Usually they are happy to answer your questions and may even ask you questions themselves. Asking questions: Who? In spoken languages, people depend on the tone of voice to give specific meanings to their speech. The type of question is indicated by both the use of the eyebrows and a question word — What, Who, Where, When, Why, Which, or How being placed at the end of the sentence. WH questions open We call questions using interrogative signs and requiring information from the other person like where, who, what, which, when, why, and how WH questions.
Knitted eyebrows with head tilted forward Look at the WH questions in Table He may think your signing is good enough for you to be a Deaf person.
Never pretend to be Deaf, just to be able to practise your signing. A Deaf BSL user will soon see through you and — like Queen Victoria — not be amused and possibly make an excuse and disappear. You may have practised your school French on people when holidaying abroad and remember their pained expressions.
You may have been brought up to think that pointing is impolite but in BSL pointing is necessary as it shows the listener to whom or what you are referring. Starting to Sign Olga sees Mark signing with Peter and approaches them. Olga: Sign: Hello! Can you sign? Olga: Sign: I know a little bit. Deaf people often give each other name signs and often create them from the appearance, a characteristic, or the behaviour of that person.
Personal name signs may change over time. Deaf people may have allocated name signs to each other when they were at school together but they may have changed as they grow older or they meet other Deaf people who give them new ones, for example, a boy at school may have been given a name sign that depicted his long curly hair, but may then have gone bald at an early age. People with names, especially surnames, that are common English words such as Brown, King, and so on, usually have name signs for the sign of that particular word.
For examples: Peter Brown can be signed as P. Brown and Alan King as A. During introductions, simply fingerspell sign each letter individually your name. Deaf people often give each other name signs. See the nearby sidebar for more on what exactly name signs are. Where do you live? Not all towns and cities have their own name signs, so many signers use fingerspelled abbreviations. Because of local and regional variations in signs, many different signs often exist for the same place so, if you see a sign you do not recognise, do not be afraid to ask.
Chapter 3: Meeting and Greeting Some towns and cities have their names fingerspelled using just a few their letters — spelled quickly in a familiar pattern — which represents the whole name.
Others use signs associated with the city, such as noise London, a noisy place , knife Sheffield and cutlery , pistol rhymes with Bristol , and bow and arrow Robin Hood — Nottingham. Olga: Sign: I have lived in many different cities. Handshaking is more formal but Deaf men, when meeting their male friends or taking leave, usually shake hands then give a quick hug and pat their backs.
Look at the following signs to help you to end a conversation appropriately. The sign for goodbye is simply a wave, which is no different from the one hearing people use. See Table for various examples of signs for taking leave of someone. See you around. Mark: Sign: Goodbye. See you soon. Try hard to remember as many as you can before looking them up on previous pages.
Chapter 3: Meeting and Greeting c. They then go on to chat about other things. This chapter shows you how to conduct a conversation about your family, friends, and work colleagues.
You may have been told when you were a child that it was rude to point and you may feel uncomfortable doing it, but for BSL users pointing is necessary, not rude! Pointing is used a lot for referencing in BSL, to identify people or objects specifically and to place them in space or time.
When a signer indicates a location for a person or object, she can subsequently use pointing to refer to the person or object again without mentioning names or having to repeat the signs already given. You can also use pointing to introduce a new person or object in different location and can refer to them again by pointing to where they were first established.
It gives you most everyday signs related to work and home. Family and friends Talking about your family is a good way to start a conversation. Memorising the signs for family members in Table will help you. If you want to crack a joke about your mother-in-law, just sign mother then spell L-A-W.
Likewise for father-in-law, and parents-in-law. Fingerspell S-T-E-P then sign the person. Again, what about half sister or half brother? Sign half, then sign brother or sister. Want to practise a few signs?
Here are some examples for you to try: English: Sign: Is she your mother? English: Sign: No. Be careful when talking about confidential aspects of your job: BSL users have sharp eyes and can watch your signing from a distance. The signs in Table are related to occupations. Check out Table for common workplaces. Peter: Sign: Are you still a schoolteacher? What about you? Peter: Sign: Fine, he is a dental student at college.
SHOP 2. MANAGER If you manage to succeed in matching the signs, try to do the following exercises yourself, or even better, practise with a friend. Describe your family.
