Results by title
151 books match the query 'Sign Language' and 14 start with a
A Historical and Etymological Dictionary of American Sign Language
The Origin and Evolution of More Than 500 SignsEmily Shaw
Gallaudet University Press, 2014
Through rigorous study of historical texts, field research in communities throughout France and the U.S., and an in-depth analysis of the cultural groups responsible for the lexicon, authors Emily Shaw and Yves Delaporte present a compelling and detailed account of the origins of over 500 ASL signs, including regional variations. Organized alphabetically by equivalent English glosses, each sign is accompanied by a succinct description of its origin and an LSF sign where appropriate. Featuring an introductory chapter on the history of the development of ASL and the etymological methodology used by the authors, this reference resource breaks new ground in the study of America’s sign language.
A New Civil Right
Telecommunications Equality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing AmericansKaren Peltz Strauss
Gallaudet University Press, 2006
When three deaf men in the 1960s invented and sold TTYs, the first teletypewriting devices that allowed deaf people to communicate by telephone, they started a telecommunications revolution for deaf people throughout America. A New Civil Right: Telecommunications Equality for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans chronicles the history of this movement, which lagged behind new technical developments decades after the advent of TTYs.
In this highly original work, Author Karen Peltz Strauss reveals how the paternalism of the hearing-oriented telecommunications industries slowed support for technology for deaf users. Throughout this comprehensive account, she emphasizes the grassroots efforts behind all of the eventual successes. A New Civil Right recounts each advance in turn, such as the pursuit of special customer premises equipment (SCPE) from telephone companies; the Telecommunications Act of 1982 and the Telecommunications Accessibility Enhancement Act of 1988 and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, which required nationwide relay telephone services for deaf and hard of hearing users.
Strauss painstakingly details how all of these advances occurred incrementally, first on local and state levels, and later through federal law. It took exhaustive campaigning to establish 711 for nationwide relay dialing, while universal access to television captioning required diligent legal and legislative work to pass the Decoder Circuitry Act in 1990. The same persistence resulted in the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which required all off-the-shelf communications equipment, including new wireless technology, to be readily accessible to deaf users.
Advances in Educational Interpreting
Elizabeth A. Winston
Gallaudet University Press, 2021
Winston and Fitzmaurice argue massive systemic paradigm shifts in interpreted educations are as needed now as they were when the first volume was published, and that these changes require the collaborative efforts of everyone on the educational team, including: administrators, general education teachers, teachers of the deaf, interpreters, and counselors. The contributors to this volume address research-based challenges and make recommendations for how interpreting practitioners, and all members of the educational team, can enact meaningful changes in their work towards becoming part of a more comprehensive solution to deaf education.
Advances in Teaching Sign Language Interpreters
Cynthia B. Roy
Gallaudet University Press, 2005
Picking up where Innovative Practices in Teaching Sign Language Interpreters left off, this new collection presents the best new interpreter teaching techniques proven in action by the eminent contributors assembled here. In the first chapter, Dennis Cokely discusses revising curricula in the new century based upon experiences at Northeastern University. Jeffrey E. Davis delineates how to teach observation techniques to interpreters, while Elizabeth Winston and Christine Monikowski suggest how discourse mapping can be considered the Global Positioning System of translation.
In other chapters, Laurie Swabey proposes ways to handle the challenge of referring expressions for interpreting students, and Melanie Metzger describes how to learn and recognize what interpreters do in interaction. Jemina Napier contributes information on training interpreting students to identify omission potential. Robert G. Lee explains how to make the interpreting process come alive in the classroom. Mieke Van Herreweghe discusses turn-taking and turn-yielding in meetings with Deaf and hearing participants in her contribution. Anna-Lena Nilsson defines “false friends,” or how contextually incorrect use of facial expressions with certain signs in Swedish Sign Language can be detrimental influences on interpreters. The final chapter by Kyra Pollitt and Claire Haddon recommends retraining interpreters in the art of telephone interpreting, completing Advances in Teaching Sign Language Interpreters as the new authoritative volume in this vital communication profession.
Adventures of a Deaf-Mute and Other Short Pieces
William B. Swett
Gallaudet University Press, 2017
Confident in his identity as a Deaf “mute,” he notes with wry humor the varied perceptions of deafness that he encounters. As a signing Deaf person from a prominent multigenerational Deaf family, he counters negative stereotypes with generosity and a smart wit. He takes pride in his physical abilities, which he showcases through various stunts and arduous treks in the wilderness. However, Swett’s writing also reveals a deep awareness of the fragility and precariousness of life. This is a portrait of a man testing his physical and emotional limits, written from the vantage point of someone who is no longer a young man but is still very much in the prime of his life.
This collection also includes “Mr. Swett and His Diorama,” an article from 1859 in which Swett describes his miniature recreation of the Battle of Lexington, as well as Manual Alphabets, a pamphlet published in 1875 on the history of manual alphabets that includes short biographies of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc, two pioneers of Deaf education in the United States. The work is accompanied by a new introduction that offers a reflection on Swett’s life and the time in which he lived.
