THE FINNISH ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF SIGN LANGUAGE WORK. Karin Hoyer Sign Linguist The Finnish Association of the Deaf

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1 SIGN LANGUAGE WORK Karin Hoyer Sign Linguist The Finnish Association of the Deaf Global Education Pre-Planning Project on the Human Rights of Deaf People Seminar 20th August 2008, Helsinki

2 My background: No Deaf family background but a member of a linguistic minority. Swedish-speakers are 6 % of the population of Finland Sign language interpreter degree in 1993 MA in linguistics 1999 PhD-student in General Linguistics at University of Helsinki Finland-Swedish Sign Language research project 2002 Linguistic advisor > Sign Language Work (SLW) in Balkan (Albania and Kosovo) in two development co-operation projects funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Finnish Association of the Deaf The Finnish Association of the Deaf (FAD) Albanian National Association of the Deaf (ANAD) Kosovar Association of the Deaf (KAD)

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4 The aim of this presentation: The relationship between Sign Language Work and other development co-operation areas Discuss Sign Language Work in FAD development co-operation projects on Balkan: Methods Challenges Results Ethics To comment on the Global survey (draft) reports concerning standardisation of sign languages and dictionary work

5 Sign language is repressed in many countries and its use is not permitted in education. The consequence is that Deaf people are not aware of the rights they have in society, but live as a highly marginalised group in most developing countries. There is usually no access to information for Deaf people, which means that they do not even know what is happening in their immediate society and even less so in the world. Of the world's Deaf people only about five percent (5%) can read and write. This is due to the fact that Deaf people have not been educated in sign language. Improving the status of sign language has consequences for all areas of life for Deaf people, it opens up possibilities for participation, information and influence and reduction of poverty. Quotation from Colin Allen (2008: 8) Global Survey Draft Report, WFD Eastern Europe and Middle Asia Regional Secretariat

6 Why Sign Language Work in development co-operation work? The goals are to increase opportunities enabling Deaf people to achieve equal human rights as hearing people; and to become active participants of society; and to lead an independent life by promoting the status of the national sign languages AlbSL and KosSL.

7 7. Priority areas for the co-operation: The WFD recommends the following to be given priority in co-operation work: Establishment/strengthening of an organisation of the Deaf Sign language work Education Income generating and vocational training Labour market WFD POLICY_Work Done by Member Organisations in Developing Countries: <

8 The Goals and Role of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD): To promote recognition of sign language and the right of Deaf individuals to use sign language; To promote the right of Deaf children to have early and full access to sign language; To promote increased support for sign language research; To promote better quality of teaching of sign language; To promote better quality of sign language interpreting; To promote more availability of sign language in the media. WFD Sign Language Fact Sheet <

9 Colin Allen (2008): Global Survey Draft Reports: Highest priority issues all needs Sign Language Work Better quality of Deaf Education Better Sign Language Interpreting quality and services Official recognition from national Governments of their country s Sign Language

10 What is Sign Language Work? Language documentation and basic sign language research Application of the research results into dictionary work or other kind of publications, like teaching materials Linguistic awareness training for the Deaf community Training in sign language structure and grammar for sign language interpreter students Training Deaf research assistants in how to teach sign language as a foreign language to hearing people. Implementing the teaching together with the assistants. Linguistic advocacy work for legal recognition of sign language and for improving existing legislation Establishing contacts to universities and promoting research in sign language

11 In development support work the implementation of Sign Language Work is dependant of the wider social context, the country s history, the situation with sign language, national legislation, and the priorities made by the Deaf community Important to have a sign linguist involved

12 Why can Sign Language Work be seen as a precondition for many other development cooperation areas? If you do not have research in and information about the national sign language how can you: Train teachers of the Deaf towards improving Deaf education Train and develop a pool of high quality sign language interpreters Teach Deaf people and improve their linguistic awareness Produce materials or lobby for its legal recognition?