Sign what you do and where you work. In this chapter you discover useful medical signs that will help in an emergency where you need to communicate with a Deaf BSL user. In BSL, a signer shows the deeper feeling by using a more emphatic facial expression. Different expressions can give different meanings to the same sign. Walking happily Walking angrily Be careful with your expressions especially when meeting a prospective mother-in-Law as you can easily give a wrong meaning. Jill: Sign: Why are you looking miserable?
Talking about your health Feeling rotten or feeling great? The signs in Table help you to describe your symptoms to your friend. A mistake, however small, can affect a diagnosis and have serious consequences.
The following phrases would come in handy when describing your ailments to a friend or interpreter. You may be describing a pain to a friend who may ask where the pain is. Table gives you the words and signs for body parts.
You usually sign them by pointing to or touching that particular part. Table English Where on Body? Again, you indicate these by pointing to or touching the feature. English: Sign: My throat hurts. Therefore, when describing a particular operation, the sign is made on the part of the body to be operated on. Try the following phrases for practice. English: Sign: I am afraid of injections and stitches. Peter: Sign: I have a pain in my chest and arm. Look at the illustrations and see whether you can work out which one goes with each statement or question.
Do you have a cough? Do you feel sick? Your blood pressure is high. Do you have a headache? That cut on your leg is bleeding. Something broken? Chapter 5: Expressing Your Feelings d.
In this chapter, we look at numbers used in London and the south of England, but you need to be aware that other areas may have different signs. We also give you the low-down on how to explain what time it is, how old you are, and how much you just spent in the sales. Explaining Regional Signs In this chapter, we look at the regional variations in signs then at the signs for numbers. Hopefully this number overview can help you to nail the numbers signs.
Deaf people use different signs for the same word in different areas of the UK. We call these differences regional variations. Just say sorry and ask for clarification. Deaf BSL users may not always understand regional signs so they have to check unfamiliar regional signs in the same way a hearing listener would, if speaking to someone who had a broad Scots, Scouse, or Geordie dialect. Count me in Do you count on your fingers? People naturally use their fingers to count. In a crowded and noisy pub, you may put up your hand showing four fingers to indicate you want four pints.
When you do so, would you stop to think what you were doing before counting and holding up the four fingers? No, it would just come naturally. You do the same for BSL numbers signs. The signs for one to ten are easy to master. See below for some examples of different regional variations. In order, you can see the sign used for ten in London, Birmingham, and Manchester.
TEN used in London. TEN used in Birmingham. TEN used in Manchester. Chapter 6: Nailing Numbers You use the sign shown here with finger wriggling movement for how many? The illustrations here show numbers one to ten. Table gives you numbers 11 to When signing two-figure numbers from 20—99, you move your hand slightly to the right after making the first number, changing to the second number as it moves.
You can sign any number you need using these signs. Soon you will be able to discuss the ages of your friends discreetly, of course , discuss prices, and ask for and give times.
Naturally you want to tell your friends about your good luck, but how do you sign it? BSL has a specific hand movement to indicate ordinal numbers — a twisting of your wrist inward while signing the number, as the examples below show.
Say you want to arrange a time to meet your friends at the pub. This movement is the same as for the ordinal numbers. In BSL to show the difference between a. Pence is signed as p. Olga: Sign: I bought him three shirts. How much were the shirts?
Chapter 6: Nailing Numbers 4. Chapter 6: Nailing Numbers If you remember the signs, try to sign these questions to yourself and also sign the answers. Even better, practise with a friend. Remember to sign the answers after signing the questions.
This chapter looks at the signs used to describe the weather and the clothes we may wear to match it. Talking about clothes also gives us a chance to talk about colour, so this chapter introduces you to some basic signs to help you brighten up your BSL conversation.
Signing Come Rain, Come Shine The topic of the weather is an excellent icebreaker and you can use it to fill in lulls in the conversation. The signs in Table give you a good vocabulary that enables you to have a good moan with a Deaf person. Table shows you how to sign the basic signs for colours. The next section gives you the signs for clothes.
The sign for clothes is the same for wear but you sign it twice. Use the signs in Table to make sure that does not happen. English: Sign: Where are my blue trousers and brown shoes? For items that we wear under our clothes, have a look in Table You sign some items in a way that represents how you put them on.
For example, you sign pants for both men and women the same way. Just give the size as you give the sign. The signs in Table show you what they are.
