS
DO THESE STUDENTS WRITE
IN ENGLISH OR SIGN FIRST?
- I DON'T WANT TO TELL THE
STUDENTS "NO" IF THEY WANT TO
WRITE FIRST.
I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO
LET THEM DO WHAT THEY WANTED.
SO MOST OF THEM WROTE FIRST.
I JUST DIDN'T
WANT ANY PRESSURE.
I DIDN'T WANT TO FORCE
THEM INTO ANYTHING.
ONCE THEY GAVE ME THE ENGLISH,
WE TRIED TO FIGURE IT OUT
AND EXPAND ON IT.
OH, THERE'S A QUESTION
COMING FROM THE AUDIENCE.
- IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THERE
IS JUST A LOT OF EMOTION BEING
EXPRESSED, ESPECIALLY ANGER.
IT'S LIKE AN ANGER ISSUE.
I WONDER HOW DO WE ENCOURAGE
THEM TO EXPRESS THIS ANGER,
TO EXPRESS--I MEAN TYPICALLY,
THEY'RE HOLDING BACK
THESE EMOTIONS.
- BECAUSE I WAS DEAF LIKE
THEY WERE, I JUST HAD
A BOND WITH THEM.
THEY FELT I WAS
DEAF LIKE THEM.
TYPICALLY, THEY'RE WITH A
HEARING TEACHER, AND THERE'S
POLICIES THAT SAY
THEY CAN'T DO THIS,
THEY CAN'T DO THAT.
BUT I WAS IN THERE TO SAY,
"YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU
WANT TO DO."
SO THEY FELT THAT
IMMEDIATE CONNECTION WITH ME.
THEY WEREN'T INTIMIDATED.
WE HAD A BOND.
THE PROBLEM IS, SO MANY PEOPLE
WANT TO ANALYZE THEIR WORK.
IF YOU DO RESEARCH WITH A
HEARING PERSON IN THE ROOM,
I BELIEVE IT JUST CHANGES
THE WHOLE DYNAMIC.
EVEN IF THE HEARING PERSON
CAN SIGN, IT CHANGES IT.
IF YOU HAVE MAINSTREAM KIDS
OR GRASSROOTS DEAF FOLKS,
THEY LOOK AT THIS TESTING.
THEY BEEN TESTED
THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.
BUT DEAF PEOPLE TYPICALLY
DON'T TEST OTHER DEAF PEOPLE.
SO THEY'RE CONSTANTLY BEING
ASKED BY HEARING PEOPLE TO
TAKE THESE TESTS, AND DEAF
PEOPLE ARE SAYING, "I DON'T
WANT TO BE TESTED BY
HEARING PEOPLE ANYMORE."
SO IT'S A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC
WHEN THERE'S A DEAF
PERSON IN THE ROOM.
THERE IS ONE GIRL THAT
I WAS WORKING WITH.
I WAS WITH THEM
FOR 6 MONTHS.
THIS IS A GIRL.
SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO KILL
HERSELF BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T
EVER BE DEAF.
I WAS SHOCKED BY THIS.
NOW THERE'S A STATE LAW
SAYING THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO
TELL IF A STUDENT WANTS TO
HARM THEMSELVES, BUT I DIDN'T
THINK THIS KID WAS CRAZY.
SHE WAS JUST EXPRESSING A
FEELING THAT SHE HAD NEVER
SAID BEFORE ABOUT
HER DEAFNESS.
SHE DIDN'T MEAN
TO KILL HERSELF.
SHE JUST WAS SO FRUSTRATED.
I THINK SHE ACTUALLY TESTED
TO COME TO NTID, BUT SHE WAS
STILL AFRAID TO COME HERE.
SHE PASSED THE ADMISSIONS
TEST, BUT SHE WAS STILL AFRAID
TO COME HERE.
SHE JUST STILL WAS
FEELING THOSE BARRIERS.
THESE ARE OUR DEAF PEOPLE.
THEY'RE BEING INTIMIDATED.
THAT'S THE EXPERIENCE
THEY'RE HAVING.
- DOES THE GROUP STILL
TRAVEL AND PERFORM THAT WORK
IN DIFFERENT PLACES?
- WELL, I'D LIKE TO EXPAND
ON THEIR WORK AND CREATE
A FULL PLAY FROM THIS.
ALL THESE KIDS WERE FROM THE
CITY, AND HONESTLY, THERE WAS
ONE HARD OF HEARING KID
WHO RESISTED AND WANTED TO
BE HEARING, AND THIS
IS WHAT HE WROTE.
HIS LANGUAGE IS NOT EXACTLY
NICE, BUT... I'M GONNA SIGN
THAT, BUT IT'S HIS WRITING.
SO I HOPE YOU ACCEPT THAT.
HE WRITES,
"I LIKE DEAF GIRLS.
"WHEN I SEE THEM ON THE STREET,
I CALL THEM 'BITCH' AND TRY TO
"SUMMON THEM OVER.
"'LOOK AT THAT BITCH
ON THE STREET.'
"DEAF GIRLS ARE EASY LAYS.
"THEY'RE EASY LAYS
BECAUSE THEY DON'T SCREAM.
"DEAF GIRLS DON'T SCREAM.
"THEY CAN'T HEAR AND
THEY CAN'T TALK.
"THEY ARE EASY FUCKS.
"THEY ARE EASY FUCKS.
"BUT ONE THING I CAN'T STAND
IS THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS SIGNING
AND CAN'T SPREAD THEIR
LEGS WHEN THEIR SIGNING."
SO HE WAS QUITE UPSET THAT
HE COULDN'T BE INVOLVED
WITH THE DEAF KIDS.
HE FEELS LIKE HE'S LEFT OUT
WHEN PEOPLE ARE SIGNING...
THE SAME AS A DEAF PERSON
FEELS WHEN A HEARING
PERSON TALKS.
HE'S FEELING THAT WAY WHEN
A DEAF PERSON SIGNS.
YES, THAT'S TRUE. THAT
COULD BE HIS WEAPON.
- THIS SIGN THAT YOU USE.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT
YOU MEAN BY THAT.
WHAT WAS THE WORD YOU USED?
LET'S LOOK AT THE ENGLISH.
I'M A LITTLE BIT
CONFUSED HERE.
SORRY. COULD YOU
REPEAT THE QUESTION?
IT COULD BE THE SAME AS WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT BLACK CULTURE.
THIS COULD BE A
DEAF CULTURE THING?
- IT WAS NOT A BLACK
PERSON THAT WROTE THIS.
- THIS SIGN YOU USED--
WHAT WAS THE WORD FOR THAT?
- LAY.
THE ENGLISH WORD WAS LAY.
DEAF GIRLS ARE LAID EASILY.
SO I USE THAT SIGN.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE
EASY TO FUCK.
AT THAT SCHOOL, THE SEXUAL
TENSION WAS QUITE HIGH.
YOU COULD REALLY SEE IT.
AND IT INFLUENCED HIS WRITING.
DO I HAVE ENOUGH
TIME FOR ONE MORE?
OK. LAST ONE.
I'VE GOT ONE MORE HERE.
OK. ONE STUDENT WROTE THAT
THEY WERE FEELING BAD.
HERE'S WHAT THEY WROTE.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
"YOU DON'T KNOW MY LANGUAGE,
"AND YOU TELL ME
IT'S NOT MINE.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
"I WORK HARD TO
LEARN YOUR LANGUAGE.
"AND STILL, YOU MAKE FUN OF
ME EVERY TIME I TRY TO SPEAK.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"SINCE I WAS BORN, IT'S
ALWAYS BEEN YOUR WORLD,
"ALWAYS YOUR RULES.
"YOU SEE ME AS BEING
WEIRD OR SILLY
"EVERY TIME I TRY TO SPEAK.
"BUT WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH,
YOU LOOK SILLY, TOO.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"YOU SAY YOU WANT THE BEST
FOR ME, THEN YOU PLACE MANY
"BARRIERS IN FRONT OF ME.
"YOU PLACE UPON ME THINGS TO
ME THAT ARE NOT ME.
"YOU DON'T LEARN MY LANGUAGE.
"I LEARNED YOURS
TO MAKE YOU HAPPY.
"AND WHEN I SEE YOU LAUGH,
EVERY TIME I TRY TO SPEAK,
"IT'S NOT BECAUSE I TRY
BUT BECAUSE MY SPEECH
IS WEIRD AND SILLY.
YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF."
ALL RIGHT. ARE THERE
ANY QUESTIONS?
YES.
- SO I DO WANT TO ASK.
ARE THESE KIDS WRITING IN
ENGLISH, OR ARE THEY WRITING
IN SIGN LANGUAGE?
- THEY'RE TRYING THEIR
BEST TO WRITE IN ENGLISH.
THEY'RE ORAL STUDENTS
WHO CAN TALK,
BUT I DIDN'T TELL THEM "NO."
I JUST LET THEM--WHAT I
THOUGHT WAS IMPORTANT,
THEY HAD TO EXPRESS
THEMSELVES IN WHATEVER WAY.
I DON'T WANT TO TEACH THEM ANY
TECHNIQUES OR WHATEVER THAT
WOULD INTIMIDATE THEM.
I JUST WANTED THEIR
IMAGINATIONS TO FLOW.
THAT'S WHAT I FOUND IMPORTANT.
THE STORIES, THE IDEAS,
ARE IMPORTANT.
THE ANALYSIS CAN COME LATER.
I REALLY THOUGHT THAT THE
ANALYSIS PART IS OUR JOB.
I FEEL THAT COLLECTING
THE STORIES, THAT'S
WHAT'S IMPORTANT.
NO MATTER HOW THEY WRITE
THEM, IN ENGLISH OR ASL,
I JUST WANT THEM TO
COLLECT THEIR STORIES.
BECAUSE ONCE WE GET THEIR
STORIES, WE CAN SIGN
THEM BEAUTIFULLY.
IT DOESN'T MATTER.
IT'S THEIR STORIES.
THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT.
- SO, DID YOU HELP
THE STUDENTS WITH THEIR
SIGN LANGUAGE?
- THE VIDEOTAPE I HAVE OF
THE STUDENTS--WHAT YOU SAW
RIGHT NOW IS MY SIGNING.
THAT WAS ME
TRANSLATING THEIR POEMS.
THE VIDEOTAPE IS
QUITE DIFFERENT,
HOW THE STUDENTS SIGN IT.
AGAIN, I THOUGHT WE WERE ONLY
GONNA HAVE A SMALL SCREEN,
SO I DIDN'T BRING IT.
- CAN YOU SHOW
US AN EXAMPLE?
- WELL, I'M NOT
HEARING. I'M DEAF.
SO I DID NOT WANT TO
TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.
THERE'S PEOPLE HERE IN THE
AUDIENCE THAT ARE MUCH MORE
SKILLED THAN I TO BE ABLE
TO TRANSLATE THESE STORIES.
WE HAD GOTTEN TOGETHER
AND DONE A PLAY BEFORE.
I REALLY WISH I HAD BROUGHT
THE VIDEOTAPE FOR YOU TO SEE,
BUT I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
NEXT TIME, I WILL.
AT OUR SECOND ASL LIT
CONFERENCE, I WILL BRING IT ALL.
OH, YOU WANT ME TO
BRING THE PLAY AS WELL?
WITH INTERPRETERS?
I PROMISE, NEXT TIME I WILL
HAVE IT WITH INTERPRETERS.
OH, WAIT. THERE'S SOMEBODY IN
THE BACK THAT HAS A QUESTION.
GO AHEAD.
- GOING BACK, TALKING ABOUT
DEAF LIT AND ASL LIT,
WHAT IS THE GOAL?
WE HAVE A LOT OF DEAF LIT.
BUT DO YOU THINK IT
OVERLAPS WITH ASL LIT?
AND THEN WHEN WE
TALK ASL LIT,
IS IT JUST TAKING THE
WRITTEN STORIES AND PUTTING
IT INTO SIGN?
DO YOU THINK WE CAN
CHANGE IT INTO ASL?
- DEAF LIT IS ONE THING,
ASL IS ANOTHER.
ASL LIT TYPICALLY IS SIGNED
FIRST AND THEN TRANSLATED
INTO ENGLISH, BUT THEN, DOES
THAT BECOME DEAF LIT OR ASL LIT?
I WISH I HAD BROUGHT THE
VIDEOTAPE OF THE STUDENTS.
I REALLY WISH I HAD BROUGHT
IT SO YOU COULD SEE IT.
WELL, WE COULD DISCUSS
DIFFERENT SIGNING
SYSTEMS, I GUESS.
- IF SOMETHING IS SIGNED IN ASL
AS OPPOSED TO A SIGNING SYSTEM,
THAT'S NOT
THE SAME THING.
- WELL, ONE PERSON COULD SAY
THIS IS ASL AND ANOTHER PERSON
COULD SAY THIS IS NOT ASL.
I GUESS FIRST WE HAVE TO
DECIDE WHAT IS ASL...
OR WHAT IS SIGNED ENGLISH.
WE HAVE TO DECIDE ON
A SIGNING SYSTEM?
I'M GONNA LEAVE
THAT UP TO YOU.
THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM.
I WANTED THE STUDENTS--
MY PROBLEM WAS THE STUDENTS.
I WANT THEM--LET'S SAY
IF THEY HAVE A CONCEPT
OR AN IDEA,
IF I IMPOSE A SIGNING
SYSTEM ON IT,
THEY'LL LOSE THAT.
OR VICE VERSA.
IF THEY GET UP THERE AND SIGN
ASL AND I TELL THEM, "NO,
YOU HAVE TO SIGN ENGLISH,"
THEN THEIR IDEA WILL BE LOST.
I WANT TO LEAVE IT UP
TO THE STUDENTS.
IF A PERSON SIGNS ENGLISH
AND YOU TELL THEM THEY
HAVE TO DO ASL,
I'LL LOSE THE STORY.
I'LL LOSE THEIR IDEAS.
I WANT TO GET THE IDEAS FIRST,
AND THEN WE CAN TRANSLATE THEM
INTO WHATEVER
LANGUAGE WE WANT.
- WELL, I SEE THE RAGE
THAT THESE STUDENTS HAVE.
IT'S THE SAME AS
OTHER DEAF PEOPLE.
I MEAN, BASICALLY,
UNDERNEATH IT ALL
THAT RAGES THERE, WHETHER
THEY SIGN OR SPEAK,
THERE'S SOMETHING TO THAT
THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS.
IT'S SO OBVIOUS,
BUT I DON'T KNOW
WHERE THE ANSWER IS.
WE'RE JUST AT THE
SURFACE OF IT.
- WELL, IF YOU USE ONE FORM,
THEN YOU HAVE TO
STICK WITH IT.
AND THEN AGAIN, PARTS OF
THE STORY WILL DISAPPEAR.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT A GOOD
DEAF STORYTELLER, YOU CAN
UNDERSTAND IT.
YOU CAN TRANSLATE IT
FROM ENGLISH TO ASL.
IF THERE ARE DEAF PEOPLE
THAT CANNOT SIGN ASL, WHAT'S
IMPORTANT IS THEIR STORY.
WE CAN EXPRESS IT
IN ASL LATER.
WE CAN TRANSLATE IT LATER.
ASL LIT CAN'T JUST BE
STORIES ORIGINATING IN SIGN.
WHERE BALLIN WROTE, HE
WROTE IN PERFECT ENGLISH,
ELABORATE ENGLISH.
YOU COULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE
THAT, BUT YOU CAN'T COMPLAIN
THAT THAT PERFECT
ENGLISH CAN'T BE PERFECTLY
TRANSLATED INTO ASL.
IT WON'T BE A NATURAL FIT.
THE SAME THING.
I WANTED TO FOLLOW WHATEVER
THE STUDENTS CAME UP WITH,
WHAT THEY CREATED.
I WANTED THEIR THOUGHT
PROCESSES TO BE FREE.
ONE MORE QUESTION.
- YOU DIDN'T IDENTIFY IF
THE STUDENTS WERE BLACK OR
HISPANIC OR WHITE.
I KNOW THEY'RE ALL DEAF,
BUT I'M A LITTLE MORE CURIOUS
ABOUT THEIR BACKGROUNDS.
- I'M NOT ANALYZING
THAT POINT RIGHT NOW.
I'M LOOKING AT THE
COMMONALITIES WHICH
ARE BASICALLY COMMUNICATION
BREAKDOWNS.
THEY ALL HAVE THAT SIMILAR
PATTERN, THAT THEME.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS FOCUSING ON.
I'LL LET SOMEBODY ELSE
DO MORE ANALYSIS.
- BACK TO THE BEGINNING.
THESE KIDS, NOT FEELING THEY'RE
A PART OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY.
YOU WERE SAYING THAT, CORRECT?
- FOR ME, YES, THEY ARE
PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
I'VE MET TOO MANY PEOPLE
THAT DISAGREE WITH THAT.
"OH, YOU DON'T KNOW ASL?
THEN FORGET YOU."
ALL OF US HAD TO LEARN ASL.
IT'S LIKE, IT'S ODD
THAT PEOPLE THINK THAT,
"OH, DEAF PEOPLE, ONCE
THEY'RE BORN THEY HAVE ASL."
NO. AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
HAS TO BE LEARNED.
OH, SURE, YOU CAN GESTURE,
BUT THE FORMAL LANGUAGE,
QUALITY ASL--QUALITY,
MEANING NOT PERFECT,
BUT UNDERSTANDABLE, CLEAR--
YOU LEARN THAT.
AND YOU DO THAT BY MIXING
WITH PEOPLE, INTERACTING.
