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From:
"Judy A. Kegl" Date: Mon May 7, 2001 4:39 pm Subject: Re: SignWriting and Deaf culture | ||||||||
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Thank you, Valerie, for your kind remarks regarding the collection of SW stories we just assembled for the students in Nicaragua. There are 19 items, out of some 30 or 40 texts that we have prepared. (The next collection will be prepared in the fall.) Since we are talking about cultural issues, I will list the 19 for whatever inspirational value they might have for the members on this list: 1) The Nicaraguan national anthem (adapted, of course, into the grammar and syntax of Nicaraguan Sign Language) 2) La Cucuracha -- yes, it is a song, but music, like poetry, can be adapted to sign -- and it is a lot of fun, anyhow 3) Olmo and the blue butterfly: appears to be set in San Francisco, deals with multiple forms of urban transportation from skateboards to rocket travel 4) Caps for Sale: about a peddler and monkeys, presumably set in small town Europe, although when you think about it, one is much more likely to encounter peddlers and monkeys in Nicaragua 5) Three Little Pigs: some students in our class actually live in stick and straw houses, No wolves, though 6) The Mouse and the Lion: lion spares mouse; later, mouse frees lion from net. Was Aesop involved in this?? Anyway, this is one of those cross-cultural animal morality fables good anywhere. Moral: watch your step in the bush. 7) If You Give a Mouse a Cookie -- definitely a well-off, industrialized country mouse, although Nicaraguan children like to draw with crayons, too. The format is full of conditionals, which are presented somewhat differently in Nicaraguan Sign Language. We like the grammar lesson. 8) The Story of Babar, King of the Elephants -- okay, this is steeped in early twentieth century French colonial philosophy: savages encounter Western Civilization, then undergo transformation as old ways are abandoned. You just can't get more politically incorrect than this. The older Deaf students immediately recognize the parallel with their own lives (languageless waifs enter school, exit refined.) If this story keeps one student from chomping on poison mushrooms, then it was all worth it. 9) I Want My Banana: monkeys, snakes, tigers and bananas: this story good BE in Nicaragua (except for the hyena) 10) David and Goliath: underdog tramples giant, i.e., Sandino holds U.S. Marines at bay (and you thought this was about a little Jewish kid) 11) Pirate Queens: a women's lib story: female pirates attempt to save ship while drunken macho males play poker below deck. Not wishing to be insulting to Nicaraguan masculinity, but, gee, sounds like day-to-day life here. Moreover, Bluefields was a hangout for pirates way back when. 12) Louis Pasteur: French doctor fights rabies. The doctor was a white guy, but germs don't notice such distinctions, and Deaf kids in Nicaragua need to know about vaccinations, too. 13/14/15) The Trojan War/Odysseus and the Cyclops/Odysseus and the Cattle of the Sun: The Trojan War is about a military strategy. I have never seen a one-eyed cannibalistic giant in Nicaragua, but I have serious doubts the Greeks encountered any, either. For those who do not know the cattle story, the Greeks, confronting starvation, cook a cow belonging to the sun god. They tried fishing, but as a little joke Zeus wouldn't let them catch anything. Infuriated by the sacrilege (eating a god's cow), Zeus drowns them all, save Odysseus. Great wrath of the gods stuff -- lots of insight into Greek theology. Why deny this to a child because he was born 3,000 years later on the other side of the Atlantic? 16) The Spirit of St. Louis: probably the best story about work exhaustion ever, and a terrific geography lesson to boot. On his next trip, by the way, Lindy headed south, overflying Nicaragua due to the ongoing civil hostilities below. 17) Nicaragua is White: Meteorologist predicts snow; Somoza declares holiday and orders parade on the eventful day; winter clad soldiers and schoolchildren collapse while marching under Managuan sun. We performed this satire as a school play after a group in England donated winter clothing for our students -- just goes to show anything can be put to good use. 18) The Flying Frog: boastful frog claims he can fly, then persuades ducks to carry him aloft -- things go quite well until ducks get cocky. The claim is that this is an old Nicaraguan indigenous folktale, but this plot could come from anywhere. 19) Tailypo -- an African-American folktale, more of the ghost tale genre. Hermit eats tail from animal unknown, which later exacts vengeance. Half our students are of African descent, and all of them are Americans. As you can see, not one of these stories features a Deaf protagonist or villain. But, I don't see anything culturally insensitive in any of this. What would be really culturally insensitive and really "politically incorrect" would be to have these translations and adaptations prepared entirely by non-native signers. You would end up with a pidgin. -- James Shepard-Kegl | ||||||||
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