Here is some practice for you: English: Sign: Where are my hat and coat? The signs in Table enable you to check whether a Deaf friend is well prepared. Table 7—7 gives you some handy signs to describe your holiday packing. Swimwear comes in different sizes and colours, and you use your hands to describe what they look like.
A bikini is signed the same as bra and pants. Starting to Sign Mark and Peter are going on holiday and they discuss what to pack. Make the sign! Red and yellow make. Blue and yellow make. Black and white make. Red and white make. Red and blue make. Red and green make. Try to remember the signs for the items you want to take before you check on previous pages.
We also discuss the wheres and whys of prepositions. The practical signs in this chapter may help you to be a good Samaritan and give directions to a Deaf person who is lost. Signing Space BSL is a visual language. Signers produce signs with one or two hands in space in front of and around their bodies, from above the top of the head to just below the waist.
The space they use is called the signing space. If you focus on the signers face, which in itself gives a lot of visual information, you can still see the signs in your peripheral vision. Resist this tendency and try to concentrate on the face, though you will need time and practise to be able to do so effectively.
Placement of signs Placement is the act of establishing people, objects, buildings, and anything else within the signing space so that you can refer back to that thing by just pointing to where you originally placed them.
You can even show the book standing on end, instead of lying flat, by turning the hand upright instead of flat. Before you acquire the signs for outside locations, landmarks, and directions, you need to familiarise yourself with those used in buildings. Many of these signs can also be also be used outside.
Table gives basic directions on how to sign, well, basic directions. You do the same for bus, van or lorry but mime a bigger steering wheel. Because of regional variations, the sign for bus differs in different places in the UK. Among older people in London, bus is signed as if they were pulling the line inside the bus that used to tell the driver that someone wanted to get off at the next stop. English: Sign: I get to work by bus and train.
The signs below enable you to direct somebody to the right location. Familiarise yourself with the signs for north, south, east, and west, all you have to do is to move your hand towards the different points of the compass. English: Sign: I live in North London. Table gives you the signs you may use to give directions in a town. English: Sign: The post box is round the corner on the left.
Table gives you the signs. English: Sign: The forest is on the hill. Try these phrases: English: Sign: She went to a restaurant, then the cinema. Jean: Sign: Where do you want to go? Paul: Sign: What about the cinema?
Cinema is on the right. Look back in the chapter for help if you need to but first try to remember the signs independently. Sign four different modes of transport. Sign three different landmarks in the country. Sign two different buildings in town. How did you get on? We also talk through signs for days and months, and special holidays and celebrations.
On the grammar side of things, we cover the use of tenses in BSL so you can talk about past and future events. Instead it has markers that show past, present, and future. These markers are called timelines and they refer not to just past, present and future but periods of time over hours, weeks, months, and years.
Two commonly used timelines are: Timeline A: The shoulder is used for reference to times in the past — for example: before, recently, and previous.
You sign all these words backwards from the shoulder. You show the difference between these signs by the use of facial expressions and, usually, repetitive movements in conjunction with the sign. The illustrations below show how the direction of movement gives specific meanings.
This section shows you how to do just that. See Table for the signs for each day of the week and related vocabulary. Be careful when signing Friday. The sign is similar to the sign for Father but you sign Friday with the dominant forefinger and index finger making a circular movement anti-clockwise on the passive forefinger and index finger of the other hand.
The sign for Sunday is the same as for prayer but you bring the hands together twice. English: Sign: Meet on Sunday? It would not do for you to leave your friend standing outside the cinema on the wrong day. If you sign week rapidly forwards and backwards in a flat circular movement, it indicates every week. You sign week after week with a slow forward and backward movement and, in most cases, a resigned expression, to indicate boredom. You can add a number to the sign to show the number of weeks involved such as two weeks ago, every three weeks, and in four weeks.
English: Sign: When are you having your holiday this year? Olga: Sign: Want to meet for coffee? How about Tuesday evening? What about Saturday morning? Olga: Sign: Monday is fine. Morning or afternoon? This month is not forgotten!
April is the only month of which only the first letter is finger-spelled. You spell A but spell it twice quickly. In some regions, signs for months exist, many of them originating from residential schools for Deaf children.
If you managed to remember the signs, here is another activity. Alternatively, practise with a friend, taking it in turns to suggest a possible day and time to meet for a coffee. The signs in this chapter enable you to talk turkey, chat about cheese, or waffle on about wine. A Deaf friend might ask you to stay overnight, or even for the weekend. Knowing the signs for food and tableware helps you to survive without any major mishaps.