IF YOU DON'T INTERACT WITH
OTHER DEAF PEOPLE, HOW ARE YOU
GONNA LEARN IT?
WE HAVE TO EMBRACE THEM IN OUR
COMMUNITY AND NOT REJECT THEM
JUST BECAUSE THEY
DON'T KNOW ASL.
FOR EXAMPLE, PETER COOK...
HE DID NOT SIGN
ORIGINALLY, AND
NOW LOOK AT HIM.
HE HAD TO JOIN THE COMMUNITY.
LUCKILY, HE CAME HERE
AND JOINED THE COMMUNITY.
THAT HAPPENS WITH
MANY DEAF KIDS.
IF THEY'RE IN A MAINSTREAM
SCHOOL, THEY HAVE NO OTHER
COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO BE WITH.
SO IF THEY DON'T KNOW ASL,
THEY JOIN A COMMUNITY AND THEY
DEVELOP LANGUAGE FROM THAT
COMMUNITY... AND LEARN ASL,
THEN THEY'RE FINE.
ENGLISH IS STILL
IMPORTANT AS IS ASL...
ONCE THEY MEET PEOPLE.
I THINK THERE'S
ONE PERSON WHO DID
SOME RESEARCH ON THAT
WHO HAS PASSED NOW.
I THINK HE DIED A WHILE AGO.
ALSO, THERE'S ONE OF
MY STUDENTS WHO WROTE
ABOUT THE GIRLS BEING BITCHES.
HE ALSO HAS PASSED AWAY.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE WE LOST HIM.
WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE HIM
TO TELL THEIR STORIES.
BUT A FEW OF THE OTHER
STUDENTS, I STILL KNOW THEM.
THEY'VE GRADUATED, AND THEY'RE
USING MORE AND MORE ASL.
THEY'VE GOT OUT OF THEIR
SCHOOL--ONCE YOU GRADUATE
FROM A MAINSTREAM PROGRAM
WHERE YOU'RE ONLY WITH HEARING
PEOPLE, YOU GET OUT WHERE
THEY CAN MINGLE WITH MORE
DEAF PEOPLE.
UNLESS HEARING PEOPLE ARE
INVOLVED WITH THEM, YOU CAN
SEE THEIR LANGUAGE CHANGE.
BUT THEY'RE VALID TO US.
THEY'RE VERY VALID TO US.
- TODAY, I'M GOING TO BE
SPEAKING ABOUT ABC AND
NUMBER STORIES AND THEIR
IMPORTANCE IN ASL LIT.
BEFORE I GO ON, WE'LL
LOOK AT MY OUTLINE
SO YOU CAN SEE
WHERE I'M GOING.
I'M SURE YOU REALIZE THAT EACH
COUNTRY HAS THEIR OWN CULTURE,
THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, AS
WELL AS THEIR OWN LIT,
WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN
ANY OTHER CULTURE.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED
WITH DIFFERENT CULTURES
IN LITERATURE, AND I'VE READ
MANY FOLKTALES FROM VARIOUS
COUNTRIES AND HAVE BEEN
FASCINATED HOW OFTEN NUMBERS
AND CHARACTERS ARE
IN THESE TALES.
AND NOW MY INTEREST HAS
SHIFTED TO DEAF CHARACTERS
IN FOLKTALES.
ODDLY ENOUGH,
PEOPLE HAVE SAID
DEAF PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE ASL
LIT, WHEN IN FACT WE DO.
WE'VE HAD ASL LITERATURE IN
THE DEAF COMMUNITY FOR MANY,
MANY YEARS.
I'LL TALK ABOUT ABC STORIES
AS AN EXAMPLE OF ASL LIT LATER
IN THIS PRESENTATION.
WE'VE SEEN A GROWING INTEREST
IN ASL LIT, AND WE HOPE THAT
WILL CONTINUE...
AND HOPE THAT THE BODY OF
ASL LIT GROWS FOR FUTURE
APPRECIATION, FOR DEAF
ADULTS AS WELL AS CHILDREN.
MY TOPIC IS ABC AND NUMBER
STORIES, WHICH ARE BASED
ON A STRONG VISUAL FOCUS
AND CONCEPTUAL LANGUAGE.
IT'S KNOWN IN DEAF CLUBS,
SCHOOLS, AND RESIDENTIAL
PROGRAMS, HOMES--DEAF CHILDREN
AS WELL AS ADULTS WILL TELL
STORIES USING THE
ALPHABET FROM A TO Z.
AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THESE
STORIES FOR MANY YEARS.
OH, BEFORE I GO ON, I WOULD
LIKE YOU ALL TO PREPARE TO
SHOW ME AN ABC STORY THAT
YOU'LL COME UP HERE
AND PRESENT ON STAGE WHEN
I FINISH WITH MY LECTURE.
THEN WE CAN QUESTION YOU, THE
PERFORMER ABOUT THEIR STORY,
AND THAT'LL MAKE US
THINK HOW WE CAN ENCOURAGE
DEAF CHILDREN TO DEVELOP
THEIR OWN STORIES
AND ADULTS AS WELL.
SO PLEASE PREPARE FOR THAT.
ABC STORIES AND NUMBER STORIES
ARE A GENRE OF DEAF FOLKLORE.
AND DIFFERENT CULTURES HAVE
THEIR OWN WAYS, JUST LIKE
DANCE OR LANGUAGE.
THESE ARE ALL WAYS OF HOW
MESSAGES CAN BE PASSED FROM
ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER
BY "WORD-OF-MOUTH"
OR IN OUR WORLD, WE SAY
BY "SIGN OF HANDS."
THAT'S HOW WE PASS
ON THESE MESSAGES.
SOME OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW
THE SIGN FOR "FOLKLORE."
WELL, I'VE CREATED ONE
BECAUSE, WELL, PASSING ALONG
A MESSAGE FROM ONE
PERSON TO ANOTHER.
THIS IS THE SIGN I'M USING.
SOME PEOPLE WOULD START THE
SIGN FROM BEHIND THEM MOVING
FORWARD, BUT ALL STORIES
ARE NOT FROM THE PAST.
THEY CAN START
ANYWHERE IN TIME.
BUT TO CLEARLY SIGN IT,
IT'S COMING FROM ONE PERSON
AND BEING PASSED
ON TO ANOTHER.
YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH ME,
BUT THAT'S FINE.
DEAF FOLKLORE CAN
BE GROUPED BY GENRE.
AS YOU SEE HERE, ONE TYPE CAN
BE ABOUT BEING MISUNDERSTOOD,
WHERE HEARING PEOPLE HAVE
MANY MISCONCEPTIONS
ABOUT DEAF PEOPLE.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE DON'T HAVE
EARS OR THAT DEAF PEOPLE CAN
READ AND WRITE BRAILLE.
THEY HAVE MANY MISCONCEPTIONS
HERE AND ABROAD.
AND HERE'S A DEAF CARTOON.
SO SOMETIMES PEOPLE LIKE
TO HEAR STORIES ABOUT DEAF
DOGS OR CATS.
PEOPLE KNOW THAT WHITE CATS
WITH TWO DIFFERENT EYE COLORS
ARE OFTEN DEAF.
DEAF PEOPLE OFTEN WANT TO SEE
STORIES THAT ARE RELATABLE
ABOUT THE DEAF IDENTITY.
NOW I WANT TO FOCUS ON
SIGN LANGUAGE LORE AND WHAT
THAT MEANS.
IT'S ABOUT A PERSON, HOW THEY
SIGN, AND THEY CAN SHOW THAT
TO A FRIEND OF THEIRS.
IT'S ALSO WHAT WE CALL
THE IQ TEST, AND IT'S FOR
ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES.
SO LET'S LOOK AT ALL THESE
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SIGN LORE.
AS YOU CAN SEE,
THERE ARE MANY.
HERE'S AN EXAMPLE...
WITH A DUEL.
ANOTHER ONE IS USING THE
LETTERS FOR JAWS AND YOUR
FACIAL EXPRESSION.
I WANT TO SHARE WITH
YOU AN EXPERIENCE.
I WAS IN GREECE A FEW YEARS
AGO, AND I SHARED THAT PLAY
ON FINGERSPELLING, JAWS,
AND I NOTICED THE GREEK DEAF
PEOPLE WERE AMAZED AND THEY
REACHED OUT TO ME AS THEY
DON'T HAVE THESE TYPE OF
STORIES IN GREECE AND THEY
YEARN FOR MORE STORIES LIKE
THESE, INCORPORATING THEIR
SIGN LANGUAGE
OR DEAF CHARACTERS.
NOW I'LL SHOW AN EXAMPLE
OF SIGN METAMORPHOSIS.
SO THAT'S A BUTTERFLY. IT
STARTS CRAWLING ON THE GROUND
UP TO THE TREE, AND HE'S
ACTUALLY SPELLING OUT
BUTTERFLY STARTING FROM
A CATERPILLAR, BECOMING
A BUTTERFLY.
SO YOU CAN SEE
THE SIGN CHANGES.
IT'S ACTUALLY YOUR
FINGERSPELLING THAT CHANGES,
AND THERE ARE A VARIETY
OF THESE TYPES OF STORIES.
AS WELL AS TOTAL
COMMUNICATION, WHERE WE
CHANGE THE SIGN.
WHERE THE TEA IS SMOKING
IN THE "C" INSTEAD
OF COMMUNICATION IS A CUP.
AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IS Ph.D.
MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT'S A
DEGREE, BUT WE THINK OF IT AS
PLEASE HELP DEAF--Ph.D.
THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF
AN ABBREVIATION STORY.
ANOTHER ONE IS A CATCH SIGN.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THAT
HAS NO EASY ANSWER, OR IT CAN
BE ANSWERED IN A
TOTALLY DIFFERENT WAY.
FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT DO YOU
THINK THAT IS ON THE SCREEN?
SOME PEOPLE HAVE CAUGHT IT.
SOMEBODY IN THE
AUDIENCE SAYS, "DOUBT"?
OR ANOTHER PERSON THINKS
IT SAYS, "DO YOU?"
DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
I'LL SHOW YOU ANOTHER ONE.
THIS IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE
OF USING "WHEN" AND "BUT."
I'LL EXPLAIN THAT LATER.
WHAT DOES THIS ONE SAY?
IT DOESN'T MEAN WHAT IT MEANS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN "MEAN."
IT MEANS "FORK."
MANY DEAF PEOPLE ARE SKILLED
IN ASL AND CAN PLAY
WITH THE SIGNS.
AND THEY WRITE THESE "IN THEIR
MIND" AND THEY ARE IN PERFECT
ASL, BUT TOUGH TO
TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH.
I THINK WE HAVE A
QUESTION FROM THE AUDIENCE.
CAN EVERYBODY HOLD UP BECAUSE
WE NEED THE INTERPRETER TO
GET UP HERE?
- IT'S LIKE ON A TYPICAL
FORM WHEN THEY ASK FOR SEX,
AND THEY'RE ASKING IF
IT'S MALE OR FEMALE,
BUT A DEAF PERSON WILL
WRITE "YES" FOR SEX.
- YES, I'VE
HEARD THAT HAPPEN.
THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S BEING
ASKED, BUT THEY PUT DOWN "YES,"
OR THEY PUT DOWN "OH, 3 TIMES
A WEEK" ON A JOB APPLICATION,
BUT THAT'S NOT AN
EXAMPLE OF THIS.
THIS IS WHERE YOU HAVE
TO CATCH THE SIGN.
YOU'RE SPEAKING OF A PERSON'S
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.
SO WHAT I DISCOVERED WHILE I WAS
DURING THIS RESEARCH, I FOUND
I WAS TRYING TO JUSTIFY THAT
ABC STORIES ARE INDEED PART
OF ASL LIT.
YOU SEE,
I'M NOT A PERFORMER.
I COLLECT THESE STORIES, DO
THE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS,
AND THEN, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES
I DO SHOW THEM TO PEOPLE,
MY GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE
THAT BOTH DEAF AND HEARING
PEOPLE UNDERSTAND
DEAF CULTURE
THROUGH OUR FOLKLORE,
THROUGH OUR STORIES.
WE HAVE TO DO THIS
THROUGH ANALYSIS.
FROM MY OWN WORK LAST WEEK,
I DISCOVERED SOMETHING
RATHER AMAZING.
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS LIST
ON THE SCREEN, DOES ANYBODY
RECOGNIZE A PATTERN?
YES, THEY ALL INCLUDE THE
WORD "SIGN," BUT THERE'S ONE
NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES.
ANY GUESSES?
SIGNS?
YES, CORRECT.
THEY'RE ALL SIGNS, BUT
THERE'S ONE PART THAT IS
MUCH DIFFERENT.
ANY GUESSES?
CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCES?
THERE'S SIGN AND
THEN NAME SIGN--
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON,
LINCOLN, AND SO FORTH.
THERE'S NO STORY TO THAT.
ANOTHER ONE IS ABC's, DOING
THE ALPHABET, OR LIKE DUEL,
AND THEY BECOME GUNS.
WE GO DOWN THE LIST, BUT
IF YOU NOTICE DOWN HERE
AT THE BOTTOM...
THESE ARE MUCH DIFFERENT
THAN THE OTHERS.
DO YOU AGREE WITH ME?
GREAT.
SO I'LL SHARE
SOMETHING WITH YOU.
I TRIED TO DETERMINE WHEN
TELLING ABC STORIES STARTED.
I ASKED OLDER PEOPLE
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
SOME SAID THEY SAW THEM
WHEN THEY GOT TO GALLAUDET,
TO COLLEGE.
OTHERS SAID IN THEIR
DEAF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL.
SOME SAID THEY STARTED
SOMEWHERE IN THE 1950s.
OTHERS SAID IN THE 1940s,
BUT NOW MY HYPOTHESIS NOW IS,
IT STARTED IN THE 1940s.
BEFORE THAT, I
JUST DON'T KNOW.
I'VE ASKED OLDER DEAF PEOPLE
HERE IN ROCHESTER,
AND WHEN THEY SHOWED THEM
AN EXAMPLE, THEIR REACTION IS,
"OH, I'VE NEVER EVEN SEEN
THAT BEFORE."
SO THAT'S MY
HYPOTHESIS SO FAR.
I'VE NOT FINISHED
MY RESEARCH YET.
PERHAPS SOME OF YOU MIGHT
ALSO JOIN IN THIS RESEARCH
AND AT OUR NEXT CONFERENCE WE
CAN POSSIBLY NAIL DOWN A DATE.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU ANOTHER
EXAMPLE OF A STORY, AND THEN
WE'LL GO AHEAD IN VIDEO,
AND THEN WILL HAVE A DISCUSSION.
BUT FIRST, I'LL EXPLAIN
THE PROCEDURE, WHAT WE'RE
GOING TO DO.
I'M GONNA SHOW YOU AN ABC
STORY, AND I'M GOING TO ASK
THE INTERPRETER NOT
TO VOICE FOR A WHILE.
ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT ONE.
OH, PARDON ME.
I SHOULD'VE INTRODUCED
THAT LAST STORY.
THE TITLE OF THIS
IS "WHO DID IT?"
THE NEXT PIECE IS A NUMBER
STORY, AND IT'S CALLED
"COWBOYS AND INDIANS."
I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE
ALREADY SEEN THIS BEFORE,
BUT I WANT TO USE IT AS AN
EXAMPLE FOR THIS LECTURE.
IT'S A STORY USING THE
NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 15.
NOW I'M GOING TO SHOW
YOU A VIDEOTAPE.
I GOT THIS FROM
GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY.
IT WAS PRODUCED AS PART OF A
PILOT PROJECT, JUST TO GIVE
YOU AN IDEA.
GREAT. NOW CAN WE TURN
THE HOUSE LIGHTS UP, PLEASE?
I WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE
EVERYBODY SEE EACH OTHER.
HOUSE LIGHTS, PLEASE.
THANK YOU.
GOD MADE US SEE
EACH ALL CLEARLY.
AS YOU WATCH THIS, YOU NOTICED
I HAD TO ADD THE WORD "REPLAY"
ON THE VIDEO.
NOW, WHY DO YOU THINK I
HAD TO DO THAT?
I WANTED TO TELL VIEWERS
THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO
REWIND TO REPEAT THAT STORY,
NOT TO HAVE TO SHOW IT OVER
AND OVER AGAIN.
SO THEY COULD SEE
THE STORY TWICE.
THE LAST STORY, I FILMED
AT THE KENTUCKY SCHOOL
FOR THE DEAF
SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
HAD A TERRIFIC STUDENT.
SHE WAS 16 YEARS OLD,
JUST WONDERFUL.
SHE WORKED WITH
NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 25.
I KNOW OF OTHERS WHO'VE
CREATED STORIES WITH NUMBERS
FROM 1 TO 50
OR EVEN 150.
I WANT TO SPEAK NOW
TO THE PROCESS.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNFAMILIAR
WITH ABC STORIES AND HOW THEY
CAN BE USED TO EDUCATE
HEARING, DEAF, AND ORAL KIDS
AS TO WHAT AN ABC STORY
IS ALL ABOUT.
WE KNOW THAT ABC STORIES
ARE BASED ON A VISUAL
LANGUAGE CONCEPT,
NOT ON A SPOKEN
LANGUAGE CONCEPT.
TYPICALLY, HEARING PEOPLE
DO NOT UNDERSTAND OUR ABC
STORIES, NATURALLY.
NOW I'M GONNA ASK ONE OF
THE INTERPRETERS TO VOICE
MY FIRST ABC STORY
I SHOWED YOU.