13 Advocacy work - Legislation and policies - Access to service and information - Promote the use of sign language in media Interpreter Training -Tranining for students in SL and SL grammar - Programmes for Deaf to become SL interpreters and translators Sign Language Work Deaf Education - (Sign language) training programmes for teachers and teacher students - Planning, implementing and evaluation of education programmes and curricula Organisational development work - Linguistic Awareness Training for the Deaf community FAD; Hoyer & Lahtinen, 2007

14 Methods in Sign Language Work: Balkan Sign Language Work is implemented by Deaf research assistants + working group with representatives from the whole Deaf community Precondition for success is to recruit Deaf persons with good potential (learning abilities and good signing skills) as research assistants The relation between TRAINING and RESEARCH Learning by doing. Basic vocabulary research done by the sign language research assistants Interactive teaching methods, mistakes allowed. Learn by practice and by teaching others (working group members) Concrete visual tools (sign cards, prints, and drawings on the wall)

15 Deaf community commitment crucial. Deaf community shall feel ownership towards the work Linguistic advisor present 2-6 weeks 3 times/ one year/ each project Important that the linguistic skills are transferred to the Deaf assistants and the working group members for the work not to collapse when no advisor is present Relationship between foreign advisor local research assistants and working group members Keys to successful work: Communication in the local sign language Advisor should be aware of her/his own language

16 3. Development of Co-operation between Deaf associations in Developing and Developed Countries The WFD will work towards a situation whereby: A. Deaf Associations in developed countries are encouraged to enter into a partnership/co-operation with counterparts in the south. B. The co-operation should as much as possible be based on the principle of mutual respect for cultural, language and social economic realities, e.g. in sign language work. The objective should not be to export the sign language of the developed countries, but for developing countries to research and/or develop their own sign languages based on cultural realities. C. Deaf people from developing countries should be encouraged to receive training in specific areas (e.g. sign language and management) in developed countries. However, the training should be tailored to enable them to work with the languages in their own countries. WFD POLICY_WFD Work in Developing countries <

17 Colin Allen (2008: 18) Global Survey Draft Report, WFD Interim Regional Secretariat for Western and Central Africa: Six countries (Benin, Cape Verde, Chad, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo) do not lobby for recognition of their sign language due to: Political conflict in the country; Sign language does not exist in the country; American Sign Language is accepted and not opposed to by the authorities; Philosophical conflicts about sign language within the Deaf Community; and The national sign language does not have official status but American Sign Language is used, using French concepts.

18 Keys to successful work (continue): Mutual respect, Flexibility, cultural sensitivity Language policy in the office concerning the use of sign language. Advisor role model for hearing people A conscious approach to use only Deaf language users in the documentation work for dictionary work To avoid the influence from hearing non-signers To promote the self-esteem of the Deaf community

19 Research method: documentation of real language use word lists not in use Never 1:1 correspondence between signs and words thumbs up good, fine, nice, well, bravo!, ok Visual dictionaries (VHS, dvd or Internet) for the publication to show how the sign language actually look and move Sign language is as adequate as a spoken language Video reports in sign language No written language in common for communication on distance Fast Internet

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21 Tools for depicting the documented signs Drawing from the TV or computer screen On the Internet there is free downloadable programmes for depicting signs with computer VirtualDub for video capturing The graphics editor programmes GIMP and Incscape Lay-out programme Scribus Important to see both the big picture of dictionary work as the individual parts in the process Successful work needs good planning! Sign language processes are based on local co-operation (e.g. dictionary work, or lobbying for recognition of Sign language in the legislation) The work needs involvement of O = organisational work towards the Deaf community, SLW, A= advocacy work, and INT= interpreters

22 DICTIONARY Editing video/ dvd interface SLW? Work with spoken language equivalents SLW INT Information Deaf community Hearing network Book preface, index, layout printing SLW SLW INT? Translation of sentences into spoken language SL Working group Videotape discussion on signs, signs and sentences their form and use SLW O SLW O Lobby University SL research -> SL gets document SL use linguistic status SLW O SLW O/A INT INT FAD; Hoyer & Lahtinen, 2007