Which knife and fork to use? When having a meal, you may want to ask for a missing knife or fork or for someone to pass the salt. Acquiring the signs below in Table may spare you the embarrassment of having to eat with your fingers or eat unseasoned food. Want breakfast? Staggering downstairs half awake in the morning, you need to know the sign for coffee. Table shows the signs you need for breakfast. You sign cup and mug how you hold them when drinking; milk is derived from milking a cow; the signs for bacon and croissant show their shapes; toast comes from the action of putting the bread in the toaster.
Now check out the following signs: Chapter Fancy Fish and Chips? English: Sign: Do you want bacon, egg, and sausage? English: Sign: Which would you like: croissant, toast or plain bread? With milk and sugar? English: Sign: Can I have the butter and jam please? Chapter Fancy Fish and Chips? Grabbing a quick lunch If grabbing a quick lunch with your Deaf colleagues at work, the signs in Table can help you to discuss what to have. Be careful with your hand shapes or you may end up with a croissant instead of a roll.
English: Sign: What do you want? Chicken and chips? Starting to Sign Mark is popping down to the cafe to get lunch and asks his colleagues what they want. Anything you want? Jean: Sign: I want two bacon rolls and coffee with milk. Peter: Sign: Chicken soup, crisps, and tea. To discover all the possible signs you may need, you can take afternoon tea with a refined Deaf lady pensioner, but the signs in Table give you what you need to order what you want for tea.
Prepare to stuff yourself with cucumber sandwiches and scones with cream after memorising these signs! English: Sign: I love scones with cream and jam! Meat, potatoes, and vegetables used to be the staple meal of the British public but choices have now widened to include foods from other countries. If you feel hungry at the thought, put your mind to the signs in Table Having a couple of glasses of wine may help you to relax and express yourself without inhibition — though whether anyone understands you is another matter.
Eating Out The UK has so many sorts of restaurant to choose from now and you may have to ring up to book a table. For more on arranging to go out see Chapter 8.
When making a reservation, try to reserve a round table. Also remove any vases, candles, lamps, and so on, from the middle of the table as they block the diners view of each other.
The same applies to chewing gum. Other ethnic foods are equally popular. The signs in Table help you to discuss with your Deaf friends what their favourites are. With curry sauce? Fancy a drink anyone? English: Sign: I would like a glass of red wine. You can look back in the chapter for help, but try hard first. MENU 1. Vegetable soup 2. Tomato soup 3.
Lamb chops, potatoes, and vegetables 4. Chicken curry and rice 5. Jacket potato with cheese and salad 6. Cheese and tomato pizza 7. Fish and chips 8.
Toasted ham and tomato sandwich and crisps 9. Two scones with cream and jam Chocolate cake Fruit pie Mug of coffee These signs enable you to ask Deaf friends about their leisure activities and give you a sporting chance of understanding their replies. Having Fun with Leisure Activities If you like outdoor activities, Table gives you the signs for activities that you can enjoy by yourself or with friends. Mark: Sign: What will you do this summer?
You sign most sports by the way in which you would hold and use the equipment. For example, the sign for badminton is holding the racquet and miming hitting a shuttlecock with it, using only your wrist, while tennis would show someone serving, with a bigger arm action. This tip helps you to remember the signs. Try this activity after looking at Table Find a stick, ruler, or similar and use it to mime the action of sports activities such as tennis, golf, and cricket.
Do them all with the stick to get the feel of them, then repeat them without the stick. Signing sports is as simple as that! The sign for rugby would be how you do an underhand pass to a team mate. For squash the action would be at a lower level than tennis. Table gives the signs for sporting activities. Practise the following sentences: English: Sign: You like sports? English: Sign: I love golf and tennis.
Likewise, you sign match and tournament the same way, but repeat the sign several times, in a downward direction, for tournament — denoting a number of matches being played. Score is signed just like count but using one hand only.
Starting to Sign Mark and Peter discuss sports. Mark: Sign: Are you playing football tomorrow? Most Deaf Clubs have strong indoor games sections where members play whist, darts, dominoes, draughts, chess, snooker, pool, and table tennis, and compete in club competitions or against other clubs. For any card game, you fingerspell the name, then sign cards.