AND WE'RE GONNA NEED
SOME HELP OVER HERE...
AS I WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT
THE INTERPRETER IS SAYING.
I'LL TELL THE STORY AGAIN
WITHOUT THE INTERPRETATION,
BUT WE'LL HAVE THE SECOND
INTERPRETER SIGN
WHAT THE VOICE
INTERPRETER IS SAYING.
OK, AGAIN, THIS
IS "WHO DID IT?"
OK, NOW I'M GONNA ASK--
OH, WAIT ONE MINUTE.
OK.
AGAIN, NOW I'M GOING TO ASK
THE INTERPRETER TO SIGN TO
THE OTHER INTERPRETER JUST
THE LETTERS IN THE STORY.
SO WE'LL ONLY FOCUS ON THE
LETTERS, NOT THE WORDS.
RIGHT. THE INTERPRETER WILL
HAVE TO DO JUST THE LETTERS.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K,
L, M, N, O, P,
Q, R, S, T, U, V,
W, X, Y, Z.
OK?
THANK YOU.
NOW, THE NEXT STEP,
THE INTERPRETER CANNOT
DO A DIRECT WORD-FOR-
SIGN TRANSLATION.
YOU KNOW, THAT SAYING THAT
"A PICTURE IS WORTH
A THOUSAND WORDS"?
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY A
THOUSAND WORDS IN A FEW SECONDS.
IMPOSSIBLE.
SO I CAN GIVE YOU A FEW
EXAMPLES OF THE WORDS THAT
THEY CAN SAY.
I'LL EXPLAIN HOW
I WROTE THIS LATER.
WE'VE NOTICED THAT DEAF PEOPLE
TYPICALLY DO NOT GIVE
THE TITLE BEFORE THE STORY
BEFORE THEY PERFORM IT,
AS I DID.
I TOLD THE STORY AND THEN TOLD
YOU THE TITLE, "WHO DID IT?",
SO YOU COULD VISUALIZE THAT
IT WAS A STORY ABOUT SOMEBODY
KILLING ANOTHER PERSON.
BUT OTHERS DON'T WANT
TO KNOW BEFOREHAND.
THEY WANT TO VISUALIZE THE
PIECE AS A WHOLE AND THEN ADD
THE TITLE AT THE END,
LIKE IN EUROPE.
OH, THERE'S A BOOK.
YOU KNOW, LIKE THE TABLE
OF CONTENTS IN THE FRONT
OF THE BOOK.
THERE'S INFORMATION THERE.
BUT IN EUROPE, THAT
INFORMATION IS ALWAYS
IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK, SO IT'S
THE SAME PRINCIPLE WITH THIS.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THIS
INTERPRETATION LATER.
BUT THESE STORIES ARE
WIDESPREAD, EVEN THOUGH
WE DON'T KNOW WHERE
THEY STARTED FROM.
WE DO THINK THEY COME FROM
THE DEAF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS
OR DEAF CLUBS.
SO I ASKED YOUNG
AND OLDER DEAF PEOPLE
WHERE THEY SAW THESE
STORIES, AND MANY
OF THEM SAID FROM
THEIR TEACHERS.
AND I ASKED IF THEIR TEACHERS
WERE HEARING, AND THE ANSWER
WAS NO, THAT THEY
WERE DEAF TEACHERS.
SO THESE ARE COMING FROM
DEAF TEACHERS WHO WERE TAUGHT
HOW TO TEACH DEAF CHILDREN,
MOSTLY FROM GALLAUDET,
TO THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS,
TO THE DEAF CLUBS
AND THEN OUT INTO
THE COMMUNITY.
I'VE HAD A WONDERFUL
EXPERIENCE FINDING THAT HERE
IN AMERICA, WE DEAF PEOPLE
HAVE THESE ABC STORIES.
OTHER COUNTRIES DO NOT.
I'VE ASKED PEOPLE AT
INTERNATIONAL DEAF WORKSHOPS,
THE INTERNATIONAL DEAF
INTERPRETERS WORKSHOP
AT THE WORLD CONGRESS FOR
THE DEAF IN FINLAND IN 1987.
I GAVE AN INTRODUCTION ON
DEAF FOLKLORE AND SPOKE
ABOUT ABC STORIES.
AND A GENTLEMAN FROM SWEDEN
APPROACHED ME AND TOLD ME HOW
FORTUNATE WE AMERICANS ARE
BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH STORIES
IN SIGN LANGUAGE.
SO I ASKED HIM TO GIVE ME
AN EXAMPLE IN HIS LANGUAGE,
AND HE TOLD ME HE COULDN'T.
SO I ASKED HIM TO SHOW ME
SWEDISH FINGERSPELLING.
I'LL SHOW YOU AMERICAN ON
MY LEFT HAND AND SWEDISH
ON MY RIGHT.
SO IT'S QUITE
DIFFERENT THAN OURS.
AND THEN I EXPLAINED THAT
HE COULD CREATE STORIES,
GET TOGETHER WITH HIS FRIENDS,
AND TRY TO DEVELOP IT.
HE WAS DOUBTFUL, BUT I
ASSURED HIM HE COULD TRY.
THE NEXT DAY AT THE SECOND
PART OF MY WORKSHOP BEFORE I
COULD BEGIN, HE AGAIN
APPROACHED ME AND SHOWED ME
AN ABC STORY USING
SWEDISH FINGERSPELLING.
I CONGRATULATED HIM, SAYING,
"OTHER COUNTRIES COULD DO
THE SAME."
A YEAR LATER AT THE DEAF WAY
FESTIVAL, I WAS LECTURING
ON DEAF FOLKLORE AND A WOMAN
APPROACHED ME AND ASKED IF I
REMEMBERED A MAN WHO HAD
SAID HE COULD DO AN ABC STORY
IN SWEDISH SIGN LANGUAGE.
"YES, I REMEMBERED HIM."
SHE TOLD ME HE HAD DEVELOPED
BETWEEN 15 TO 25 ABC STORIES,
AND THEY WERE THROUGHOUT
ALL OF SWEDEN NOW.
BRAVO!
NOW I HOPE OTHER
COUNTRIES WILL FOLLOW SUIT.
DEAF CHILDREN AND ADULTS NEED
TO DEVELOP LIT IN THEIR OWN
LANGUAGE FOR THE FUTURE.
NOW, WE DO HAVE SOME DIFFICULTY
IN DEVELOPING AN ABC STORY.
IF YOU RECALL, IF YOU NOTICE, AN
ABC STORY FOLLOWS THE ALPHABET.
BUT IN ONE STORY, I BROKE
THE RULE AND DID NOT USE
A PROPER "T."
INSTEAD, I USED THIS GESTURE,
THIS GESTURE.
SO I BROKE THE RULE
BY USING THIS GESTURE,
BUT IT HAD TO MAKE
SENSE WITHIN THE STORY.
IN ONE OF THE STORIES ON THE
VIDEOS, THEY USED A PROPER "T"
IN FINGERSPELLING,
NOT MY GESTURE.
IF YOU REMEMBER, THAT
WAS ON THE TAPE.
ALSO, TOO, THERE
IS ANOTHER ISSUE.
YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL
IN TELLING THE "COWBOY
AND INDIAN" STORY.
THE VERY LAST SIGN, IF YOU
SEE, IS THE INDIANS GIVE UP.
MY GRADUATE ADVISOR AT
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY TOLD ME
ABSOLUTELY NO!
I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW
DISCRIMINATORY THAT WAS,
HOW BIASED.
IT JUST SO HAPPENED MY ADVISOR
WAS FLUENT IN INDIAN LANGUAGES,
AND HE TOLD ME WE HAVE
NATIVE AMERICANS HERE ON CAMPUS,
AND WE DON'T WANT TO STEREOTYPE
THEM AS BAD PEOPLE.
SO I HAD TO RESPECT THAT,
AND I WISH TO APOLOGIZE IF I
OFFENDED ANYONE HERE.
I SHOULD NOT
INCLUDE THIS STORY.
I WENT TO SOUTH DAKOTA
LAST AUGUST, AND I DEFINITELY
REMOVED THAT STORY.
I NEED TO FIND ANOTHER
NUMBER STORY TO SUBSTITUTE.
WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF
BIASES OR DISCRIMINATION
IN OUR ABC STORIES.
THAT PROVIDES A
DIFFERENT PROBLEM.
NOW I WANT TO HELP YOU TO
DEVELOP AND RECORD ABC STORIES
FOR THE FUTURE PRESERVATION
FOR WHICH THERE'S A GREAT NEED.
I SAY THAT BECAUSE WHEN
I STARTED AT GALLAUDET,
I WAS ORAL.
I LEARNED ASL THERE.
I WAS FASCINATED BY IT.
WHEN I ENTERED COLLEGE,
I MET AN UPPERCLASSMAN WHO
LOVED SIGNING ABC STORIES.
I WAS HOOKED.
I WOULD ASK HIM TO REPEAT
THE STORY, 5, 6 TIMES.
WELL, HE GRADUATED
AND MOVED ON.
I WAS MAJORING IN ELECTRONICS,
HAVING NOTHING TO DO
WITH LIT WHATSOEVER.
I DECIDED TO CHANGE MAJORS
TO ANTHROPOLOGY, THE STUDY
OF CULTURES, AND I FOUND
FOLKLORE IS A PART
OF ANTHROPOLOGY BECAUSE YOU
CAN FIND CULTURAL REFERENCES
WITHIN ITS STORIES.
SO SPEAKING OF ABC STORIES,
I WENT TO A CLASS REUNION
25, 35 YEARS LATER, AND I MET
THAT PERSON WHOSE ABC STORIES
I SO LOVED AND ASKED THEM
TO TELL ME A STORY.
THEIR RESPONSE WAS THEY
HAD FORGOTTEN THEM.
LOST!
THAT'S WHEN I DECIDED WE
NEED TO PRESERVE OUR STORIES,
AND I'LL SHOW YOU
THE DIFFERENT WAYS.
TO START WITH--OH, GOSH,
THE TIME LIMIT.
I'LL TRY TO BE BRIEF.
I STARTED WRITING DOWN THE
ALPHABET AND THEN SITTING
WITH THE STORYTELLER
AND MATCHING VOCABULARY
TO EACH LETTER.
FOR EXAMPLE...
SO IF I WERE TO GIVE
A PERFORMANCE, THEY COULD
PULL OUT THE SHEET AND
HAND IT TO THE INTERPRETER.
WE NEED THAT.
ANOTHER WAY IS TO FILM
THE STORIES, EITHER
VIDEOTAPE OR FILM.
YEAH, THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH
VIDEOTAPE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T
LAST FOREVER.
IT'LL KEEP FOR 5 TO 10 YEARS
AND THEN WEAR OUT.
WE DO NEED TO BE
CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE.
WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT
TO BE BIASED AND ELIMINATE
SOME STORIES.
WE NEED TO PRESERVE THEM ALL.
WE NEED TO FILM ALL TYPES OF
STORYTELLERS, EVEN IF THEY'RE
TERRIBLE SIGNERS.
WE'RE TRYING TO
CAPTURE THEIR IDEAS.
WE NEED THAT WORLD VIEW.
I WOULD LIKE IN THE FUTURE
TO DO ANALYSIS AND COMPARE,
FOR EXAMPLE, HOW PEOPLE START
A STORY WITH KNOCK ON THE DOOR
AND OPEN IT AND LOOK, AND
YET THEY END IT DIFFERENTLY
DEPENDING ON WHO
THE TELLER IS.
WHY DON'T ALL THE
STORIES LOOK THE SAME?
I'M INTERESTED IN HOW
THEY DEVELOPED IT FROM
THEIR PERSPECTIVE,
HOW THEIR MIND WORKS.
LAST ONE.
THIS IS FROM MITCHELL ROBERTS,
WHO'S FROM CALIFORNIA,
AND IT'S A NUMBER STORY
GOING FROM 0 TO 11.
SO IT ALL LINKS.
IT'S IMPORTANT
IF A PERSON CAN'T FIND THE WORDS
TO DESCRIBE WHAT THEY WANT,
THEY CAN DRAW IT.
THE LAST SIGN IS 11
FOR TEARS OR SADNESS.
NOW, THIS IS WHAT WE CAN
USE ABC STORIES FOR...
TO DEVELOP MORE
SIGN VOCABULARY,
TO INCREASE ASL PROFICIENCY
AND PRODUCTION,
TO BRING MORE ABC AND
NUMBER STORIES INTO
ASL LIT FOR THE FUTURE,
AND TO ANALYZE DIFFERENT
COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS
OF DEAF YOUTH AND ADULTS,
A WORLDWIDE PERSPECTIVE
IN ABC AND NUMBER STORIES.
AND LASTLY...
TO INCREASE
THE AMOUNT OF THEM
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES
ANYWHERE, ANYTIME.
WE NEED THAT.
THIS QUOTE IMPACTED ME DEEPLY.
YOU KNOW, SOME HEARING
PEOPLE SAY, "I JUST DON'T GET
ABC STORIES."
SO I FOUND THIS
BEAUTIFUL QUOTE.
IT'S AS IF YOU'RE
LOOKING THROUGH A MIRROR...
VERY IMPACTFUL.
ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL
THE TIME I HAVE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TIME
FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS?
OH, WE HAVE 3 MINUTES. OK.
- WHAT DO YOU MEAN
BY SNOWBALL EFFECT?
- YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU START
WITH A SMALL SNOWBALL
AT THE TOP OF THE HILL, AND
AS IT ROLLS DOWN THE HILL
IT GETS LARGER AND LARGER?
WELL, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED
PEOPLE TO DO IS START
THE STORIES, AND ONCE THEY
START, THEY'LL SPREAD.
AND WE NEED INFLUENTIAL
PEOPLE TO DEVELOP THEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE
SPEAKER YESTERDAY--OH,
A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO
SPOKE ABOUT HOW CLASSROOMS
SHOULD REQUIRE ALL STUDENTS
TO DEVELOP THESE STORIES,
AND THEN IF THEY
BECOME TEACHERS, THESE
STORIES WILL GO OUT INTO
THE COMMUNITY, TO THE DEAF
SCHOOLS, TO THE DEAF CLUBS.
THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT.
- I'M NOT SURE IF I WOULD
CALL AN ABC STORY ASL LIT
BECAUSE ABC STORIES USE SO MUCH
SEE--SIGNED EXACT ENGLISH.
SO ARE WE USING HAND SHAPES
OR ARE WE FOLLOWING THE LETTER?
LIKE THE SIGN FOR "CIGAR,"
WE USE AN "R,"
BUT I'M JUST NOT SURE.
WHAT I SEE IS SEE,
AND THAT'S NOT LANGUAGE.
- WELL, THAT'S
A GOOD QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, ASL IS NOT AS
PURE AS OTHER COUNTRIES'
SIGN LANGUAGES.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN ISRAEL,
THERE'S NO FINGERSPELLING
IN ISRAELI SIGN LANGUAGE,
NONE AT ALL.
IT'S ALL SIGNS,
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.
WHEN WE THINK OF ASL, WE LOSE
SOME OF THE BEAUTY, BUT IT'S
STILL CATCHING UP.
BUT I AGREE WITH YOU IN TERMS
OF WHETHER IT'S A HAND SHAPE
OR A LETTER.
WHEN WE SEE INITIALIZED
SIGNS LIKE "METHOD"
OR THE "W" IN "WORRY,"
YES, I DO AGREE WITH THAT.
OH, I HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF
THE "WORRY" SIGN USING "W"s.
THE GIRL WHOSE LAST POEM I
SHOWED USED THE "W" HAND SHAPE
FOR, OH, GUNS FIRING.
USING THAT "W" HAND SHAPE.
SHE WAS DEVELOPING HER IDEAS.
SO WE CAN ESTABLISH
TWO METHODS.
WE CAN TELL THE STUDENTS,
YOU MUST DEVELOP THE STORY
USING SEE SIGNS OR IN ASL.
THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE NEED TO REMAIN FLEXIBLE
AND REMEMBER NOT BE BIASED.
GATHERING,
AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE,
THE FIRST AMERICAN
SIGN LANGUAGE
LITERATURE CONFERENCE.
AND SO MANY OF US DON'T KNOW
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASL LIT
AND DEAF LIT.
OBVIOUSLY, ASL LIT INVOLVES
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE,
BUT DEAF LIT DOES NOT.
THAT'S DEPENDENT
ON READING ENGLISH.
SO I HAD A PLAN, AN AGENDA FOR
THIS EVENING, BUT I'M NOT SURE
IF I WANT TO DO THIS.
I WANT TO SEE WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS
WERE OF THE PERFORMANCE
LAST NIGHT.
I LOVE TO GET REJECTION FROM
PEOPLE BECAUSE IF I HEAR
THAT REJECTION, I KNOW
I'M ONTO SOMETHING.
SO I MAKE AN IMPACT
ON OTHER PEOPLE.
I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WANT TO TALK
ABOUT LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE,
BUT I HAVE ANOTHER PROJECT
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
SO I'M GOING TO LEAVE IT UP
TO THE MAJORITY FOR A VOTE.
YOU ALL IN THE AUDIENCE
ARE THE MAJORITY.
I'M GOING TO LEAVE
THIS UP TO YOU.
WE CAN EITHER DISCUSS LAST
NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE BRIEFLY
AND THEN I CAN GET ON TO
TALK ABOUT MY NEW PROJECT.
DO PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT
BOTH OR JUST ONE OR THE OTHER?
BOTH. OK, I'M SEEING
PEOPLE WANT BOTH.