23 RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL SIGN LANGUAGE IN LEGISLATION Deaf give training to Deaf community -> tools for lobbying to hearing network SLW O/A INT Applied research dictionaries, information material SLW O INT Advocacy and lobbying Deaf community members lobby locally, Deaf organisation lobby government -> change in legislation SLW O/A INT Advisors train Deaf trainers Linguistic rights, SL grammar legislation structure, pedagogy SLW O/A INT Lobby University -> SL gets SL research linguistic status document SL SLW O SLW O/A INT FAD; Hoyer & Lahtinen, 2007

24 Challenges in Sign Language Work: Realistic planning!! Time management 3 years is a short time for Sign Language Work Learning totally new concepts takes time There is a limit to what you can learn at one time Balance between focusing on sign level (=dictionary work) and grammar of sign language, since one of the most common misconceptions about sign languages is that the signs are articulated according to the word order of the surrounding spoken language Cultural differences How to commit the working group members to a long-term work on voluntary basis

25 Results in or as a consequence of Sign Language Work: Overt: Dictionaries, other materials about, and in, sign language In Albania: National news bulletin translated into AlbSL by Deaf translators Covert: Skills in sign linguistics Risen linguistic awareness (Deaf, family members, interpreters, teachers, hearing network) Sign language skills (teachers, interpreters)

26 Ethics in Sign Language Work: Consent for video filming Research methods Democratic and transparent Community based gender, age and regional balance

27 Quotation from Evaluation Report (2008) of FAD project in Kosovo for the successes of SLW: Effective Deaf community involvement/ownership A previous exercise to develop a book of Kosovar Signs in 2002 met with great resistance, antagonism and rejection from many members of the Deaf community. (This work had been led by individuals with no training in sign linguistics and is regarded as unscientific) To ensure consensus on the work of the present sign language research team, the volunteer working group, from different geographical and social backgrounds and of varying ages and gender will collectively be responsible for producing the DVD and booklet in 2009.

28 The external evaluator observed a training session for two of the Deaf working group volunteers and was impressed by the careful explanations of the need for ethical consistency, consent and technical information. It is commendable to see that this group of volunteers demonstrates considerable commitment, often having to travel long and difficult distances to attend training meetings. The Working Group is also active in disseminating information about the sign language work to other members of the Deaf community: I was always told by hearing people that I couldn t do things that they were smarter. Now I understand that it is a language issue Knowing it is a real language gives me confidence This has had an impact on the self-esteem of Deaf people in Kosovo. Said one hearing observer: We never saw people signing before the War now they are confident to use it. (Sign language)

29 Language planning and language standardization work for sign languages: Colin Allen (2008: 23) Global Survey Draft Report, WFD Regional Secretariat for Asia and the Pacific: Common areas of concern: --- Sign Language Deaf people have no sign language skills. Government does not recognise the sign language. Sign language materials and courses should be provided for Deaf people who have not learned their own language. The promotion of Human Rights through Sign Languages needs to be strengthened. Need to standardise the national sign language.

30 Colin Allen (2008: 22) Global Survey Draft Report, WFD Interim Regional Secretariat for Western and Central Africa Common areas of concern: --- Sign Language Government does not recognise the sign language. Standardised sign language.

31 Unification Standardization see WFD POLICY_ WFD Statement on the Unification of Sign Languages < ages.pdf>) WFD opposes all attempts to unify several sign languages to a single sign language WFD also opposes purification of the language from outside the community it is a natural process that languages change over time and that new signs gets adopted into the languages The control of the development of any Sign Language must be left to any social group where the particular Sign Language is exercised.