For more on fingerspelling, refer to Chapter 2. The sign for dice is miming shaking the dice in your hand and throwing them. English: Sign: I play chess and draughts. Table shows you the signs you need to know. The sign for collect is like gathering something into the palm of your hand. Jean: Sign: What are your hobbies? What are yours?
Jean: Sign: I like running and keeping fit. I love shopping! You like sewing? Here we talk a little about the history of BSL, the hearing professionals who work with Deaf people, and some of the technological innovations that can help Deaf people come to terms with the world.
The cultural aspects to the language may not have occurred to you. This chapter gives you a brief history of BSL, Deaf education and the social side of the Deaf community. Digging Into the History of BSL Throughout history, sign language has been regarded as inferior and not recognised as a proper language at all, but as a system of mime and gestures.
Over the centuries many references have been made to the use of signs in communicating with Deaf people. In Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary that he observed a Deaf boy communicating with his master, giving him a report of the progress of the Great Fire of London. Following the Milan Conference on Deaf education in , sign language was banned in schools for the Deaf. In those days, almost all schools for the Deaf were residential and the fact that sign language survived is thanks to certain children — who had Deaf parents who signed — using it to communicate with fellow pupils when their teachers were not watching, often in the Part IV: Looking into Deaf Life dormitories when they were supposed to be asleep.
Because the schools were all over the country and the signs were developed by the children in a natural way, then passed on to successive generations, many regional variations of BSL exist, just as accents and dialects in the hearing world. Deaf clubs also played an important part in keeping sign language alive. Researchers investigated the linguistics of BSL at various universities and the findings confirmed that BSL has its own formal grammatical structure and syntax.
BSL does use many English words but, because it has its own grammatical rules — based on the visual use of the hands and space — it does not use the same word order.
In , the British government gave BSL official recognition as a language in its own right, but it has yet to gain the same legal status, as other traditional minority languages used in the UK, such as Welsh and Gaelic. Exploring the Origins of Deaf Education In Thomas Braidwood opened the first school for the Deaf in Edinburgh, employing a combined method of teaching. This used fingerspelling, sign, speech, reading, and writing. Not much was known about his methods because he was highly secretive.
Only wealthy people could afford to send their children to his school. In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries residential schools for the Deaf, such as the Royal Schools for the Deaf at Margate, Exeter, Birmingham and Manchester, were established and they all used sign language for communication. No Deaf people were present to give their views, because Deaf people had been banned from attending. This conference had a huge impact on sign language as Deaf teachers in Deaf schools lost their jobs and were replaced by teachers who were trained to run their classrooms using only the oral method.
Signing and gestures were strictly forbidden. Deaf children were not taught or allowed to use sign language for nearly years and generations of Deaf children were taught in a way that was unnatural and frustrating. Teachers harshly punished children who signed or used gestures by having tying their hands to their chairs or behind their backs. They also used caning of hands. The oral method Teachers of the Deaf had to use this method, which relied on any residual hearing a child had there were, of course, no hearing aids at that time , lipreading and whatever speech the child may possess.
Enlightenment at last! When sign language was recognised as a language in its own right in , it was re-introduced into some schools that had previously used the oral method — although it was now known as Total Communication — which consisted of signing, accompanied by lipreading and speech.
It was not until the s that bi-lingual education — acquiring knowledge through BSL and English — started. The Social Side of the Deaf World As only 10 per cent of people have Deaf parents, most Deaf people grow up in a world where their family and work colleagues are not Deaf.
Communication is, more often than not, frustrating or non-existent and Deaf people often feel left out and isolated in a hearing world. Traditionally, Deaf clubs are sometimes the only places where they do not feel isolated and can participate fully in all activities. Committees usually run these clubs, usually consisting of a chair, secretary, treasurer, catering manager and several committee members. A typical Deaf club has activities such as indoor games, table tennis, badminton, a drama club, and social events such as whist drives, bingo, and dances yes, Deaf people DO dance as, although they do not hear the music they usually have a good sense of rhythm.
Some Deaf clubs have bars where Deaf members can buy drinks instead of having to go out to a pub. Outdoor activities include football, cricket, tennis, and bowls clubs.
Embracing the new Though Deaf clubs play an important role in Deaf culture, modern technological developments have led to the availability of many alternative activities in which Deaf people can participate fully. Modern technology allows the younger generation of Deaf people to fax, text, or email each other easily and arrange to meet. The young Deaf generation now prefer to meet at pubs, discos or their homes rather than have the responsibility of organising club activities.