FOR LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE,
I'M GOING TO OPEN UP TO
QUESTIONS FIRST.
MAYBE 2 OR 3 QUESTIONS, AND THEN
WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THAT,
I WILL FOCUS ON
THE NEW PROJECT.
IS THAT ACCEPTABLE?
EVERYBODY'S SITTING THERE.
YOU'RE JUST LIKE MY
SIGN LANGUAGE STUDENTS,
ABSOLUTELY SITTING
THERE WITH NO MOVEMENT.
YES, NOD YOUR HEAD "YES"
IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT.
OH, SOMEBODY WANTS
4 OR 5 QUESTIONS.
OK.
6 OR 7 QUESTIONS? NO.
I THINK I'M GOING TO LIMIT
IT TO 3--3 QUESTIONS.
SO WHAT WERE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT
LAST NIGHT'S PERFORMANCE?
YOU WANT A 4th QUESTION?
WELL, MAYBE THE 4th QUESTION,
I CAN LEAD INTO MY NEW PROJECT.
THAT'S WHAT THE 4th
QUESTION WILL BE.
SO WHAT DID YOU THINK?
- WHY DID YOU DO THIS PLAY?
- WELL, I RECOGNIZED
THAT DEAF PEOPLE TYPICALLY
SOCIALIZE WITH EACH OTHER.
I'M FROM NEW YORK, AND THERE ARE
DIFFERENT GROUPS OF DEAF PEOPLE
WITHIN THE CITY,
BUT I'M FINDING THAT ALL OF US
DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
DEAF CULTURE HISTORICALLY.
WE HAVE NO HEROES.
NONE.
PEOPLE GO, "OH, YEAH, THERE'S
THAT PERSON OR THAT PERSON."
OH, VEDITZ?
YES, HE DID THAT SIGN LANGUAGE
FILM, WHICH WAS BEAUTIFUL
BUT IT WAS SHORT,
BUT WHO WAS VEDITZ?
WHAT WAS HIS FAMILY LIKE?
WHAT WAS HIS UPBRINGING LIKE?
I WANT TO KNOW MORE.
SO, I'LL DEFINITELY BE DOING
SOME MORE INVESTIGATION INTO
HIS LIFE LATER.
I FOUND THIS FASCINATING BOOK
WRITTEN BY ALBERT BALLIN.
WHEN I WAS READING IT, I
FELT THIS SIMILAR EXPERIENCE.
I WENT AHEAD WITH THE BOOK. IT'S
CALLED "THE DEAF MUTE HOWLS."
BALLIN WROTE IN THIS BOOK
THAT DEAF PEOPLE WERE FURIOUS.
AND THEY STILL ARE.
DEAF PEOPLE TYPICALLY ARE
STILL FURIOUS, AND I CAN'T
ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
THOSE WHO ARE FURIOUS HAVE
TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
ONLY THEY KNOW WHY
THEY ARE SO ANGRY.
IS IT COMING FROM SHAME?
IS IT COMING FROM
PAST MISTAKES?
PEOPLE LEFT LAST NIGHT,
IN THE PERFORMANCE. THEY LEFT.
I UNDERSTOOD WHY THE HEARING
PEOPLE LEFT BECAUSE WE HAD NO
VOICE INTERPRETER,
BUT DEAF PEOPLE LEFT AS WELL.
AND I THINK SOMETHING
INSIDE OF THEM,
PERHAPS SHAME OR GUILT,
MADE THEM LEFT.
AND WHAT'S INTERESTING IS,
NO DEAF PERSON WHO LEFT
CAME UP TO TELL ME
WHY THEY LEFT.
SO THAT SILENCE
SPEAKS VOLUMES.
THERE'S A QUESTION
FROM THE AUDIENCE.
- I FOUND IT VERY
INTERESTING IN YOUR DISCUSSION
OR PERFORMANCE
ABOUT A.G. BELL.
THERE ARE BOTH GOOD AND BAD
ASPECTS RELATED TO THE MAN,
BUT IT'S CONFUSING.
WHAT'S THE GENERAL CONSENSUS
RELATED TO A.G. BELL
AMONG DEAF PEOPLE?
OH, HEARING PEOPLE I KNOW,
BUT WHAT ABOUT DEAF PEOPLE?
WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE
READING ABOUT THE GOOD AND BAD
REVIEWS OF A.G. BELL WHILE
YOU WERE DOING THIS PLAY,
AS A PERSON?
- WELL, AS A MAN, I KNOW
THERE ARE DEAF PEOPLE THAT
WERE WILLING TO ACCEPT HIM.
WELL, IT'S LIKE...
WHO CAN SAY?
SOME PEOPLE CAN SAY
A PERSON IS TOO GOOD,
THEREFORE WE HAVE
TO DESTROY THEM?
AND WITH A BAD MAN,
WE ENCOURAGE HIM?
YOU KNOW, A.G. BELL ENCOURAGED
LAWS TO BE PASSED WHERE DEAF
PEOPLE COULDN'T MARRY
OTHER DEAF PEOPLE.
THAT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE
MOST DEAF CHILDREN ARE BORN
FROM HEARING PARENTS.
BUT HIS THOUGHT PROCESS WAS
A LITTLE BIT OFF, A LITTLE
BIT SKEWED.
SO IN THAT AREA, I LOOK
AT HIM AS A "BAD" MAN.
I DON'T SAY HE'S EVIL,
BUT HIS...
I DON'T KNOW. HE HAD AN ODD
THOUGHT PATTERN ABOUT HIM.
- I HAVE BOTH A
COMMENT AND A QUESTION.
I'M REALLY FASCINATED
OF THE SIGNING I SAW.
I KNOW, 30, 40 YEARS
AGO, WE USED TO SIGN
"DEAF AND DUMB"
OR "DEAF-MUTE."
WE STARTED FROM THE EAR,
AND WENT DOWN TO THE MOUTH,
AND THAT BECAME THE
SIGN FOR "DEAF."
AND THE SIGN FOR "HEARING"
USED TO BE FROM THE EAR,
AND NOW IT'S FROM THE MOUTH,
INDICATING SPEAKING.
SO IT'S CHANGED OVER TIME.
SO WE SEE "DEAF" GOING
FROM THE EAR TO THE MOUTH.
BUT YOU WENT FROM THE EAR
AND THEN A HAND SHAPE
OVER THE MOUTH.
WAS THERE A REASON THAT YOU
USED THAT PARTICULAR SIGN?
- FOR CLARITY,
FOR "DEAF AND DUMB." I REALLY
WANTED TO PUT EMPHASIS
ON THE "DUMB,"
THE WORD "DUMB."
IF YOU PUT IT ON YOUR
FOREHEAD, IT MEANS "STUPID."
BUT IF YOU PUT IT ON
YOUR MOUTH, IT MEANS YOU
CAN'T TALK.
SO I WAS PLAYING
WITH THE SIGNS.
SO INSTEAD OF "STUPID,"
IT'S "DUMB ON THE MOUTH."
AND I THINK I'M ALLOWED
TO PLAY WITH THE SIGNS
A LITTLE BIT.
I THINK THAT'S ALLOWED.
- IN YOUR PLAY, THERE'S
THE DEAF MAN WHO CHALLENGES
A.G. BELL.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF
THAT'S BASED ON FACT.
- YES, IT DID HAPPEN.
HE WAS CHALLENGED.
A.G. BELL'S WIFE MABEL WAS
DEAF, BEAUTIFUL, AND NOT
TOO SMART.
SHE WAS YOUR
TYPICAL HOUSEWIFE,
JUST A HOUSEWIFE.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER BEYOND
THAT, I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT SHE
DID ACTUALLY HELP HER HUSBAND
BELL IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE TELEPHONE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THAT.
SHE HELPED DEALING WITH
HOW SOUND IS CONVERTED TO
VIBRATIONS, AND HE WAS ABLE
TO USE THE VIBRATIONS TO TEACH
DEAF PEOPLE TO TALK.
JUST AN INTERESTING FACT.
I THINK WE HAVE
ANOTHER QUESTION.
- I WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL
THE VARIOUS SIGNS FOR "DEAF"
AND "DEAF-MUTE" AND HOW
YOU USED IT FOR EMPHASIS,
BUT THAT CHARACTER WAS NOT
ASHAMED OF BEING DEAF.
- OH, NO. THAT CHARACTER
WAS NOT ASHAMED AT ALL.
- BUT I DO NOTICE TODAY THAT
DEAF PEOPLE RESENT THE SIGN
OR WORDS "DEAF-MUTE,"
"DEAF-MUTE."
I DON'T MIND IT BECAUSE
MANY OF US CAN'T SPEAK.
IT'S REALLY NOTHING.
THAT'S ALL
I WANTED TO SAY.
- WELL, PEOPLE WHO ARE
INSIDE A GROUP HAVE A RIGHT TO
SELF-IDENTIFY THEMSELVES.
THEY CAN USE A WORD--
LIKE, IF A HEARING PERSON
WERE TO CALL ME "DEAF-MUTE,"
I WOULD SAY, "NO.
I CAN CALL MYSELF THAT,
BUT YOU CANNOT."
IT'S LIKE A WHITE PERSON CALLING
A BLACK PERSON A NIGGER.
BLACK PEOPLE CAN
CALL THEMSELVES THAT.
THEY CAN.
WITHIN THE GROUP,
YOU'RE ALLOWED.
YOU CAN PLAY WITH THE WORDS.
YOU CAN INSULT EACH OTHER.
AND IT WOULD BE THE SAME THING
IF A STRAIGHT PERSON WERE TO
CALL ANOTHER PERSON A FAG.
A PERSON WITHIN THE LGBT
COMMUNITY CAN USE THAT WORD,
BUT SOMEBODY OUTSIDE CANNOT.
SO IT'S ONLY WITHIN A GROUP
CAN YOU USE THOSE WORDS TO
PLAY OR TO OPPRESS EACH OTHER,
DEPENDING ON HOW YOU'RE USING
THE WORD OR USING
THE LANGUAGE,
BUT IT'S ONLY
WITHIN THE GROUP.
ANYBODY WITHIN A GROUP HAS
TO DECIDE WHAT THEIR LANGUAGE
IS GONNA BE, NOT SOMEBODY
FROM THE OUTSIDE.
IT HAS TO BE DONE INTERNALLY.
- LAST NIGHT'S PLAY--
I GUESS I WANTED MORE
CONVERSATION ABOUT--
WAIT. I MISSED
YOUR SPELLING.
OH, THE AUTHOR, BALLIN.
WHY DID THE DEAF CHARACTER TRY
TO CONVINCE A.G. BELL TO SIGN?
BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY WHY
HE REFUSED TO SIGN.
I GUESS I WANTED MORE
ELABORATION ON WHY BELL
DIDN'T SIGN.
- ACTUALLY, THE ORIGINAL
PLAY IS 3 1/2 HOURS LONG.
LAST NIGHT, I CUT IT DOWN TO 2
HOURS, AND SOME PEOPLE THOUGHT
IT WAS TOO LONG?
I HAD ONE PERSON COME UP
TO ME AND SAY,
"WOW, THAT SHOW WAS
ONLY AN HOUR LONG!"
AND I TOLD THEM, "NO.
IT WAS ACTUALLY 2 HOURS."
AND THEY WERE ASTONISHED
THAT THEY WATCHED IT THAT
ENTIRE TIME.
I APPLAUD THEM.
I ALSO APPLAUD THE PEOPLE
WHO SAT THROUGH THE
3 1/2-HOUR VERSION.
ONCE THEY WERE FINISHED,
I ASKED THEM IF THEY WERE OK,
AND THEY WERE DUMBFOUNDED.
SO THE 3 1/2-HOUR PLAY--
I HAD MORE DETAILS IN THAT,
BUT FOR THE SAKE OF TIME,
I HAD TO EDIT.
I HAD TO EDIT IT DOWN
AND CUT OUT SOME PIECES,
SO I APOLOGIZE ABOUT THAT.
IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE
ABOUT IT, YOU CAN READ
BALLIN'S BOOK.
IT'S OUT-OF-PRINT, I THINK,
BUT GALLAUDET LIBRARY HAS IT
AND NTID LIBRARY HAS IT.
I KNOW THAT BECAUSE I WAS
UP ON THE THIRD FLOOR, AND I
WALKED BY AND I SAW THIS BOOK
ABOUT FAMOUS DEAF PEOPLE,
AND I PULLED IT OUT.
IT WAS BALLIN'S BOOK WITH
HIS PICTURE AND A SYNOPSIS.
AND I USED THAT SYNOPSIS IN
MY PROGRAM LAST NIGHT,
IF YOU READ IT.
IT'S THE SAME SYNOPSIS.
I THOUGHT THAT
WAS PRETTY NICE.
ANOTHER QUESTION.
I HOPE THAT HELPS.
- THAT 3 1/2-HOUR VERSION,
WILL YOU PRODUCE THAT AGAIN?
- I HAVE A VERSION
ON VIDEOTAPE
WITH VOICE INTERPRETATION.
I HAVE IT ON VIDEOTAPE...
BUT I'M NOT GOING TO
SHOW IT, NOT YET.
I'M SAVING THIS.
ONCE I HAVE A COLLECTION,
THEN I'LL ADD IT TO THAT.
THAT'S ONE THING ABOUT
DEAF LIT, ASL LIT.
WE THINK, "OH, ONE
STORY IS ENOUGH."
BUT I BELIEVE WE HAVE TO MAKE
COLLECTIONS, A BODY OF WORK
TO PRESENT, A
COMPLETE SET OF WORK.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO
JUST DO ONE AND DONE.
I WANT TO COMPLETE A
COLLECTION, EXPAND ON IT,
SO I'M HOLDING THE VIDEOTAPE
UNTIL I HAVE A COLLECTION.
AND THEN ONCE I HAVE THAT,
THE VIDEOTAPE WILL
BE PART OF THAT.
I DON'T HAVE THE 3 1/2-HOUR
VERSION ON VIDEOTAPE.
IT'S A 2-HOUR VERSION.
AGAIN, IF YOU WANT TO READ
MORE ABOUT THIS, YOU HAVE TO
READ THE BOOK.
ONE MORE QUESTION.
- IS THAT PLAY IN THE BOOK
OF THE DEAF CHARACTERS
IN LITERATURE?
IS THAT STILL IN PRINT, OR
IS THIS A DIFFERENT STORY?
- NO. THE BOOK IS CALLED
"ANGELS AND OUTCASTS."
IT'S A COLLECTION OF
STORIES OF DEAF LITERATURE,
AND THERE'S AN EXCERPT IN THERE
CALLED "THE DEAF MUTE HOWLS,"
BUT IT'S VERY SHORT.
THE FULL VERSION
ISN'T PUBLISHED THERE,
BUT THAT'S A GOOD START.
THAT ONE STORY, AND THEN
THERE ARE MANY OTHER WORKS
IN THAT BOOK,
SO THANKS FOR
BRINGING THAT UP.
THAT COLLECTION,
"ANGELS AND OUTCASTS"--
IT'S A GOOD BOOK.
ALL RIGHT, ONE LAST QUESTION.
- OK, WAS "THE
DEAF MUTE HOWLS"
WRITTEN AS A PLAY FIRST?
- OK, WANT TO MAKE SURE
EVERYONE SAW THAT QUESTION.
WAS "THE DEAF MUTE HOWLS"
WRITTEN ORIGINALLY AS A PLAY?
NO.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY
A BOOK, NOT A NOVEL.
IT'S A WORK OF NON-FICTION.
IT INCLUDED HISTORY,
HISTORICAL FACTS.
SO I TOOK INFORMATION FROM THAT
AND THEN WROTE THE PLAY.
YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND,
BALLIN WROTE IN VERY
ELABORATE ENGLISH.
I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW, HE
WAS A VERY SKILLED WRITER.
MANY DEAF FOLKS BACK THEN
WERE SKILLED IN ENGLISH.
OK, I'M GONNA SET THAT ASIDE,
USING THIS COMMENT ON ENGLISH.
GREAT. THAT'S A PERFECT
LEAD-IN TO WHAT I WANT
TO TALK ABOUT NEXT.
SO WE'RE DONE WITH THE PLAY.
IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS,
I'LL ANSWER LATER.
SINCE I'VE BEEN WORKING AS
A PLAYWRIGHT, I HAVEN'T BEEN
FOCUSING ON THE TECHNIQUE
AND THE DETAILS AND ANALYSIS.
MY CONCERN HAS BEEN ABOUT
ONCE FOLKS DO ALL
THE ANALYSIS, THEN THEY SAY
THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO DO.
BUT WE NEED TO DEVELOP
MORE WORKS, MORE WRITING.
SO MY TOPIC IS "NOT HOW,
BUT WHAT?"
WHAT IS ASL LIT?
IT'S IMPORTANT TO DO ALL THE
ANALYSIS, ALL THE RESEARCH.
IT'S IMPORTANT,
BUT MY FOCUS IS
ON THE STORIES THEMSELVES.
WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM?
WHO IS TELLING THESE STORIES?
SO I'VE BEEN WORKING ON
A THEATER PROJECT
WITH A GROUP.
A GROUP OF INNER-CITY
KIDS, DEAF KIDS
WHO ARE DEAF-ORAL KIDS.
THESE KIDS TELL ME, "LOOK,
I CAN WRITE GOOD ENGLISH,
"BUT I'M STILL DEAF.
"WHY DO DEAF PEOPLE REJECT ME?
I'M STILL DEAF."
