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From:
Stefan Woehrmann Date: Sun Oct 24, 1999 10:42 pm Subject: Re: Why is SignWriting Controversial? | ||||||||||||
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Hi Valery and all Listmembers, I took my time to read this article very carefully. Itīs a very important message.It helps to mirror my own experiences, my fears and my hopes. Well - I still have a long way to go to be able to use SW according to its possibilities. When will the time have come to inroduce SW as a usual discipline in schools for the Deaf? Our first steps in our class are very interesting. The parents were amazed about this strange ability of their children - being able to interpret signs that look like donīt know what to them . I explained the enormous advantages we could expect in case their kids would be able to write and read their first language. Colleagues who visited our classroom are fascinated - so may be we are lucky to find a good start. As soon as we can show up with the first results we will share them with all of you. Thanks again for this very informative article Bye ;-) Stefan >From: Valerie Sutton >Reply-To: SignWriting List >To: SignWriting List >Subject: Why is SignWriting Controversial? >Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 14:19:11 -0700 > >October 23, 1999 > >Hello SW List Members... >As you know, I get lots of private messages and sometimes people write to >me and ask me questions that may be of interest to the group as a whole. So >I am posting an answer to a recent question about controversy over >SignWriting. > >There was a time when SignWriting was very controversial...in fact I bet a >lot of you have already experienced this yourselves. All kinds of people >have been against it in the past. That is normal for new ideas, >historically, but it is confusing too. Sooo...I went through my old files >and I found this old article. I thought I would share it with you: > > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >WHY IS SIGNWRITING CONTROVERSIAL? >written in 1997 > >Question: >Let me tell you about something that is starting to happen with respect to >SignWriting here. It's surprising. The general mood is favorable in every >ambiance, but there is an unexpected contradictory movement. > >All this seems very strange to me. Why should anybody who talks a language >resist to learn, or even to try to learn, a way of writing it? It doens't >make sense. Or is there a sense that I can't grasp? > >You talked many times about the resistance to SignWriting, about the major >cultural and social change that it implies. Do you think those people here >are reacting against social change? Even Deaf people?! > > >Answer from Valerie: >Yes. Social change is occurring. Social change is always greeted with fear >by the very people who shall be benefitted, because they are the ones that >have to make the change, and change is frightening. The burden for change >is on two groups...the educators and the Deaf...and of those two >groups...the Deaf have it the hardest...because it hits them at the root of >their identity. The hearing educators can go home and continue to live the >same...but the Deaf people have to change their "very image" of themselves. > >This pattern repeats itself in every country that starts using SignWriting. >Here in the United States..after 23 years ...finally the truly educated >Deaf adults, who are the leaders within the Deaf Community, are finally >saying "It is time to write our language". I am not saying it is perfect >yet...no ..there are still a lot of people who have not "caught up" with >the social change...but that will happen automatically when they see other >Deaf people accept it. This takes a lot of patience. > >Of course I understand your feelings, and I always have to explain this to >everyone who first starts using SignWriting. When they meet with the >resistance, they are always surprised and confused by it. But history has >repeated this in several instances. So this appears to be a normal human >tendency. > >The pattern is this: >The majority language rules, not because people want to hurt each other, >but because most people speak the majority language. It is only natural. >That is the language of commerce. > >The minority group feels insecure. They are afraid they won't be accepted >by the majority. They are afraid that if they "make waves" that is "if they >bring attention to their differences" that the majority will not approve. > >Technically the minority language is supressed...in this case Sign >Language, without people even realizing it. The users of this minority >language, in this case Deaf people, have noticed that they do better if >they learn the majority language. It is not that they have directly been >abused by the majority...it is more subtle than that. And so the fear >spreads amongst themselves. Fear is catching. > >Historic Example One: This story already happened in the 1800's with the >Cherokee Indian Language, here in the North American region called >Oklahoma. The Cherokee Indian chief, named Sequoyah, was a brilliant man >who decided it was time that their language become a written language. >Their traditions would be lost if they didn't write them down. His own >people hated him for this and thought it was the work of the devil. They >even burned his books! When asked why they felt that way...one answer was: >"Only the "white man" is "allowed" to read and write. Indians were never >meant to do that". It took Sequoyah 25 years or so, before the writing >system was accepted, and because of him, their traditions were preserved. >Now the Cherokees are proud of Sequoyah. The little book telling the story >is entitled "Sequoyah - Biography of the Inventor of the Cherokee >Syllabary" by Grant Forman. Another book is "Sequoyah: The Cherokee >Genius"by Stan Hoig. > >Historic Example Two: When Dr. Stokoe proved scientifically that ASL is a >true language, you would have thought the Deaf people would be thrilled to >finally have a hearing person prove that their language was a good one. >Before that time they were told their language was a bad form of English. >But no...even native signers who came from whole families of Deaf people >had accepted that their language was no good. And they had been so >endoctrinated in the school system that English was good and ASL was bad, >that when Dr. Stokoe said ASL was good they protested and were angry at >him. Why? Because they had worked so hard to learn English...it was such a >struggle...and now they were afraid the hearing public would not accept >them further...if they are "officially" different. It took twenty years >before the Deaf Community was truly proud of ASL. And SignWriting started >writing ASL back when all that was going on...so reading and writing ASL >was even more controversial. When we started writing ASL, we were about 20 >years ahead of our time - but that was the way it should be. New ideas >always take time... > >Try to imagine living to adulthood with no written form for your own native >language. You speak your native language fluently, but because there is no >written form for it, reading and writing is not a part of your self-image. >And then imagine suddenly someone tells you that you "must read and write". >It would be so new you wouldn't know what to think! And when you sat down >to try to learn it, you would find that you didn't realize you said things >that way. You had no idea your language did that...and that...and that. And >suddenly you feel overwhelmed. And others around you feel the same way. So >you gather in groups and say - "We don't want to learn this because it is >too hard. It brings confusion to our lives. Let's leave things as they >were". > >That is why teaching young children in school is the only way to make true >social change for the next generation. But the present generation of Deaf >adults did not learn SignWriting as children, and it is hard to teach >adults. I am afraid this will go on for some time. > >Please don't let the social change get you down...it is a good sign...it >shows that you are succeeding. I hope you can explain all this to your >co-workers. It will help them to get a perspective on history. Best - > >Val ;-) > > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >Valerie Sutton > > >SignWritingSite...Lessons Online >https://www.SignWriting.org > >SignBankSite...Databases Online >https://www.SignBank.org > >Deaf Action Committee For SignWriting >Box 517, La Jolla, CA, 92038-0517, USA > | ||||||||||||
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