Many of them are willing to drive hundreds of miles to specially arranged events where they can meet up and socialise. Just because people are Deaf, it does not mean they have empty lives. Deaf people may not experience everything in life the same way as those who can hear music obviously being one of the main things they miss but they can take part in and enjoy most of the same things that hearing people do.
But sometimes, communicating with people who just know the basics is not enough, and Deaf people have the right to access information in the same way as anyone else.
As communication is a basic need for all humans, occasions therefore occur when getting in the professionals is the most appropriate adjustment to ensure that Deaf people have the right access to the services and information they require. So who are the professionals and what, exactly, do they do? This man or woman is interpreting into BSL everything that is being said on the programme, so that Deaf people have access in their own language.
People writing the subtitles use written English, whereas interpreters sign in BSL. Interpreters can be used everywhere and anywhere. In fact, wherever a Deaf BSL user needs access in their own language!
You can book an interpreter through an agency, or as a freelance worker. They can be booked by the Deaf person themselves, or by a hearing person — maybe an employer, or a theatre manager, doctor, or office administrator.
As so few fully qualified, registered BSL interpreters exist for the 70, Deaf people who use BSL approximately qualified interpreters have registered at present in the UK , you need to book an interpreter with as much advance notice as possible. Due to the shortage, many Deaf people rely on registered trainee interpreters TIs , still undergoing interpreter training, or even junior trainee interpreters JTIs , still studying for their sign language qualifications. Speech is much more than just the words being spoken.
And the Deaf person needs to have access to that too! An interpreter, then, has to convey not only the content of the message, but the way in which that message is delivered. You may both end up on the floor! The interpreter listens to the message in English, processes it, then produces it in BSL. As this is all happening simultaneously, there is a slight time delay.
The interpreter is often waiting for you to finish your phrase or sentence so the interpretation of the language into BSL can happen. So just let the interpreter do what they need to do. Deaf people do not exist just to be spoken at — they have something to say! An interpreter is trained in understanding BSL and ensuring that BSL is correctly translated into spoken language — with all that spoken English entails tone of voice, intonation, vocabulary, and so on.
So if a Deaf person is signing formally, an interpreter puts that into formal speech and matches the formal BSL signs to the equivalent words in English. And if a Deaf person wants to swear in BSL, an interpreter interprets that into the appropriate swear word in English.
Formal, informal, and colloquial are all types of register. An interpreter is trained to match the register of whoever is speaking or signing, when interpreting into the other language. The information is coming from you, and you use mannerisms, body language and facial expressions that the Deaf person wants to see.
The interpreter and the speaker need to be standing as near to each other as possible. Communicators, or Communication Support Workers CSWs , may use a combination of sign language and note taking or clear speech supported by signs or gestures — whatever is the chosen method of the Deaf person. Education typically uses communicators, such as in schools and colleges where a Deaf student has a variety of support needs.
The CSW may be responsible for modifying the English in exam questions or handouts, and annotating paperwork to provide better access. However, unlike the situation with interpreters, because no national, independent register of CSWs exists, therefore, there is no national benchmark to ensure quality standards either.
As such, many communicators are employed by organisations who have their own internal codes of practice and ethics, which the CSW would come under. A training course or a meeting at work is a nightmare — everyone is talking at different speeds. Also, a lipspeaker will spell the first letters of any names.
Numbers can also be shown on the hands — 18 and 80 look nearly identical on the lips! A lipspeaker is someone who is trained to use their speech patterns effectively for lipreaders in relaying information from another source. Instead of the deaf person having to lipread the man with the moustache, the lady with the strong accent, the group of chatty people, the lipreader lipreads from just one person — the lipspeaker.
A lipspeaker has been trained to speak clearly in a way that is more lipreadable, but without using their voice. As you can imagine, it would be a little distracting for everyone else if there was a constant echo after anything was said. Instead, a lipspeaker sits or stands opposite the lipreader, and silently repeats everything that is being said. Why is this necessary? By staying a few words behind and exercising a good deal of short-term memory! But what about all the tone of voice, the intonation, the way people say the words?
How does the lipreader have access to that? The lipspeaker, being a highly trained and skilled sort, uses appropriate facial expressions and gestures to communicate the manner in which someone is speaking. A blank face makes lipreading much more difficult, and a lipspeaker with a constantly expressionless countenance would put the lipreader to sleep quickly. So to give the same access that hearing people get — the lipspeaker shows this on her face and in her eyes.