ARE THEY NOT PART OF ASL LIT,
TOO, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE ORAL,
EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE
WRITING IN ENGLISH?
SO I WANT YOU TO THINK
REALLY CRITICALLY ABOUT THIS.
ONE THING THAT I WAS
QUITE DISAPPOINTED WITH
IS I WISH I HAD A VIDEOTAPE
OF THEM TO SHOW YOU.
I HAVE ONE, BUT I THOUGHT
TONIGHT WE WOULD ONLY HAVE
A TV SCREEN, AND I DIDN'T WANT
TO SHOW IT ON A SMALL SCREEN.
BUT I FIND OUT THAT WE DO HAVE
A LARGE SCREEN, SO I APOLOGIZE
FOR NOT BRINGING
THIS VIDEOTAPE.
I DID FILM THE STUDENTS
SIGNING THEIR STORIES,
AND I ENDED UP WITH A PROJECT
OF A 20-MINUTE VIDEOTAPE.
MICHELLE BANKS WAS INVOLVED
IN THAT PROJECT AS WELL.
WHAT I ENVISION WAS THESE
STORIES ARE PART OF ASL LIT,
JUST LIKE BEN BAHAN'S "BIRD
OF A DIFFERENT FEATHER" STORY,
BUT ALSO STORIES ABOUT
DEAF LIVES, NOT METAPHORS,
NOT ALLEGORIES.
THOSE ARE BEAUTIFUL,
BUT TRUE STORIES.
WE TEND TO IGNORE THOSE.
STORIES LIKE MYTHS AND
FABLES HAVE BEEN PASSED DOWN,
AND THAT'S FINE.
BUT WHERE ARE THE TRUE
STORIES HAPPENING TODAY?
SO I STARTED
COLLECTING THESE STORIES.
THESE STORIES ARE FROM ORAL-
DEAF PEOPLE WHO HAVE WRITTEN
THEIR STORIES WITH THE HOPE
THAT LATER THEY'LL BE SIGNED
AND BECOME PART OF ASL LIT.
BECAUSE TRULY, THEIR STORIES,
THEIR LIVES ARE VERY MUCH
THE SAME AS THE STORIES OF
DEAF PEOPLE WHO SIGN.
I WANT TO SHARE MANY
INTERESTING POINTS--
ONE OF THEM BEING IS THAT ALL
THE WRITING WAS DONE WHEN ALL
THE HEARING PEOPLE
WERE OUT OF THE ROOM.
THE STUDENTS' WRITING
WAS DIFFERENT.
IF A HEARING PERSON WAS IN
THE ROOM WITH US, THE STUDENTS
FELT THAT THEY
COULDN'T TELL THE TRUTH.
AND IF THEY TOLD THE TRUTH,
THEY WOULD BE PUNISHED.
ISN'T THAT AWFUL?
THEY HAD THAT FEAR OF A
HEARING TEACHER LOOKING OVER
THEIR WRITING AND JUDGING IT
AND NOT LIKING IT.
SO I WENT AHEAD AND ACTED
OUT FOR THE STUDENTS.
AFTER I DID THE ACTING,
A SOCIAL WORKER GOT UP
AND SAID, "WELL, YOU
JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND.
"THESE ARE DEAF TEENAGERS.
IT'S QUITE APPROPRIATE
FOR THEM TO BE ANGRY."
AND I SAID, "I'M 29 YEARS OLD.
I'M NOT A TEENAGER ANYMORE.
"I'M 29 YEARS OLD,
AND I'M STILL ANGRY.
IS THERE SOMETHING
WRONG WITH ME?"
BUT SHE JUST DID NOT
UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE DEAF.
THEY JUST WANTED TO ARGUE
ABOUT WHY DEAF TEENAGERS
ARE ANGRY.
SO THEY CAN
EXPRESS THIS ANGER.
I'LL SHOW YOU ONE SHORT STORY.
THIS IS WRITTEN BY A GIRL.
I'M GONNA LET YOU KNOW,
THE INTERPRETERS HAVE
A SCRIPT, HAVE THE EXACT
SAME SCRIPT THAT I HAVE.
A LOT OF THE WRITING IS
IN ENGLISH, WRITTEN BY
THE DEAF-ORAL STUDENTS,
AND I'M GOING TO SIGN IT.
SO I'VE MADE SOME
MODIFICATIONS FOR SIGN.
WE CAN ADD ASL LATER.
THAT'S FINE.
ANYBODY CAN DO THAT.
I'M HAPPY TO GIVE THESE
SCRIPTS TO YOU TO TRANSLATE.
BUT THIS GIRL WAS SENT HOME.
SCHOOL WAS FINISHED,
AND SHE WENT HOME.
AND SHE NOTICED HER
MOM WAS CRYING.
AND SHE ASKED HER MOM,
AND HER MOM LOOKED AT HER.
AND MOM SAID, "I'M
A SINNER. I'M A SINNER.
GOD IS PUNISHING ME
BECAUSE YOU'RE DEAF."
AND THE GIRL LOOKED AT HER MOM
AND WENT STRAIGHT UP TO HER
BEDROOM AND CLOSED THE DOOR.
A COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER,
THE DOOR OPENS, AND MOM COMES
INTO THE BEDROOM AND
SAYS, "I'M SORRY.
I DIDN'T MEAN THAT."
AND THE GIRL LOOKS TO HER MOM
AND SAYS, "I'M A SINNER, TOO.
"I'M A SINNER.
GOD IS PUNISHING ME BECAUSE
GOD GAVE ME HEARING PARENTS."
HEARING PEOPLE LOVE TO
FEEL SORRY FOR DEAF PEOPLE.
AND DEAF PEOPLE FEEL SORRY
THAT THEY HAVE HEARING PEOPLE.
HERE'S ANOTHER EXCERPT I HAVE.
THE GIRL WAS 16 YEARS OLD.
ALL OF THE TEENAGERS I WORKED
WITH WERE BETWEEN 16 AND 17
YEARS OLD.
WONDERFUL STUDENTS,
WONDERFUL PEOPLE.
AS I WAS WORKING WITH THEM,
THEY WOULD SAY TO ME,
"YOU'RE NOT DEAF.
YOU CAN'T BE DEAF.
YOU'RE A TEACHER."
AND I SAID, "YEAH, I'M DEAF,
AND I CAN BE A TEACHER."
SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO
GATHER THESE KIDS' STORIES.
WE'VE COLLECTED THE PAST,
BUT WE HAVE TO
COLLECT THE PRESENT.
FOR TALKING ABOUT DEAF
CHILDREN, THESE TEENAGERS--
THEY'RE OUR HISTORY,
THE HISTORY OF OPPRESSION IN
A MAINSTREAM SCHOOL.
WE HAVE TO COLLECT THOSE
STORIES FOR FUTURE,
TO BE ABLE TO ANALYZE
THEM AND TO SIGN THEM.
WE ALREADY KNOW THAT HEARING
TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOM
CHANGES THE DYNAMIC...
AND IT MAKES THE ASL
LITERATURE BASED IN FEAR.
STORIES TOLD OUT OF FEAR DON'T
REALLY SEEM TO BE EFFECTIVE.
THE STORIES I COLLECTED
WERE MORE HONEST.
AND THEY'RE ALL HERE.
THEY'RE TRUE.
THIS IS WRITTEN BY
A GIRL WHO COMES FROM
A FRENCH-CREOLE FAMILY,
AND SHE WRITES,
"ENGLISH IS IMPORTANT.
IF I DON'T WRITE IN ENGLISH,
THEN I'M STUPID."
WELL, I GUESS IN ONE WAY,
SHE IS RIGHT.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW ENGLISH...
BUT IT CAUSES THIS
CONTRADICTION IN DEAF PEOPLE.
SO SHE GOES ON TO SAY,
"MY FAMILY LOVES ME
"BECAUSE I'M DEAF.
"THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO SIGN...
"AND I DON'T KNOW
HOW TO ENGLISH.
"THEY SPEAK ONLY FRENCH-CREOLE.
THEY'RE NICE TO ME BECAUSE
WE'RE IN THE SAME BOAT."
"BOTH OF US DON'T KNOW ENGLISH,
"BUT MY FATHER DRINKS A LOT
AND BAWLS ME OUT...IN CREOLE.
"WHEN I'M ANGRY, I YELL
BACK AT HIM AND I SIGN.
"NO ONE GETS HURT BECAUSE NO
ONE UNDERSTANDS EACH OTHER.
"BUT WE'RE SAD SOMETIMES.
I GUESS THAT'S OK."
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
PAGE 2 FOR THE INTERPRETERS.
SOME OF THE STUDENTS IN
THE GROUP WERE BLACK,
AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
THEIR STYLE OF SIGNING
WAS REALLY INTERESTING.
SOME OF YOU ATTENDED
THE WORKSHOP LAST NIGHT--
NO, I'M SORRY.
YESTERDAY AFTERNOON
FROM MICHELLE BANKS.
AND I CERTAINLY CAN'T REPLICATE
THEIR STYLE OF SIGNING.
THAT'S WHY WISH I HAD THE
VIDEOTAPE TO SHOW YOU,
BUT ANYWAY, THIS STUDENT
WRITES--NEVERTHELESS, THE MAN
WHO WROTE THIS WAS VERY WISE,
BUT HE EARNED "F"s IN SCHOOL.
AND HERE IT IS.
"I TALK. I SIGN.
"IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME,
WELL, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU.
"WHY?
"YOUR STORY AND MY STORY.
"THERE'S A MAN AND A WOMAN
WHO HAD A CUTE BABY.
THE MOTHER AND FATHER
TALKED TO THE BABY...
"TALKED AT THE BABY.
THEY DIDN'T REALLY
SEE THE BABY."
"THE MOTHER AND FATHER DECIDED
TO SHAKE THE BABY AND SHAKE
"THE BABY TO GET A RESPONSE,
BUT THEY DIDN'T SEE THE BABY.
"THEY SPANK THE BABY, AND STILL
THEY DIDN'T SEE THE BABY.
"THE MOTHER AND FATHER
BROUGHT IN A DOCTOR TO LOOK
AT THE BABY."
"THE DOCTOR ROUGHLY HANDLED THE
BABY AND YELLED AT THE BABY,
BUT HE DIDN'T SEE
THE BABY EITHER."
"THE DOCTOR PROCLAIMED
THAT THE BABY WAS BROKEN.
THE BABY WAS DEAF AND
DUMB AND SHOULD BE DEAD."
"THE BABY--THE BABY CRIED.
"NO.
"NO, HE DIDN'T CRY.
"THE MOTHER AND FATHER
COULD BE HEARD CRYING.
"THEY GREW FRUSTRATED
AND CALLED THE BABY BAD.
"AND PICKED HIM UP IN
FRUSTRATION AND SHOOK HIM AGAIN
AND COMMANDED HIM TO TALK."
THAT WAS WRITTEN BY
A 15-YEAR-OLD KID.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
- AGAIN, THE
QUESTION WAS REPEATED.
HOW OLD WAS THAT STUDENT?
15.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
"MY MOTHER TOLD ME SHE FELT
PUNISHED FROM GOD BECAUSE I
"WAS BORN DEAF.
"SHE TOLD ME THAT HEARING
PEOPLE WERE BETTER THAN
"DEAF PEOPLE.
WHY? SHE NEVER EXPLAINED."
THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE.
ANOTHER ONE
WROTE, "NO, NO.
"HEARING PEOPLE ARE BETTER THAN
DEAF PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY CAN
"LEARN TO SPEAK
ENGLISH AND SOCIALIZE
"USING THAT ENGLISH.
"HEARING PEOPLE ARE LUCKY
THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO
LEARN TO SIGN."
WOW.
HERE'S ANOTHER ONE.
"I FALL ON MY KNEES PRAYING
TO GOD THAT MY MOTHER WOULD
"LEARN TO SIGN,
BUT SHE WON'T
BECAUSE SHE'S TOO LAZY."
AFTER I WROTE THE PLAY BASED
ON THE WRITING THAT THESE
TEENAGERS DID, TWO OTHER
DEAF PEOPLE WANTED TO
PERFORM THE PLAY.
AND THERE WERE TWO DEAF
MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS THAT BANNED
THIS PLAY.
IT WAS PROBABLY THE FIRST
DEAF PLAY TO BE BANNED
BY A SCHOOL.
ONE OF THE SCHOOLS WAS
THE WHITNEY YOUNG SCHOOL
IN CHICAGO BANNED IT.
AND THE OTHER ONE--OH,
I FORGET THE NAME OF IT.
IT WAS A WHILE AGO.
BUT THEY JUST--
THEY "WEREN'T INTERESTED."
BUT IT WAS SO SURPRISING THAT
THESE SCHOOLS BANNED IT.
THE KIDS WERE SHOCKED BY THAT,
THAT THE PRINCIPAL BANNED
THIS PLAY FROM BEING SEEN.
- WHAT'S THE TITLE
OF THIS PLAY?
- THE TITLE IS
"DEAF WATCH SILENCE."
"DEAF WATCH SILENCE."
THEN I ASKED THE STUDENTS
TO WRITE SENTENCES
WITH REPETITIONS
OF TWO PHRASES.
AND ONE OF THE LINES CAUSED
SUCH CHAOS, MAKING A TEACHER
SO MAD, SHE WALKED OUT.
SHE GLARED AT ME.
BUT I SAID, "THIS IS THE
STUDENT'S WORK, NOT MINE."
HERE'S ONE.
"MY MOTHER IS HEARING.
MY MOTHER IS HEARING.
"SHE LOVES ME A LOT.
SHE LOVES ME A LOT.
"I THANK HER.
I THANK HER.
"SHE SEND ME GO.
SHE SEND ME GO.
"GOOD SCHOOL.
GOOD SCHOOL.
"SHE FELT. SHE FELT.
"BUT BUT BUT BUT
"I DO NOTHING.
I DO NOTHING.
"DEAF SCHOOL.
DEAF SCHOOL.
"MOVE TO DIFFERENT CLASS.
MOVE TO DIFFERENT CLASS.
"WE DEAF MOVE AS A GROUP
IN THE SCHOOL.
"WE DEAF MOVE AS A GROUP
IN SCHOOL.
"WE CHAT AND SIGN.
WE CHAT AND SIGN.
"BUT THE TEACHER
BUT THE TEACHER
"TEACHER STUPID.
"WHY THEY TALK?
"THEY DON'T SIGN.
"THEY TEACH.
"THEY DON'T SIGN.
"BUT HOW DO THEY KNOW
EVERYTHING EXCEPT SIGN?
"WHEN I SIGN, THEY NOD THEIR
HEADS UNCOMPREHENDINGLY.
"WHEN THEY TALK, I NOD MY
HEAD UNCOMPREHENDINGLY.
"WHEN A TEACHER ASKS ME
A QUESTION, I LOOK
"AT THE INTERPRETER.
"I'M CONFUSED.
"WHO ASKED ME?
"THE TEACHER OR
THE INTERPRETER?
"I'M CONFUSED.
I'M CONFUSED.
"WHO'S THE TEACHER?
WHO'S THE TEACHER?
"IS IT THE PERSON WHO
KNOWS HOW TO SIGN?
"IS IT THE PERSON WHO
DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO SIGN?
"PEOPLE CALL ME STUPID
BECAUSE I CAN'T TALK.
"SO WHY CAN'T I CALL TEACHERS
WHO CAN'T SIGN STUPID?
"WHY CAN'T WE CALL PEOPLE
WHO CAN'T SIGN STUPID?
WHY CAN'T WE CALL PEOPLE
WHO CAN'T SIGN STUPID?"
THIS NEXT ONE IS A
LITTLE MORE POSITIVE.
"GOOD, GOOD, GOOD.
"COMMUNICATION,
COMMUNICATION.
"WHY? FUN, FUN, FUN.
"HOURS, HOURS, HOURS.
WASTED, WASTED.
"CLASS WASTED, WASTED, WASTED.
CLASS WASTED, WASTED, CLASS.
"FORGET IT.
TIME TO CHAT.
"TIME TO CHAT.
TIME TO CHAT.
"COME ON
"WITH DEAF FRIENDS,
"DEAF FRIENDS,
DEAF FRIENDS,
"HUDDLED TOGETHER IN A HALLWAY.
HUDDLED TOGETHER IN A HALLWAY.
"HUDDLED TOGETHER
IN A HALLWAY.
"AND WE WHAT?
AND WE WHAT?
"SKIP SKIP SKIP,
SKIP CLASS CLASS.
"BECAUSE, BECAUSE, BECAUSE
"HEAR BELL?
HEAR BELL? HEAR BELL?
"NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING
"AND, AND, AND,
"WE LOVE, LOVE, LOVE
TO CHAT, CHAT, CHAT.
HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS
AND HOURS AND HOURS."
REALLY, THAT'S TRUE OF A
LOT OF DEAF STUDENTS
IN MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS.
THEY SKIP CLASSES 'CAUSE THEY'RE
IN THE HALLWAY, CHATTING
AND CAN'T BE BOTHERED
WITH THE BELL.
- A QUESTION FROM THE
AUDIENCE IS DID THEY WRITE
THE REPETITION 3 TIMES?
I MEAN, IS IT
WRITTEN THAT WAY?
- YES. I ASKED THE STUDENTS
BECAUSE WRITING IS SO
DEPENDENT ON SOUND.
AND I DIDN'T WANT SOUND
INVOLVED, SO I WANTED TO
CHANGE IT TO NUMBERS
AS OPPOSED TO SOUND.
SO TO PLAY WITH THE NUMBERS,
THE RHYTHM OF NUMBERS.