32 Native sign language users use different form of language in different situations Compare e.g. the language used in private conversations to the language used in seminar presentations When is a standard variety of sign language used? Public, official purposes, like TV news, Government information on the web When producing teaching materials there might be an conscious effort to use a standard variety In dictionary work the aim might be to describe standard language instead of regional dialects

33 Standardization work is usually associated with writing and literacy the right way to write the language according to grammars and dictionaries Signed languages are often compared to written languages that are more standardized than spoken languages It is within the nature of a language that does not have a written form to have a big amount of variation Making a dictionary is standardization work in the way that not all the signs of the language is included in the dictionary The chosen sign might in the future be considered more right than other signs, since they are recorded in the dictionary The dictionary makers of AlbSL wanted to show variation in the language by including variants of the same concept (see e.g. signs 34, 35, 37, 38 for brother ). The AlbSL dictionary was descriptive and not prescriptive

34 Need to standardize the national sign language. Whose need? A standard variety of a language is usually promoted in education and in the media. Existence of a standard form might be used as a condition for official recognition of the language or for its use as a language of instruction It seems that the impetus to standardize sign languages usually come from the desire of hearing persons, not Deaf persons, e.g. in their learning process. Teachers and interpreters might think that there should only be one sign for each word. This opinion reveals ignorance about sign languages The standardization desire is focused on individual signs Usually Deaf signers have no problem understanding each other, even if they use different signs.

35 There is never a one-to-one relationship between languages. A word can have many sign equivalents and a sign can have many word equivalents Each language is tied to a specific culture, sign languages reflect Deaf culture. There is a lot of signs that do not have an one word equivalent, but must be translated by using a longer expression The decision of whether to standardize a sign language or not, is to be made by the language users themselves Variation is a natural part of language

36 Questionnaire question: Does your country have a sign language dictionary? Why is a dictionary important? For giving status to the language it exists -> you can get legal recognition of the language. Ulrike Mosel (2006: 68): In community language work among indigenous people of spoken languages a dictionary ranks highest on their list of priorities SL dictionaries: Who have been involved compiling it? Does it give a fair picture of the SL? How is the visual language presented? In still drawings or pictures? In live form? Who is it made for?

37 Wishes for the future for developing Sign Language Work: Language Policy Programme (WFD Statement on the Unification of Sign Languages Good!) Handbook on Sign Language Work with guidelines, for not everybody to having to re-invent the wheel

38 That burning urge to find out formed the basis of my first interest in Sign Language. As I read and asked questions about the language, I came to realize that the Deaf were perhaps the most misunderstood language minority anywhere in the world. This realization changed my interest from mere curiosity to a sense of mission. Hearing people often talk about the rehabilitation of the Deaf. Now, it seems to me, what one ought to talk about is not the rehabilitation, but the liberation of the Deaf. I believe the science of linguistics has a significant role to play in that liberation struggle. Okoth Okombo (1990: 59)

39 Some references: Allen, Colin (2008) Global Survey Draft Report, WFD Eastern Europe and Middle Asia Regional Secretariat Allen, Colin (2008) Global Survey Draft Report, WFD Interim Regional Secretariat for Western and Central Africa Allen, Colin (2008) Global Survey Draft Report, WFD Regional Secretariat for Asia and the Pacific Dotter, Franz, 'Soft' standardization of sign languages? Gibson, Liz Scott & Nexhat Shatri (2008) Report from the Evaluation of the Organisational Training and Sign Language Development Projects in Kosovo. Mosel, Ulrike (2006). Fieldwork and community language work. In Essentials of Language Documentation, edited by Gippert, Himmelmann & Mosel Okombo, Okoth (1990) Linguistics and the Liberation of the Kenyan Deaf: Some Research Agenda for Sign Language Developers. In East African Sign Language Seminar Report WFD Sign Language Fact Sheet < WFD POLICY_WFD Work in Developing countries < WFD POLICY _Work Done by Member Organisations in Developing Countries < WFD POLICY_ WFD Statement on the Unification of Sign Languages <