Of course, if the speaker is pretty boring and monotonous, the lipspeaker has the challenge of having to convey that too. Chapter Deaf Community and Culture Manual notetakers Take a Deaf student attending a university lecture, for example.
She is watching the sign language interpreter at the front, so would struggle to take adequate notes at the same time. So that a Deaf person has the same access as their hearing peers, a note-taker may be provided. The note taker would keep a written record of as much as possible that is being said, using precis, symbols and abbreviations as appropriate. The note taker, in this situation, would aim to take down as much as possible — not only the topic information, but any asides, comments, jokes, announcements.
Electronic note-takers Electronic note takers do what it says on the tin. They take notes electronically!
The note taker taps out the notes, and they come up on both screens. Other note takers just use one laptop, and save the notes in an electronic file, which can then be put on a disc or memory stick for the Deaf person, or sent as an attachment via email.
The advantage of electronic note taking is that it can be quicker depending on your typing speed! It also avoids the problem of spidery handwriting. Electronic note takers can also be useful in workshops, lectures, meetings and training events where more than one deaf person is in attendance. The laptop is connected to a projector, which can project the notes onto a big screen so that anyone can read them.
A Deaf person who uses a note taker needs to be able to read and understand English grammar, as the notes would be taken in written English.
The keyboard is attached to a computer, which changes the phonetic input into English words, and projects them for all to see onto a large screen or TV. The benefit of palantype is that it can be really fast, and can ensure a verbatim record of what is being said that is also instantaneous. LSP etiquette LSPs — like any professionals — provide a service, and have most likely undergone years of training to achieve their qualifications so they can offer a high standard of service.
Language service professionals should follow a code of professional conduct and ethics. The code of ethics needs to include things such as confidentiality and impartiality. Most LSPs are members of a register and sign up to the national professional code of practice.
This code has real benefits, as it provides assurance for the client that she is getting someone who is suitably qualified and abides by working guidelines. It also provides an avenue for complaints, if that becomes necessary!
They need to know as much information about the booking as possible. Sometimes it is necessary for LSPs to co-work for example, two interpreters working together.
Co-working BSL interpreters, for example, often swap over every 20 minutes or so depending on the length and density of the assignment. Interpreting can be physically and mentally exhausting, so two co-workers can ensure a higher quality of service. If LSPs feel unable to take on a booking — they will let you know.
Language service professionals need breaks! Break times mean switch-off time and a trip to the loo. We look at how to make effective use of the phone line and how to use other bits and pieces to communicate. And a Deaf person who appears to cope quite well when you talk to them faceto-face may not be able to communicate with you in the same way down the phone. This fact is pretty important for a Deaf person who likes to see your facial expressions and lip patterns.
So, without the phone, how do Deaf people keep in touch? Minicoms and Text-phones No public service organisation should be without one of these phones, and they now come in all shapes and sizes.
Some are portable, some sit permanently on a desk next to, or in place of, a telephone. A text-phone is a popular piece of equipment used by Deaf people to communicate through the telephone, as it involves typing and reading rather than relying on speaking, or listening to speech. People with speech impairments, therefore, also use text-phones.
Text-phones also commonly known as minicoms make use of a normal phone line. Some may have the phone line permanently connected, meaning that you make the call directly from the machine, and others may contain two circular pads, on which the standard telephone is placed after the call is made and connected.
Once two people are connected using text-phones, they can hold a live conversation by typing messages to each other. Instead, with a minicom, you can see every letter the other person types, as they type it. And their spelling errors too! So if you make a mistake, then delete it, the other person sees you deleting those letters from their end. No hiding it! This code is much more polite than just hanging up! As BSL is not a written language, the user may not be familiar with English written grammar.
You may notice that questions, for example, may be written in a different way to standard English grammar, and show a more BSL way of structuring a sentence. So if you find it difficult to read what someone is typing on the text-phone, it may just be a language issue. Yes you can! Likewise, when the Deaf person types a message back, the operator reads out exactly what is typed to the hearing person on the other end of the line. In the same way, using this service, a Deaf person can have access to anyone who has a telephone for example, friends, doctors, businesses by using their minicom.
The prefix number for the text-phone user is , then the full telephone number of the other person. As you can imagine, this service is highly useful, meaning that a Deaf person has instant access, by means of their own text-phone. If a Deaf person wants to contact the emergency services , they can dial from their text-phone.