AND I GAVE THEM
THAT ASSIGNMENT.
AND IN TRANSLATING THAT INTO
SIGN, WE CAN DO THE SIGN
3 TIMES LIKE THIS, "PLAY, PLAY,
PLAY" OR "CHAT, CHAT, CHAT."
SO IT'S THE RHYTHM OF HOW
MANY TIMES WE DO THE SIGN.
I MET, MET, MET.
YOU CAN JUST SWEEP THE
SIGN BACK-AND-FORTH.
AGAIN, IT'S THE RHYTHM
OF 3 FOR THESE.
I FIND THAT INTERESTING.
- A QUESTION FROM
THE AUDIENCE IS
DO THESE STUDENTS WRITE
IN ENGLISH OR SIGN FIRST?
- I DON'T WANT TO TELL THE
STUDENTS "NO" IF THEY WANT TO
WRITE FIRST.
I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO
LET THEM DO WHAT THEY WANTED.
SO MOST OF THEM WROTE FIRST.
I JUST DIDN'T
WANT ANY PRESSURE.
I DIDN'T WANT TO FORCE
THEM INTO ANYTHING.
ONCE THEY GAVE ME THE ENGLISH,
WE TRIED TO FIGURE IT OUT
AND EXPAND ON IT.
OH, THERE'S A QUESTION
COMING FROM THE AUDIENCE.
- IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THERE
IS JUST A LOT OF EMOTION BEING
EXPRESSED, ESPECIALLY ANGER.
IT'S LIKE AN ANGER ISSUE.
I WONDER HOW DO WE ENCOURAGE
THEM TO EXPRESS THIS ANGER,
TO EXPRESS--I MEAN TYPICALLY,
THEY'RE HOLDING BACK
THESE EMOTIONS.
- BECAUSE I WAS DEAF LIKE
THEY WERE, I JUST HAD
A BOND WITH THEM.
THEY FELT I WAS
DEAF LIKE THEM.
TYPICALLY, THEY'RE WITH A
HEARING TEACHER, AND THERE'S
POLICIES THAT SAY
THEY CAN'T DO THIS,
THEY CAN'T DO THAT.
BUT I WAS IN THERE TO SAY,
"YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU
WANT TO DO."
SO THEY FELT THAT
IMMEDIATE CONNECTION WITH ME.
THEY WEREN'T INTIMIDATED.
WE HAD A BOND.
THE PROBLEM IS, SO MANY PEOPLE
WANT TO ANALYZE THEIR WORK.
IF YOU DO RESEARCH WITH A
HEARING PERSON IN THE ROOM,
I BELIEVE IT JUST CHANGES
THE WHOLE DYNAMIC.
EVEN IF THE HEARING PERSON
CAN SIGN, IT CHANGES IT.
IF YOU HAVE MAINSTREAM KIDS
OR GRASSROOTS DEAF FOLKS,
THEY LOOK AT THIS TESTING.
THEY BEEN TESTED
THEIR ENTIRE LIVES.
BUT DEAF PEOPLE TYPICALLY
DON'T TEST OTHER DEAF PEOPLE.
SO THEY'RE CONSTANTLY BEING
ASKED BY HEARING PEOPLE TO
TAKE THESE TESTS, AND DEAF
PEOPLE ARE SAYING, "I DON'T
WANT TO BE TESTED BY
HEARING PEOPLE ANYMORE."
SO IT'S A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC
WHEN THERE'S A DEAF
PERSON IN THE ROOM.
THERE IS ONE GIRL THAT
I WAS WORKING WITH.
I WAS WITH THEM
FOR 6 MONTHS.
THIS IS A GIRL.
SHE SAID SHE WANTED TO KILL
HERSELF BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T
EVER BE DEAF.
I WAS SHOCKED BY THIS.
NOW THERE'S A STATE LAW
SAYING THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO
TELL IF A STUDENT WANTS TO
HARM THEMSELVES, BUT I DIDN'T
THINK THIS KID WAS CRAZY.
SHE WAS JUST EXPRESSING A
FEELING THAT SHE HAD NEVER
SAID BEFORE ABOUT
HER DEAFNESS.
SHE DIDN'T MEAN
TO KILL HERSELF.
SHE JUST WAS SO FRUSTRATED.
I THINK SHE ACTUALLY TESTED
TO COME TO NTID, BUT SHE WAS
STILL AFRAID TO COME HERE.
SHE PASSED THE ADMISSIONS
TEST, BUT SHE WAS STILL AFRAID
TO COME HERE.
SHE JUST STILL WAS
FEELING THOSE BARRIERS.
THESE ARE OUR DEAF PEOPLE.
THEY'RE BEING INTIMIDATED.
THAT'S THE EXPERIENCE
THEY'RE HAVING.
- DOES THE GROUP STILL
TRAVEL AND PERFORM THAT WORK
IN DIFFERENT PLACES?
- WELL, I'D LIKE TO EXPAND
ON THEIR WORK AND CREATE
A FULL PLAY FROM THIS.
ALL THESE KIDS WERE FROM THE
CITY, AND HONESTLY, THERE WAS
ONE HARD OF HEARING KID
WHO RESISTED AND WANTED TO
BE HEARING, AND THIS
IS WHAT HE WROTE.
HIS LANGUAGE IS NOT EXACTLY
NICE, BUT... I'M GONNA SIGN
THAT, BUT IT'S HIS WRITING.
SO I HOPE YOU ACCEPT THAT.
HE WRITES,
"I LIKE DEAF GIRLS.
"WHEN I SEE THEM ON THE STREET,
I CALL THEM 'BITCH' AND TRY TO
"SUMMON THEM OVER.
"'LOOK AT THAT BITCH
ON THE STREET.'
"DEAF GIRLS ARE EASY LAYS.
"THEY'RE EASY LAYS
BECAUSE THEY DON'T SCREAM.
"DEAF GIRLS DON'T SCREAM.
"THEY CAN'T HEAR AND
THEY CAN'T TALK.
"THEY ARE EASY FUCKS.
"THEY ARE EASY FUCKS.
"BUT ONE THING I CAN'T STAND
IS THAT THEY'RE ALWAYS SIGNING
AND CAN'T SPREAD THEIR
LEGS WHEN THEIR SIGNING."
SO HE WAS QUITE UPSET THAT
HE COULDN'T BE INVOLVED
WITH THE DEAF KIDS.
HE FEELS LIKE HE'S LEFT OUT
WHEN PEOPLE ARE SIGNING...
THE SAME AS A DEAF PERSON
FEELS WHEN A HEARING
PERSON TALKS.
HE'S FEELING THAT WAY WHEN
A DEAF PERSON SIGNS.
YES, THAT'S TRUE. THAT
COULD BE HIS WEAPON.
- THIS SIGN THAT YOU USE.
I WANT TO KNOW WHAT
YOU MEAN BY THAT.
WHAT WAS THE WORD YOU USED?
LET'S LOOK AT THE ENGLISH.
I'M A LITTLE BIT
CONFUSED HERE.
SORRY. COULD YOU
REPEAT THE QUESTION?
IT COULD BE THE SAME AS WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT BLACK CULTURE.
THIS COULD BE A
DEAF CULTURE THING?
- IT WAS NOT A BLACK
PERSON THAT WROTE THIS.
- THIS SIGN YOU USED--
WHAT WAS THE WORD FOR THAT?
- LAY.
THE ENGLISH WORD WAS LAY.
DEAF GIRLS ARE LAID EASILY.
SO I USE THAT SIGN.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE
EASY TO FUCK.
AT THAT SCHOOL, THE SEXUAL
TENSION WAS QUITE HIGH.
YOU COULD REALLY SEE IT.
AND IT INFLUENCED HIS WRITING.
DO I HAVE ENOUGH
TIME FOR ONE MORE?
OK. LAST ONE.
I'VE GOT ONE MORE HERE.
OK. ONE STUDENT WROTE THAT
THEY WERE FEELING BAD.
HERE'S WHAT THEY WROTE.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
"YOU DON'T KNOW MY LANGUAGE,
"AND YOU TELL ME
IT'S NOT MINE.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
"I WORK HARD TO
LEARN YOUR LANGUAGE.
"AND STILL, YOU MAKE FUN OF
ME EVERY TIME I TRY TO SPEAK.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"SINCE I WAS BORN, IT'S
ALWAYS BEEN YOUR WORLD,
"ALWAYS YOUR RULES.
"YOU SEE ME AS BEING
WEIRD OR SILLY
"EVERY TIME I TRY TO SPEAK.
"BUT WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH,
YOU LOOK SILLY, TOO.
"YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF.
"YOU SAY YOU WANT THE BEST
FOR ME, THEN YOU PLACE MANY
"BARRIERS IN FRONT OF ME.
"YOU PLACE UPON ME THINGS TO
ME THAT ARE NOT ME.
"YOU DON'T LEARN MY LANGUAGE.
"I LEARNED YOURS
TO MAKE YOU HAPPY.
"AND WHEN I SEE YOU LAUGH,
EVERY TIME I TRY TO SPEAK,
"IT'S NOT BECAUSE I TRY
BUT BECAUSE MY SPEECH
IS WEIRD AND SILLY.
YOU ARE HEARING.
I AM DEAF."
ALL RIGHT. ARE THERE
ANY QUESTIONS?
YES.
- SO I DO WANT TO ASK.
ARE THESE KIDS WRITING IN
ENGLISH, OR ARE THEY WRITING
IN SIGN LANGUAGE?
- THEY'RE TRYING THEIR
BEST TO WRITE IN ENGLISH.
THEY'RE ORAL STUDENTS
WHO CAN TALK,
BUT I DIDN'T TELL THEM "NO."
I JUST LET THEM--WHAT I
THOUGHT WAS IMPORTANT,
THEY HAD TO EXPRESS
THEMSELVES IN WHATEVER WAY.
I DON'T WANT TO TEACH THEM ANY
TECHNIQUES OR WHATEVER THAT
WOULD INTIMIDATE THEM.
I JUST WANTED THEIR
IMAGINATIONS TO FLOW.
THAT'S WHAT I FOUND IMPORTANT.
THE STORIES, THE IDEAS,
ARE IMPORTANT.
THE ANALYSIS CAN COME LATER.
I REALLY THOUGHT THAT THE
ANALYSIS PART IS OUR JOB.
I FEEL THAT COLLECTING
THE STORIES, THAT'S
WHAT'S IMPORTANT.
NO MATTER HOW THEY WRITE
THEM, IN ENGLISH OR ASL,
I JUST WANT THEM TO
COLLECT THEIR STORIES.
BECAUSE ONCE WE GET THEIR
STORIES, WE CAN SIGN
THEM BEAUTIFULLY.
IT DOESN'T MATTER.
IT'S THEIR STORIES.
THAT'S WHAT'S IMPORTANT.
- SO, DID YOU HELP
THE STUDENTS WITH THEIR
SIGN LANGUAGE?
- THE VIDEOTAPE I HAVE OF
THE STUDENTS--WHAT YOU SAW
RIGHT NOW IS MY SIGNING.
THAT WAS ME
TRANSLATING THEIR POEMS.
THE VIDEOTAPE IS
QUITE DIFFERENT,
HOW THE STUDENTS SIGN IT.
AGAIN, I THOUGHT WE WERE ONLY
GONNA HAVE A SMALL SCREEN,
SO I DIDN'T BRING IT.
- CAN YOU SHOW
US AN EXAMPLE?
- WELL, I'M NOT
HEARING. I'M DEAF.
SO I DID NOT WANT TO
TELL THEM WHAT TO DO.
THERE'S PEOPLE HERE IN THE
AUDIENCE THAT ARE MUCH MORE
SKILLED THAN I TO BE ABLE
TO TRANSLATE THESE STORIES.
WE HAD GOTTEN TOGETHER
AND DONE A PLAY BEFORE.
I REALLY WISH I HAD BROUGHT
THE VIDEOTAPE FOR YOU TO SEE,
BUT I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT.
NEXT TIME, I WILL.
AT OUR SECOND ASL LIT
CONFERENCE, I WILL BRING IT ALL.
OH, YOU WANT ME TO
BRING THE PLAY AS WELL?
WITH INTERPRETERS?
I PROMISE, NEXT TIME I WILL
HAVE IT WITH INTERPRETERS.
OH, WAIT. THERE'S SOMEBODY IN
THE BACK THAT HAS A QUESTION.
GO AHEAD.
- GOING BACK, TALKING ABOUT
DEAF LIT AND ASL LIT,
WHAT IS THE GOAL?
WE HAVE A LOT OF DEAF LIT.
BUT DO YOU THINK IT
OVERLAPS WITH ASL LIT?
AND THEN WHEN WE
TALK ASL LIT,
IS IT JUST TAKING THE
WRITTEN STORIES AND PUTTING
IT INTO SIGN?
DO YOU THINK WE CAN
CHANGE IT INTO ASL?
- DEAF LIT IS ONE THING,
ASL IS ANOTHER.
ASL LIT TYPICALLY IS SIGNED
FIRST AND THEN TRANSLATED
INTO ENGLISH, BUT THEN, DOES
THAT BECOME DEAF LIT OR ASL LIT?
I WISH I HAD BROUGHT THE
VIDEOTAPE OF THE STUDENTS.
I REALLY WISH I HAD BROUGHT
IT SO YOU COULD SEE IT.
WELL, WE COULD DISCUSS
DIFFERENT SIGNING
SYSTEMS, I GUESS.
- IF SOMETHING IS SIGNED IN ASL
AS OPPOSED TO A SIGNING SYSTEM,
THAT'S NOT
THE SAME THING.
- WELL, ONE PERSON COULD SAY
THIS IS ASL AND ANOTHER PERSON
COULD SAY THIS IS NOT ASL.
I GUESS FIRST WE HAVE TO
DECIDE WHAT IS ASL...
OR WHAT IS SIGNED ENGLISH.
WE HAVE TO DECIDE ON
A SIGNING SYSTEM?
I'M GONNA LEAVE
THAT UP TO YOU.
THAT'S NOT MY PROBLEM.
I WANTED THE STUDENTS--
MY PROBLEM WAS THE STUDENTS.
I WANT THEM--LET'S SAY
IF THEY HAVE A CONCEPT
OR AN IDEA,
IF I IMPOSE A SIGNING
SYSTEM ON IT,
THEY'LL LOSE THAT.
OR VICE VERSA.
IF THEY GET UP THERE AND SIGN
ASL AND I TELL THEM, "NO,
YOU HAVE TO SIGN ENGLISH,"
THEN THEIR IDEA WILL BE LOST.
I WANT TO LEAVE IT UP
TO THE STUDENTS.
IF A PERSON SIGNS ENGLISH
AND YOU TELL THEM THEY
HAVE TO DO ASL,
I'LL LOSE THE STORY.
I'LL LOSE THEIR IDEAS.
I WANT TO GET THE IDEAS FIRST,
AND THEN WE CAN TRANSLATE THEM
INTO WHATEVER
LANGUAGE WE WANT.
- WELL, I SEE THE RAGE
THAT THESE STUDENTS HAVE.
IT'S THE SAME AS
OTHER DEAF PEOPLE.
I MEAN, BASICALLY,
UNDERNEATH IT ALL
THAT RAGES THERE, WHETHER
THEY SIGN OR SPEAK,
THERE'S SOMETHING TO THAT
THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS.
IT'S SO OBVIOUS,
BUT I DON'T KNOW
WHERE THE ANSWER IS.
WE'RE JUST AT THE
SURFACE OF IT.
- WELL, IF YOU USE ONE FORM,
THEN YOU HAVE TO
STICK WITH IT.
AND THEN AGAIN, PARTS OF
THE STORY WILL DISAPPEAR.
SO IF YOU LOOK AT A GOOD
DEAF STORYTELLER, YOU CAN
UNDERSTAND IT.
YOU CAN TRANSLATE IT
FROM ENGLISH TO ASL.
IF THERE ARE DEAF PEOPLE
THAT CANNOT SIGN ASL, WHAT'S
IMPORTANT IS THEIR STORY.
WE CAN EXPRESS IT
IN ASL LATER.
WE CAN TRANSLATE IT LATER.
ASL LIT CAN'T JUST BE
STORIES ORIGINATING IN SIGN.
WHERE BALLIN WROTE, HE
WROTE IN PERFECT ENGLISH,
ELABORATE ENGLISH.
YOU COULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE
THAT, BUT YOU CAN'T COMPLAIN
THAT THAT PERFECT
ENGLISH CAN'T BE PERFECTLY
TRANSLATED INTO ASL.
IT WON'T BE A NATURAL FIT.
THE SAME THING.
I WANTED TO FOLLOW WHATEVER
THE STUDENTS CAME UP WITH,
WHAT THEY CREATED.
I WANTED THEIR THOUGHT
PROCESSES TO BE FREE.
ONE MORE QUESTION.
- YOU DIDN'T IDENTIFY IF
THE STUDENTS WERE BLACK OR
HISPANIC OR WHITE.
I KNOW THEY'RE ALL DEAF,
BUT I'M A LITTLE MORE CURIOUS
ABOUT THEIR BACKGROUNDS.
- I'M NOT ANALYZING
THAT POINT RIGHT NOW.
I'M LOOKING AT THE
COMMONALITIES WHICH
ARE BASICALLY COMMUNICATION
BREAKDOWNS.
THEY ALL HAVE THAT SIMILAR
PATTERN, THAT THEME.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS FOCUSING ON.
I'LL LET SOMEBODY ELSE
DO MORE ANALYSIS.
