Rachel Kolb, deaf
Rhodes scholar, on lipreading: "
Even the most skilled lipreaders in English, I have read, can discern an average of 30 percent of what is being said. I believe this figure to be true. There are people with whom I catch almost every word—people I know well, or who take care to speak at a reasonable rate, or whose faces are just easier on the eyes (for lack of a better phrase). But there are also people whom I cannot understand at all. On average, 30 percent is a reasonable number. But 30 percent is also rather unreasonable. How does one have a meaningful conversation at 30 percent? It is like functioning at 30 percent of normal oxygen, or eating 30 percent of recommended calories—possible to subsist, but difficult to feel at your best and all but impossible to excel."
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posted by Eyebrows McGee
on Mar 7, 2013 -
29 comments
When Carolyn McCaskill was 15 years old, she and nine other deaf black students were enrolled in an integrated school for the deaf in Talledega, Alabama. McCaskill had learned American Sign Language at home with her two deaf siblings and at the nearby Alabama School for the Negro Deaf and Blind.
"When the teacher got up to address the class, McCaskill was lost." The American Sign Language used by the teacher and white students at her new school looked different than the American Sign Language that McCaskill had learned at home and at her previous school. Today, McCaskill is one of the leading authorities on Black ASL, which has distinctive features as a result of a history of segregated schools for the deaf and the influence of spoken black English. She is a professor at Gallaudet University, the co-director of the
Black ASL Project, and a co-author of "The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL."
posted by Area Man
on Oct 13, 2012 -
41 comments
'Who's on First', the
ASL version (vimeo). A little more on this from
NPR, including link to MLB.com video of Jerry Seinfeld's comments on the original skit.
posted by found missing
on Jul 22, 2012 -
6 comments
In the late Sixties and early Seventies several experiments were begun to test whether or not a non-human primate could construct a sentence. Several species were involved in these various experiments including the chimpanzees
Washoe and
Nim, a gorilla named
Koko, and later in the Eighties work began with a bonobo named
Kanzi. While great progress was made in teaching these primates a vocabulary, it would be difficult to see any of these experiments as a success. And all of these projects raised important questions about the
ethics of such experiments.
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posted by Toekneesan
on Aug 20, 2011 -
39 comments
Ventiçello is a miniature ceramic village sculpted and photographed by Steven Travis, who also invented a language and script called
Tapissary, inspired by American Sign Language, which appears on the images.
posted by Kattullus
on Aug 24, 2007 -
5 comments
American Sign Language Flash Video Dictionary is a high quality, free dictionary with a huge number of signs. It includes specialized dictionaries of religious signs, conversational phrases, and ASL for babies. Unfortunately it's not possible to link to specific signs, but if you look inside you'll find words from "Abbreviate" to "Zoom" and phrases such as "I cannot fasten my belt," "has he been neutered?" "I already took a bath," "are you married?" and "I need a better firewall."
posted by alms
on Jul 25, 2007 -
17 comments
Popular:
It's Like That,
Humble Neighborhood,
Son of a Preacher Man,
Beautiful,
Barbi Girl,
Truly Madly Deeply,
I'm Alive
Indie:
Blister in the Sun,
Across the Sea,
Tom's Diner,
Zombie; Classics:
The Rose (
more, also
without lyrics),
Revolution,
Hotel California
Rap/Hip Hop (some comedic):
Baby Got Back,
Ice Ice Baby,
Music (
more),
Paul Revere,
Grillz,
White and Nerdy,
Where'd You Go
Non-English songs:
Film Dust,
Comme Elle Vient;
Pseudosign:
Torn (
again),
Sweet Home Alabama
Instructions:
general tips,
religious songs, and how to sign "
rock & roll"
posted by jessamyn
on Mar 14, 2007 -
27 comments
Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. is a liberal arts college and graduate school for the deaf (there's also a
high school and primary school).
In 1988, Gallaudet students protested when a hearing person was chosen as university president, and until today,
I. King Jordan has served. Recently, a new president was chosen--
Dr. Jane K. Fernandes, the school's Provost, who was born deaf but grew up speaking thanks to new therapies and technologies. A varied, vibrant student body never afraid to make their "voices" heard
has spoken (with photos). Last night,
so did a majority of the faculty, but Dr. Fernandes says she will stay.
posted by bardic
on May 9, 2006 -
163 comments
In the US there are three major forms of manual communication
ASL (American Sign Language,
PSE (Pidgin Signed English or Contact), and
SEE (Signing Exact English). Translating from English to any one of these is hard enough. That's not stopping
this team from trying taking on the added challenge of a machine translation. I can't imagine them doing half as well as
this man's efforts at live translating rap, switching between all three variants (video, with voice over).
posted by plinth
on Apr 18, 2006 -
9 comments
Bar Signs. Modern Drunkard has posted a handy guide for the alcoholic in us all, a set of gestures to communicate your needs when it's too loud to hear, or just because, as the site says, "when words come out, whiskey can't get in."
posted by jonson
on Dec 16, 2002 -
21 comments