All information is then relayed via text-phones. SMS These days, nobody seems to be without a mobile phone. And Deaf people are no exception.
But a fax machine is a useful piece of equipment to have, at home or in the office. Draw diagrams and pictures! Deaf people find emails useful too, of course, but writing emails requires a fair amount of knowledge of written English, which may be a barrier to some.
So you can be more visual and creative with your pen, if you have access to a fax machine. Email Of course, Deaf people use email too!
And now with every office in every organisation dependent on email, this technology has made an enormous difference to Deaf people in employment in positions that may until recently have required speaking, listening, and using a telephone. Email keeps everyone in contact on an equal level — hearing or Deaf, whether among colleagues, friends, or for business.
Evidently, this technology is likely to be of huge benefit for Deaf Sign Language users who want to be able to contact friends using their first language. The technology at the moment is a little expensive and the picture quality needs to be pretty top-notch to make good use of it for sign language, but things are improving all the time. So who knows? Videophones may be commonplace and as cheap as mobiles in the years to come.
Watch this space! Flashing Lights and Vibrating Alarms Modern technology provides a whole bunch of useful gadgets to enable Deaf people to know when something or someone needs their attention. Or simply that they need to get up in the morning.
Chapter Technology and Modifications for Deaf People Somebody at the door You have no excuse for avoiding that double-glazing salesman at your door, thanks to modern technology. A variety of devices can be installed to inform a Deaf person that somebody is at the door. Thanks to popular technical devices like pager systems, Deaf people can be alerted to the baby crying, or fire alarms, smoke detectors, and phones. These devices mean that wherever you are in the house, you can be alerted by the pager through a variety of identifiable signals: For example different lights may be displayed or different vibrations felt, which correspond to a particular alert.
Just be careful not to get the alerts confused and drench the baby with a fire extinguisher! Some alarm clocks are modified to include flashing lights, or the bedside lamp can be set to turn on at wake-up time. Other Deaf people may prefer a vibrating alarm that goes under the pillow and shake-wakes them up, or a vibrating wrist-watch can be worn at night How one person prefers to wake up is obviously up to individual preference. And technology is just one option among many possibilities, including man, woman or beast!
The five chapters in this part offer a range of fascinating tips and insights on how to become a better signer, and how to understand Deaf culture more fully. Here we also provide you with ten phrases to remember if you forget everything else, and some tip top resources to help you broaden your knowledge of Deaf culture in general, and BSL in particular. Follow the advice here to polish up your basic skills.
Watch My Face Deaf people feel uncomfortable if you just focus on their hands when they sign to you. These comments encourage the signer and help the conversation along.
Remember to show your emotions when you sign. Expressiveness is an important part of BSL. Spotting the Difference Just as hearing people have different ways of talking, Deaf people have different ways of signing.
Sign languages are not related to spoken languages and BSL is completely different, for example, from American Sign Language. Sign language conveys meaning through the use of space and movement of the hands, body, face and head. We know that many hearing people are keen to learn BSL it is a very popular evening class course, for example.
But there is a lack of good teaching materials written in English for hearing learners of BSL, which this course fills. Authors, not 'contributors'! The author cross-refers to American Sign Language, which has usually been more extensively studied by linguists, and compares the two languages. This lively introduction to the principles of the language and its vocabulary will therefore be widely welcomed, giving a vivid insight into a form of communication that can appear quite difficult for those whose first language is English.
As the author takes pains to stress, BSL is not a mimed version of English. Equally rich and complex, it is visual, gestural and spatial, able to convey information and subtleties of meaning as fluently as any spoken language.
Once learners have ceased to think in terms of individual words, they will come to revel in a language that involves the whole person: facial and bodily expression and movement, eye contact and gaze, lip pattern and the fluid movements of the signs themselves, all combining to form an integrated language system with rules of its own.
Using detailed drawings throughout to illustrate the nuances of meaning, the author groups the signs according to type, introducing each theme and showing how facial expressions, hand and finger movements and placements are used and combined to vary the sense of what is being communicated.
Her aim is to equip the reader with a basic understanding of the principles of sign language and a working knowledge of its vocabulary. In an ideal world BSL would be part of every school's curriculum, whether the pupils were deaf or not, thus giving deaf people the status in society which is their right.
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