- BACK TO THE BEGINNING.
THESE KIDS, NOT FEELING THEY'RE
A PART OF THE DEAF COMMUNITY.
YOU WERE SAYING THAT, CORRECT?
- FOR ME, YES, THEY ARE
PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
I'VE MET TOO MANY PEOPLE
THAT DISAGREE WITH THAT.
"OH, YOU DON'T KNOW ASL?
THEN FORGET YOU."
ALL OF US HAD TO LEARN ASL.
IT'S LIKE, IT'S ODD
THAT PEOPLE THINK THAT,
"OH, DEAF PEOPLE, ONCE
THEY'RE BORN THEY HAVE ASL."
NO. AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
HAS TO BE LEARNED.
OH, SURE, YOU CAN GESTURE,
BUT THE FORMAL LANGUAGE,
QUALITY ASL--QUALITY,
MEANING NOT PERFECT,
BUT UNDERSTANDABLE, CLEAR--
YOU LEARN THAT.
AND YOU DO THAT BY MIXING
WITH PEOPLE, INTERACTING.
IF YOU DON'T INTERACT WITH
OTHER DEAF PEOPLE, HOW ARE YOU
GONNA LEARN IT?
WE HAVE TO EMBRACE THEM IN OUR
COMMUNITY AND NOT REJECT THEM
JUST BECAUSE THEY
DON'T KNOW ASL.
FOR EXAMPLE, PETER COOK...
HE DID NOT SIGN
ORIGINALLY, AND
NOW LOOK AT HIM.
HE HAD TO JOIN THE COMMUNITY.
LUCKILY, HE CAME HERE
AND JOINED THE COMMUNITY.
THAT HAPPENS WITH
MANY DEAF KIDS.
IF THEY'RE IN A MAINSTREAM
SCHOOL, THEY HAVE NO OTHER
COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO BE WITH.
SO IF THEY DON'T KNOW ASL,
THEY JOIN A COMMUNITY AND THEY
DEVELOP LANGUAGE FROM THAT
COMMUNITY... AND LEARN ASL,
THEN THEY'RE FINE.
ENGLISH IS STILL
IMPORTANT AS IS ASL...
ONCE THEY MEET PEOPLE.
I THINK THERE'S
ONE PERSON WHO DID
SOME RESEARCH ON THAT
WHO HAS PASSED NOW.
I THINK HE DIED A WHILE AGO.
ALSO, THERE'S ONE OF
MY STUDENTS WHO WROTE
ABOUT THE GIRLS BEING BITCHES.
HE ALSO HAS PASSED AWAY.
IT'S UNFORTUNATE WE LOST HIM.
WE NEED PEOPLE LIKE HIM
TO TELL THEIR STORIES.
BUT A FEW OF THE OTHER
STUDENTS, I STILL KNOW THEM.
THEY'VE GRADUATED, AND THEY'RE
USING MORE AND MORE ASL.
THEY'VE GOT OUT OF THEIR
SCHOOL--ONCE YOU GRADUATE
FROM A MAINSTREAM PROGRAM
WHERE YOU'RE ONLY WITH HEARING
PEOPLE, YOU GET OUT WHERE
THEY CAN MINGLE WITH MORE
DEAF PEOPLE.
UNLESS HEARING PEOPLE ARE
INVOLVED WITH THEM, YOU CAN
SEE THEIR LANGUAGE CHANGE.
BUT THEY'RE VALID TO US.
THEY'RE VERY VALID TO US.
- TODAY, I'M GOING TO BE
SPEAKING ABOUT ABC AND
NUMBER STORIES AND THEIR
IMPORTANCE IN ASL LIT.
BEFORE I GO ON, WE'LL
LOOK AT MY OUTLINE
SO YOU CAN SEE
WHERE I'M GOING.
I'M SURE YOU REALIZE THAT EACH
COUNTRY HAS THEIR OWN CULTURE,
THEIR OWN LANGUAGE, AS
WELL AS THEIR OWN LIT,
WHICH IS DIFFERENT THAN
ANY OTHER CULTURE.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED
WITH DIFFERENT CULTURES
IN LITERATURE, AND I'VE READ
MANY FOLKTALES FROM VARIOUS
COUNTRIES AND HAVE BEEN
FASCINATED HOW OFTEN NUMBERS
AND CHARACTERS ARE
IN THESE TALES.
AND NOW MY INTEREST HAS
SHIFTED TO DEAF CHARACTERS
IN FOLKTALES.
ODDLY ENOUGH,
PEOPLE HAVE SAID
DEAF PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE ASL
LIT, WHEN IN FACT WE DO.
WE'VE HAD ASL LITERATURE IN
THE DEAF COMMUNITY FOR MANY,
MANY YEARS.
I'LL TALK ABOUT ABC STORIES
AS AN EXAMPLE OF ASL LIT LATER
IN THIS PRESENTATION.
WE'VE SEEN A GROWING INTEREST
IN ASL LIT, AND WE HOPE THAT
WILL CONTINUE...
AND HOPE THAT THE BODY OF
ASL LIT GROWS FOR FUTURE
APPRECIATION, FOR DEAF
ADULTS AS WELL AS CHILDREN.
MY TOPIC IS ABC AND NUMBER
STORIES, WHICH ARE BASED
ON A STRONG VISUAL FOCUS
AND CONCEPTUAL LANGUAGE.
IT'S KNOWN IN DEAF CLUBS,
SCHOOLS, AND RESIDENTIAL
PROGRAMS, HOMES--DEAF CHILDREN
AS WELL AS ADULTS WILL TELL
STORIES USING THE
ALPHABET FROM A TO Z.
AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THESE
STORIES FOR MANY YEARS.
OH, BEFORE I GO ON, I WOULD
LIKE YOU ALL TO PREPARE TO
SHOW ME AN ABC STORY THAT
YOU'LL COME UP HERE
AND PRESENT ON STAGE WHEN
I FINISH WITH MY LECTURE.
THEN WE CAN QUESTION YOU, THE
PERFORMER ABOUT THEIR STORY,
AND THAT'LL MAKE US
THINK HOW WE CAN ENCOURAGE
DEAF CHILDREN TO DEVELOP
THEIR OWN STORIES
AND ADULTS AS WELL.
SO PLEASE PREPARE FOR THAT.
ABC STORIES AND NUMBER STORIES
ARE A GENRE OF DEAF FOLKLORE.
AND DIFFERENT CULTURES HAVE
THEIR OWN WAYS, JUST LIKE
DANCE OR LANGUAGE.
THESE ARE ALL WAYS OF HOW
MESSAGES CAN BE PASSED FROM
ONE PERSON TO ANOTHER
BY "WORD-OF-MOUTH"
OR IN OUR WORLD, WE SAY
BY "SIGN OF HANDS."
THAT'S HOW WE PASS
ON THESE MESSAGES.
SOME OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW
THE SIGN FOR "FOLKLORE."
WELL, I'VE CREATED ONE
BECAUSE, WELL, PASSING ALONG
A MESSAGE FROM ONE
PERSON TO ANOTHER.
THIS IS THE SIGN I'M USING.
SOME PEOPLE WOULD START THE
SIGN FROM BEHIND THEM MOVING
FORWARD, BUT ALL STORIES
ARE NOT FROM THE PAST.
THEY CAN START
ANYWHERE IN TIME.
BUT TO CLEARLY SIGN IT,
IT'S COMING FROM ONE PERSON
AND BEING PASSED
ON TO ANOTHER.
YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH ME,
BUT THAT'S FINE.
DEAF FOLKLORE CAN
BE GROUPED BY GENRE.
AS YOU SEE HERE, ONE TYPE CAN
BE ABOUT BEING MISUNDERSTOOD,
WHERE HEARING PEOPLE HAVE
MANY MISCONCEPTIONS
ABOUT DEAF PEOPLE.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE DON'T HAVE
EARS OR THAT DEAF PEOPLE CAN
READ AND WRITE BRAILLE.
THEY HAVE MANY MISCONCEPTIONS
HERE AND ABROAD.
AND HERE'S A DEAF CARTOON.
SO SOMETIMES PEOPLE LIKE
TO HEAR STORIES ABOUT DEAF
DOGS OR CATS.
PEOPLE KNOW THAT WHITE CATS
WITH TWO DIFFERENT EYE COLORS
ARE OFTEN DEAF.
DEAF PEOPLE OFTEN WANT TO SEE
STORIES THAT ARE RELATABLE
ABOUT THE DEAF IDENTITY.
NOW I WANT TO FOCUS ON
SIGN LANGUAGE LORE AND WHAT
THAT MEANS.
IT'S ABOUT A PERSON, HOW THEY
SIGN, AND THEY CAN SHOW THAT
TO A FRIEND OF THEIRS.
IT'S ALSO WHAT WE CALL
THE IQ TEST, AND IT'S FOR
ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES.
SO LET'S LOOK AT ALL THESE
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SIGN LORE.
AS YOU CAN SEE,
THERE ARE MANY.
HERE'S AN EXAMPLE...
WITH A DUEL.
ANOTHER ONE IS USING THE
LETTERS FOR JAWS AND YOUR
FACIAL EXPRESSION.
I WANT TO SHARE WITH
YOU AN EXPERIENCE.
I WAS IN GREECE A FEW YEARS
AGO, AND I SHARED THAT PLAY
ON FINGERSPELLING, JAWS,
AND I NOTICED THE GREEK DEAF
PEOPLE WERE AMAZED AND THEY
REACHED OUT TO ME AS THEY
DON'T HAVE THESE TYPE OF
STORIES IN GREECE AND THEY
YEARN FOR MORE STORIES LIKE
THESE, INCORPORATING THEIR
SIGN LANGUAGE
OR DEAF CHARACTERS.
NOW I'LL SHOW AN EXAMPLE
OF SIGN METAMORPHOSIS.
SO THAT'S A BUTTERFLY. IT
STARTS CRAWLING ON THE GROUND
UP TO THE TREE, AND HE'S
ACTUALLY SPELLING OUT
BUTTERFLY STARTING FROM
A CATERPILLAR, BECOMING
A BUTTERFLY.
SO YOU CAN SEE
THE SIGN CHANGES.
IT'S ACTUALLY YOUR
FINGERSPELLING THAT CHANGES,
AND THERE ARE A VARIETY
OF THESE TYPES OF STORIES.
AS WELL AS TOTAL
COMMUNICATION, WHERE WE
CHANGE THE SIGN.
WHERE THE TEA IS SMOKING
IN THE "C" INSTEAD
OF COMMUNICATION IS A CUP.
AND THEN ANOTHER ONE IS Ph.D.
MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT'S A
DEGREE, BUT WE THINK OF IT AS
PLEASE HELP DEAF--Ph.D.
THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF
AN ABBREVIATION STORY.
ANOTHER ONE IS A CATCH SIGN.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THAT
HAS NO EASY ANSWER, OR IT CAN
BE ANSWERED IN A
TOTALLY DIFFERENT WAY.
FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT DO YOU
THINK THAT IS ON THE SCREEN?
SOME PEOPLE HAVE CAUGHT IT.
SOMEBODY IN THE
AUDIENCE SAYS, "DOUBT"?
OR ANOTHER PERSON THINKS
IT SAYS, "DO YOU?"
DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
I'LL SHOW YOU ANOTHER ONE.
THIS IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE
OF USING "WHEN" AND "BUT."
I'LL EXPLAIN THAT LATER.
WHAT DOES THIS ONE SAY?
IT DOESN'T MEAN WHAT IT MEANS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN "MEAN."
IT MEANS "FORK."
MANY DEAF PEOPLE ARE SKILLED
IN ASL AND CAN PLAY
WITH THE SIGNS.
AND THEY WRITE THESE "IN THEIR
MIND" AND THEY ARE IN PERFECT
ASL, BUT TOUGH TO
TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH.
I THINK WE HAVE A
QUESTION FROM THE AUDIENCE.
CAN EVERYBODY HOLD UP BECAUSE
WE NEED THE INTERPRETER TO
GET UP HERE?
- IT'S LIKE ON A TYPICAL
FORM WHEN THEY ASK FOR SEX,
AND THEY'RE ASKING IF
IT'S MALE OR FEMALE,
BUT A DEAF PERSON WILL
WRITE "YES" FOR SEX.
- YES, I'VE
HEARD THAT HAPPEN.
THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S BEING
ASKED, BUT THEY PUT DOWN "YES,"
OR THEY PUT DOWN "OH, 3 TIMES
A WEEK" ON A JOB APPLICATION,
BUT THAT'S NOT AN
EXAMPLE OF THIS.
THIS IS WHERE YOU HAVE
TO CATCH THE SIGN.
YOU'RE SPEAKING OF A PERSON'S
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.
SO WHAT I DISCOVERED WHILE I WAS
DURING THIS RESEARCH, I FOUND
I WAS TRYING TO JUSTIFY THAT
ABC STORIES ARE INDEED PART
OF ASL LIT.
YOU SEE,
I'M NOT A PERFORMER.
I COLLECT THESE STORIES, DO
THE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS,
AND THEN, ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES
I DO SHOW THEM TO PEOPLE,
MY GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE
THAT BOTH DEAF AND HEARING
PEOPLE UNDERSTAND
DEAF CULTURE
THROUGH OUR FOLKLORE,
THROUGH OUR STORIES.
WE HAVE TO DO THIS
THROUGH ANALYSIS.
FROM MY OWN WORK LAST WEEK,
I DISCOVERED SOMETHING
RATHER AMAZING.
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS LIST
ON THE SCREEN, DOES ANYBODY
RECOGNIZE A PATTERN?
YES, THEY ALL INCLUDE THE
WORD "SIGN," BUT THERE'S ONE
NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES.
ANY GUESSES?
SIGNS?
YES, CORRECT.
THEY'RE ALL SIGNS, BUT
THERE'S ONE PART THAT IS
MUCH DIFFERENT.
ANY GUESSES?
CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCES?
THERE'S SIGN AND
THEN NAME SIGN--
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON,
LINCOLN, AND SO FORTH.
THERE'S NO STORY TO THAT.
ANOTHER ONE IS ABC's, DOING
THE ALPHABET, OR LIKE DUEL,
AND THEY BECOME GUNS.
WE GO DOWN THE LIST, BUT
IF YOU NOTICE DOWN HERE
AT THE BOTTOM...
THESE ARE MUCH DIFFERENT
THAN THE OTHERS.
DO YOU AGREE WITH ME?
GREAT.
SO I'LL SHARE
SOMETHING WITH YOU.
I TRIED TO DETERMINE WHEN
TELLING ABC STORIES STARTED.
I ASKED OLDER PEOPLE
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
SOME SAID THEY SAW THEM
WHEN THEY GOT TO GALLAUDET,
TO COLLEGE.
OTHERS SAID IN THEIR
DEAF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL.
SOME SAID THEY STARTED
SOMEWHERE IN THE 1950s.
OTHERS SAID IN THE 1940s,
BUT NOW MY HYPOTHESIS NOW IS,
IT STARTED IN THE 1940s.
BEFORE THAT, I
JUST DON'T KNOW.
I'VE ASKED OLDER DEAF PEOPLE
HERE IN ROCHESTER,
AND WHEN THEY SHOWED THEM
AN EXAMPLE, THEIR REACTION IS,
"OH, I'VE NEVER EVEN SEEN
THAT BEFORE."
SO THAT'S MY
HYPOTHESIS SO FAR.
I'VE NOT FINISHED
MY RESEARCH YET.
PERHAPS SOME OF YOU MIGHT
ALSO JOIN IN THIS RESEARCH
AND AT OUR NEXT CONFERENCE WE
CAN POSSIBLY NAIL DOWN A DATE.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU ANOTHER
EXAMPLE OF A STORY, AND THEN
WE'LL GO AHEAD IN VIDEO,
AND THEN WILL HAVE A DISCUSSION.
BUT FIRST, I'LL EXPLAIN
THE PROCEDURE, WHAT WE'RE
GOING TO DO.
I'M GONNA SHOW YOU AN ABC
STORY, AND I'M GOING TO ASK
THE INTERPRETER NOT
TO VOICE FOR A WHILE.
ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT ONE.
OH, PARDON ME.
I SHOULD'VE INTRODUCED
THAT LAST STORY.
THE TITLE OF THIS
IS "WHO DID IT?"
THE NEXT PIECE IS A NUMBER
STORY, AND IT'S CALLED
"COWBOYS AND INDIANS."
I KNOW SOME OF YOU HAVE
ALREADY SEEN THIS BEFORE,
BUT I WANT TO USE IT AS AN
EXAMPLE FOR THIS LECTURE.
IT'S A STORY USING THE
NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 15.
NOW I'M GOING TO SHOW
YOU A VIDEOTAPE.
I GOT THIS FROM
GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY.
IT WAS PRODUCED AS PART OF A
PILOT PROJECT, JUST TO GIVE
YOU AN IDEA.
GREAT. NOW CAN WE TURN
THE HOUSE LIGHTS UP, PLEASE?
I WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE
EVERYBODY SEE EACH OTHER.
HOUSE LIGHTS, PLEASE.
THANK YOU.
GOD MADE US SEE
EACH ALL CLEARLY.
AS YOU WATCH THIS, YOU NOTICED
I HAD TO ADD THE WORD "REPLAY"
ON THE VIDEO.
NOW, WHY DO YOU THINK I
HAD TO DO THAT?
I WANTED TO TELL VIEWERS
THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO
REWIND TO REPEAT THAT STORY,
NOT TO HAVE TO SHOW IT OVER
AND OVER AGAIN.