Alandra's Lilacs
The Story of a Mother and Her Deaf DaughterTressa Bowers
Gallaudet University Press, 1999
When, in 1968, 19-year-old Tressa Bowers took her baby daughter to an expert on deaf children, he pronounced that Alandra was “stone deaf,” she most likely would never be able to talk, and she probably would not get much of an education because of her communication limitations. Tressa refused to accept this stark assessment of Alandra’s prospects. Instead, she began the arduous process of starting her daughter’s education.
Economic need forced Tressa to move several times, and as a result, she and Alandra experienced a variety of learning environments: a pure oralist approach, which discouraged signing; Total Communication, in which the teachers spoke and signed simultaneously; a residential school for deaf children, where Signed English was employed; and a mainstream public school that relied upon interpreters. Changes at home added more demands, from Tressa’s divorce to her remarriage, her long work hours, and the ongoing challenge of complete communication within their family. Through it all, Tressa and Alandra never lost sight of their love for each other, and their affection rippled through the entire family. Today, Tressa can triumphantly point to her confident, educated daughter and also speak with pride of her wonderful relationship with her deaf grandchildren. Alandra’s Lilacs is a marvelous story about the resiliency and achievements of determined, loving people no matter what their circumstances might be.
American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text Units 1-9
Charlotte Baker-Shenk
Gallaudet University Press, 1980
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 1-9
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 10-18
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 19-27
American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text Units 10-18
Charlotte Baker-Shenk
Gallaudet University Press, 1981
The three Student Texts are designed to help students acquire conversational ability in ASL and an awareness and appreciation of deaf people. Each text contains nine instructional units that present major grammatical features of ASL through dialogues, introduce students to the intricate features of ASL structure, discuss individual grammatical features, and include sample drills.
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 1-9
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 10-18
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 19-27
American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text Units 19-27
Charlotte Baker-Shenk
Gallaudet University Press, 1981
The three Student Texts are designed to help students acquire conversational ability in ASL and an awareness and appreciation of deaf people. Each text contains nine instructional units that present major grammatical features of ASL through dialogues, introduce students to the intricate features of ASL structure, discuss individual grammatical features, and include sample drills.
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 1-9
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 10-18
- American Sign Language Green Books, A Student Text, Units 19-27
American Sign Language Green Books, A Teacher's Resource Text on Curriculum, Methods, and Evaluation
Charlotte Baker-Shenk
Gallaudet University Press, 1980
American Sign Language Green Books, A Teacher's Resource Text on Grammar and Culture
Charlotte Baker-Shenk
Gallaudet University Press, 1991
Animal Signs
Debbie Slier
Gallaudet University Press, 1995
Charming, full-color photographs of basic animals plus illustrations of their corresponding signs offer children ages 1 to 4 a fun way to learn their first signs and vocabulary words.
Studies have shown that babies who learn to sign can communicate at an earlier age than those who learn verbal communication alone. Other research indicates that children strengthen their grammar and vocabulary skills by learning sign language.
Animal Signs and its companion book, Word Signs, offer children exciting new worlds describing favorite things and animals while also making learning language skills fun!
At Home Among Strangers
Exploring the Deaf Community in the United StatesJerome D. Schein
Gallaudet University Press, 1989
At Home Among Strangers presents an engrossing portrait of the Deaf community as a complex, nationwide social network that offers unique kinship to deaf people across the country. Schein depicts in striking detail the history and culture of the Deaf community, its structural underpinnings, the intricacies of family life, issues of education and rehabilitation, economic factors, and interaction with the medical and legal professions. This book is a fascinating, provocative exploration of the Deaf community in the United States for scholars and lay people alike.
Auguste Bébian
Paving the Way for Deaf EmancipationFabrice Bertin
Gallaudet University Press, 2024
To some, he is a mythical figure; to others, he is unknown. Auguste Bébian (1789-1839) reflects society’s ambivalence toward Deaf history: sometimes recognized, often ignored. In the wake of Abbé de l’Épée, whose name is remembered in posterity and who demonstrated that the large-scale education of Deaf people was possible, Auguste Bébian was nonetheless a key player in an unprecedented upheaval, which in many ways went beyond the educational sphere. The goal of this research on Auguste Bébian, combining biographical elements and analysis of his thinking in unprecedented ways, is not to deconstruct the myth, but rather to decipher the messages it conveys, and to understand what it tells us, indirectly, about the Deaf experience.
Born in 1789 in Guadeloupe, part of the French West Indies, it was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, in France, that Auguste Bébian fulfilled most of his destiny. While living at the National Institution for the Deaf in Paris at the beginning of the 19th century, his daily contact with the young students made him the first known hearing person in France to achieve true mastery of sign language, the natural language of Deaf people, and a deep understanding of its inherent culture. On becoming a teacher, he constantly defended the use of sign language as a linguistic system in its own right in order to awaken the intelligence of Deaf children, to whom “we pay no more attention than to the sunlight that shines on us every day.” His numerous publications display a level of modernity rarely seen before or since. This biographical and historical study shows how the passion evinced by Auguste Bébian was a crucial link in the chain of events that led to the emancipation of Deaf people.