SO THEY COULD SEE
THE STORY TWICE.
THE LAST STORY, I FILMED
AT THE KENTUCKY SCHOOL
FOR THE DEAF
SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
HAD A TERRIFIC STUDENT.
SHE WAS 16 YEARS OLD,
JUST WONDERFUL.
SHE WORKED WITH
NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 25.
I KNOW OF OTHERS WHO'VE
CREATED STORIES WITH NUMBERS
FROM 1 TO 50
OR EVEN 150.
I WANT TO SPEAK NOW
TO THE PROCESS.
FOR THOSE WHO ARE UNFAMILIAR
WITH ABC STORIES AND HOW THEY
CAN BE USED TO EDUCATE
HEARING, DEAF, AND ORAL KIDS
AS TO WHAT AN ABC STORY
IS ALL ABOUT.
WE KNOW THAT ABC STORIES
ARE BASED ON A VISUAL
LANGUAGE CONCEPT,
NOT ON A SPOKEN
LANGUAGE CONCEPT.
TYPICALLY, HEARING PEOPLE
DO NOT UNDERSTAND OUR ABC
STORIES, NATURALLY.
NOW I'M GONNA ASK ONE OF
THE INTERPRETERS TO VOICE
MY FIRST ABC STORY
I SHOWED YOU.
AND WE'RE GONNA NEED
SOME HELP OVER HERE...
AS I WANT YOU TO KNOW WHAT
THE INTERPRETER IS SAYING.
I'LL TELL THE STORY AGAIN
WITHOUT THE INTERPRETATION,
BUT WE'LL HAVE THE SECOND
INTERPRETER SIGN
WHAT THE VOICE
INTERPRETER IS SAYING.
OK, AGAIN, THIS
IS "WHO DID IT?"
OK, NOW I'M GONNA ASK--
OH, WAIT ONE MINUTE.
OK.
AGAIN, NOW I'M GOING TO ASK
THE INTERPRETER TO SIGN TO
THE OTHER INTERPRETER JUST
THE LETTERS IN THE STORY.
SO WE'LL ONLY FOCUS ON THE
LETTERS, NOT THE WORDS.
RIGHT. THE INTERPRETER WILL
HAVE TO DO JUST THE LETTERS.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K,
L, M, N, O, P,
Q, R, S, T, U, V,
W, X, Y, Z.
OK?
THANK YOU.
NOW, THE NEXT STEP,
THE INTERPRETER CANNOT
DO A DIRECT WORD-FOR-
SIGN TRANSLATION.
YOU KNOW, THAT SAYING THAT
"A PICTURE IS WORTH
A THOUSAND WORDS"?
IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY A
THOUSAND WORDS IN A FEW SECONDS.
IMPOSSIBLE.
SO I CAN GIVE YOU A FEW
EXAMPLES OF THE WORDS THAT
THEY CAN SAY.
I'LL EXPLAIN HOW
I WROTE THIS LATER.
WE'VE NOTICED THAT DEAF PEOPLE
TYPICALLY DO NOT GIVE
THE TITLE BEFORE THE STORY
BEFORE THEY PERFORM IT,
AS I DID.
I TOLD THE STORY AND THEN TOLD
YOU THE TITLE, "WHO DID IT?",
SO YOU COULD VISUALIZE THAT
IT WAS A STORY ABOUT SOMEBODY
KILLING ANOTHER PERSON.
BUT OTHERS DON'T WANT
TO KNOW BEFOREHAND.
THEY WANT TO VISUALIZE THE
PIECE AS A WHOLE AND THEN ADD
THE TITLE AT THE END,
LIKE IN EUROPE.
OH, THERE'S A BOOK.
YOU KNOW, LIKE THE TABLE
OF CONTENTS IN THE FRONT
OF THE BOOK.
THERE'S INFORMATION THERE.
BUT IN EUROPE, THAT
INFORMATION IS ALWAYS
IN THE BACK OF THE BOOK, SO IT'S
THE SAME PRINCIPLE WITH THIS.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THIS
INTERPRETATION LATER.
BUT THESE STORIES ARE
WIDESPREAD, EVEN THOUGH
WE DON'T KNOW WHERE
THEY STARTED FROM.
WE DO THINK THEY COME FROM
THE DEAF RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS
OR DEAF CLUBS.
SO I ASKED YOUNG
AND OLDER DEAF PEOPLE
WHERE THEY SAW THESE
STORIES, AND MANY
OF THEM SAID FROM
THEIR TEACHERS.
AND I ASKED IF THEIR TEACHERS
WERE HEARING, AND THE ANSWER
WAS NO, THAT THEY
WERE DEAF TEACHERS.
SO THESE ARE COMING FROM
DEAF TEACHERS WHO WERE TAUGHT
HOW TO TEACH DEAF CHILDREN,
MOSTLY FROM GALLAUDET,
TO THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS,
TO THE DEAF CLUBS
AND THEN OUT INTO
THE COMMUNITY.
I'VE HAD A WONDERFUL
EXPERIENCE FINDING THAT HERE
IN AMERICA, WE DEAF PEOPLE
HAVE THESE ABC STORIES.
OTHER COUNTRIES DO NOT.
I'VE ASKED PEOPLE AT
INTERNATIONAL DEAF WORKSHOPS,
THE INTERNATIONAL DEAF
INTERPRETERS WORKSHOP
AT THE WORLD CONGRESS FOR
THE DEAF IN FINLAND IN 1987.
I GAVE AN INTRODUCTION ON
DEAF FOLKLORE AND SPOKE
ABOUT ABC STORIES.
AND A GENTLEMAN FROM SWEDEN
APPROACHED ME AND TOLD ME HOW
FORTUNATE WE AMERICANS ARE
BECAUSE WE HAVE SUCH STORIES
IN SIGN LANGUAGE.
SO I ASKED HIM TO GIVE ME
AN EXAMPLE IN HIS LANGUAGE,
AND HE TOLD ME HE COULDN'T.
SO I ASKED HIM TO SHOW ME
SWEDISH FINGERSPELLING.
I'LL SHOW YOU AMERICAN ON
MY LEFT HAND AND SWEDISH
ON MY RIGHT.
SO IT'S QUITE
DIFFERENT THAN OURS.
AND THEN I EXPLAINED THAT
HE COULD CREATE STORIES,
GET TOGETHER WITH HIS FRIENDS,
AND TRY TO DEVELOP IT.
HE WAS DOUBTFUL, BUT I
ASSURED HIM HE COULD TRY.
THE NEXT DAY AT THE SECOND
PART OF MY WORKSHOP BEFORE I
COULD BEGIN, HE AGAIN
APPROACHED ME AND SHOWED ME
AN ABC STORY USING
SWEDISH FINGERSPELLING.
I CONGRATULATED HIM, SAYING,
"OTHER COUNTRIES COULD DO
THE SAME."
A YEAR LATER AT THE DEAF WAY
FESTIVAL, I WAS LECTURING
ON DEAF FOLKLORE AND A WOMAN
APPROACHED ME AND ASKED IF I
REMEMBERED A MAN WHO HAD
SAID HE COULD DO AN ABC STORY
IN SWEDISH SIGN LANGUAGE.
"YES, I REMEMBERED HIM."
SHE TOLD ME HE HAD DEVELOPED
BETWEEN 15 TO 25 ABC STORIES,
AND THEY WERE THROUGHOUT
ALL OF SWEDEN NOW.
BRAVO!
NOW I HOPE OTHER
COUNTRIES WILL FOLLOW SUIT.
DEAF CHILDREN AND ADULTS NEED
TO DEVELOP LIT IN THEIR OWN
LANGUAGE FOR THE FUTURE.
NOW, WE DO HAVE SOME DIFFICULTY
IN DEVELOPING AN ABC STORY.
IF YOU RECALL, IF YOU NOTICE, AN
ABC STORY FOLLOWS THE ALPHABET.
BUT IN ONE STORY, I BROKE
THE RULE AND DID NOT USE
A PROPER "T."
INSTEAD, I USED THIS GESTURE,
THIS GESTURE.
SO I BROKE THE RULE
BY USING THIS GESTURE,
BUT IT HAD TO MAKE
SENSE WITHIN THE STORY.
IN ONE OF THE STORIES ON THE
VIDEOS, THEY USED A PROPER "T"
IN FINGERSPELLING,
NOT MY GESTURE.
IF YOU REMEMBER, THAT
WAS ON THE TAPE.
ALSO, TOO, THERE
IS ANOTHER ISSUE.
YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL
IN TELLING THE "COWBOY
AND INDIAN" STORY.
THE VERY LAST SIGN, IF YOU
SEE, IS THE INDIANS GIVE UP.
MY GRADUATE ADVISOR AT
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY TOLD ME
ABSOLUTELY NO!
I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW
DISCRIMINATORY THAT WAS,
HOW BIASED.
IT JUST SO HAPPENED MY ADVISOR
WAS FLUENT IN INDIAN LANGUAGES,
AND HE TOLD ME WE HAVE
NATIVE AMERICANS HERE ON CAMPUS,
AND WE DON'T WANT TO STEREOTYPE
THEM AS BAD PEOPLE.
SO I HAD TO RESPECT THAT,
AND I WISH TO APOLOGIZE IF I
OFFENDED ANYONE HERE.
I SHOULD NOT
INCLUDE THIS STORY.
I WENT TO SOUTH DAKOTA
LAST AUGUST, AND I DEFINITELY
REMOVED THAT STORY.
I NEED TO FIND ANOTHER
NUMBER STORY TO SUBSTITUTE.
WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF
BIASES OR DISCRIMINATION
IN OUR ABC STORIES.
THAT PROVIDES A
DIFFERENT PROBLEM.
NOW I WANT TO HELP YOU TO
DEVELOP AND RECORD ABC STORIES
FOR THE FUTURE PRESERVATION
FOR WHICH THERE'S A GREAT NEED.
I SAY THAT BECAUSE WHEN
I STARTED AT GALLAUDET,
I WAS ORAL.
I LEARNED ASL THERE.
I WAS FASCINATED BY IT.
WHEN I ENTERED COLLEGE,
I MET AN UPPERCLASSMAN WHO
LOVED SIGNING ABC STORIES.
I WAS HOOKED.
I WOULD ASK HIM TO REPEAT
THE STORY, 5, 6 TIMES.
WELL, HE GRADUATED
AND MOVED ON.
I WAS MAJORING IN ELECTRONICS,
HAVING NOTHING TO DO
WITH LIT WHATSOEVER.
I DECIDED TO CHANGE MAJORS
TO ANTHROPOLOGY, THE STUDY
OF CULTURES, AND I FOUND
FOLKLORE IS A PART
OF ANTHROPOLOGY BECAUSE YOU
CAN FIND CULTURAL REFERENCES
WITHIN ITS STORIES.
SO SPEAKING OF ABC STORIES,
I WENT TO A CLASS REUNION
25, 35 YEARS LATER, AND I MET
THAT PERSON WHOSE ABC STORIES
I SO LOVED AND ASKED THEM
TO TELL ME A STORY.
THEIR RESPONSE WAS THEY
HAD FORGOTTEN THEM.
LOST!
THAT'S WHEN I DECIDED WE
NEED TO PRESERVE OUR STORIES,
AND I'LL SHOW YOU
THE DIFFERENT WAYS.
TO START WITH--OH, GOSH,
THE TIME LIMIT.
I'LL TRY TO BE BRIEF.
I STARTED WRITING DOWN THE
ALPHABET AND THEN SITTING
WITH THE STORYTELLER
AND MATCHING VOCABULARY
TO EACH LETTER.
FOR EXAMPLE...
SO IF I WERE TO GIVE
A PERFORMANCE, THEY COULD
PULL OUT THE SHEET AND
HAND IT TO THE INTERPRETER.
WE NEED THAT.
ANOTHER WAY IS TO FILM
THE STORIES, EITHER
VIDEOTAPE OR FILM.
YEAH, THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH
VIDEOTAPE BECAUSE IT DOESN'T
LAST FOREVER.
IT'LL KEEP FOR 5 TO 10 YEARS
AND THEN WEAR OUT.
WE DO NEED TO BE
CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE.
WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT
TO BE BIASED AND ELIMINATE
SOME STORIES.
WE NEED TO PRESERVE THEM ALL.
WE NEED TO FILM ALL TYPES OF
STORYTELLERS, EVEN IF THEY'RE
TERRIBLE SIGNERS.
WE'RE TRYING TO
CAPTURE THEIR IDEAS.
WE NEED THAT WORLD VIEW.
I WOULD LIKE IN THE FUTURE
TO DO ANALYSIS AND COMPARE,
FOR EXAMPLE, HOW PEOPLE START
A STORY WITH KNOCK ON THE DOOR
AND OPEN IT AND LOOK, AND
YET THEY END IT DIFFERENTLY
DEPENDING ON WHO
THE TELLER IS.
WHY DON'T ALL THE
STORIES LOOK THE SAME?
I'M INTERESTED IN HOW
THEY DEVELOPED IT FROM
THEIR PERSPECTIVE,
HOW THEIR MIND WORKS.
LAST ONE.
THIS IS FROM MITCHELL ROBERTS,
WHO'S FROM CALIFORNIA,
AND IT'S A NUMBER STORY
GOING FROM 0 TO 11.
SO IT ALL LINKS.
IT'S IMPORTANT
IF A PERSON CAN'T FIND THE WORDS
TO DESCRIBE WHAT THEY WANT,
THEY CAN DRAW IT.
THE LAST SIGN IS 11
FOR TEARS OR SADNESS.
NOW, THIS IS WHAT WE CAN
USE ABC STORIES FOR...
TO DEVELOP MORE
SIGN VOCABULARY,
TO INCREASE ASL PROFICIENCY
AND PRODUCTION,
TO BRING MORE ABC AND
NUMBER STORIES INTO
ASL LIT FOR THE FUTURE,
AND TO ANALYZE DIFFERENT
COGNITIVE CHARACTERISTICS
OF DEAF YOUTH AND ADULTS,
A WORLDWIDE PERSPECTIVE
IN ABC AND NUMBER STORIES.
AND LASTLY...
TO INCREASE
THE AMOUNT OF THEM
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES
ANYWHERE, ANYTIME.
WE NEED THAT.
THIS QUOTE IMPACTED ME DEEPLY.
YOU KNOW, SOME HEARING
PEOPLE SAY, "I JUST DON'T GET
ABC STORIES."
SO I FOUND THIS
BEAUTIFUL QUOTE.
IT'S AS IF YOU'RE
LOOKING THROUGH A MIRROR...
VERY IMPACTFUL.
ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL
THE TIME I HAVE.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TIME
FOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS?
OH, WE HAVE 3 MINUTES. OK.
- WHAT DO YOU MEAN
BY SNOWBALL EFFECT?
- YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU START
WITH A SMALL SNOWBALL
AT THE TOP OF THE HILL, AND
AS IT ROLLS DOWN THE HILL
IT GETS LARGER AND LARGER?
WELL, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED
PEOPLE TO DO IS START
THE STORIES, AND ONCE THEY
START, THEY'LL SPREAD.
AND WE NEED INFLUENTIAL
PEOPLE TO DEVELOP THEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE
SPEAKER YESTERDAY--OH,
A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO
SPOKE ABOUT HOW CLASSROOMS
SHOULD REQUIRE ALL STUDENTS
TO DEVELOP THESE STORIES,
AND THEN IF THEY
BECOME TEACHERS, THESE
STORIES WILL GO OUT INTO
THE COMMUNITY, TO THE DEAF
SCHOOLS, TO THE DEAF CLUBS.
THAT'S WHAT I MEAN BY
THE SNOWBALL EFFECT.
- I'M NOT SURE IF I WOULD
CALL AN ABC STORY ASL LIT
BECAUSE ABC STORIES USE SO MUCH
SEE--SIGNED EXACT ENGLISH.
SO ARE WE USING HAND SHAPES
OR ARE WE FOLLOWING THE LETTER?
LIKE THE SIGN FOR "CIGAR,"
WE USE AN "R,"
BUT I'M JUST NOT SURE.
WHAT I SEE IS SEE,
AND THAT'S NOT LANGUAGE.
- WELL, THAT'S
A GOOD QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, ASL IS NOT AS
PURE AS OTHER COUNTRIES'
SIGN LANGUAGES.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN ISRAEL,
THERE'S NO FINGERSPELLING
IN ISRAELI SIGN LANGUAGE,
NONE AT ALL.
IT'S ALL SIGNS,
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.
WHEN WE THINK OF ASL, WE LOSE
SOME OF THE BEAUTY, BUT IT'S
STILL CATCHING UP.
BUT I AGREE WITH YOU IN TERMS
OF WHETHER IT'S A HAND SHAPE
OR A LETTER.
WHEN WE SEE INITIALIZED
SIGNS LIKE "METHOD"
OR THE "W" IN "WORRY,"
YES, I DO AGREE WITH THAT.
OH, I HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF
THE "WORRY" SIGN USING "W"s.
THE GIRL WHOSE LAST POEM I
SHOWED USED THE "W" HAND SHAPE
FOR, OH, GUNS FIRING.
USING THAT "W" HAND SHAPE.
SHE WAS DEVELOPING HER IDEAS.
SO WE CAN ESTABLISH
TWO METHODS.
WE CAN TELL THE STUDENTS,
YOU MUST DEVELOP THE STORY
USING SEE SIGNS OR IN ASL.
THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE NEED TO REMAIN FLEXIBLE
AND REMEMBER NOT BE BIASED.
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:
Title supplied by cataloger