----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Everson"
To:
Sent: Sunday, February 06, 2000 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: Gallaudet University & Signwriting
> It does, but it follows quite naturally from the (inexplicable) attitude
> that "deaf languages were never meant to be written down". As if _spoken_
> languages _were_ meant to be? Human beings were speaking languages for
> millennia before they ever write them down..... ;-)
That's true. It is, however, no license to auto-refuse a written
representation
of any language, ASL or otherwise.
> Let's imagine a household with Deaf people in it. They are literate in
> SignWriting and in English. One wants to leave a note for the other on the
> refrigerator. Will he choose to write ASL or English?
They will probably choose SW because their mindsets would have
been deprogramed from an English only mentality, and pride in being able
to put their own language (ASL) in paper. SW would become a very
real part of the Deaf's process of equilibrium at this point and one of
the reactions would be cultural pride represented by SW. If you are
unfamilair withthe process of equilibrium theory, I'd be happy to post the
stages.
>
> Let's imagine a household with hearing people in it. They are bilingual
and
> literate in Irish and in English. One wants to leave a note for the other
> on the refrigerator. Will he choose to write Irish or English?
It depends on how acculturated they are. If the househld takes great pride
in
its Irish heritage, they may use Irish. If they are totally acculuturated
into the uSA,
they won't. Oddly, your argument is one of the things I see often and
interestingly,
in Texas, I wa spulled aside and told something in private> It was,
"Remember,
that we (hearing) control the schools, the language accessibility, and even
your
job. You can't change anything because everything belongs to us including
the
fate and state of minds on the kids." I said thank you because I now
understood
what was the basic disdain for many things the Deaf sought to advance for
the sake
of the kids. Don't take offense, it's just that your position reminds me of
this experience
I had. I think we all hold to certain perceptions whether we realize them or
not. The
instructor in Texas did realize it and stated it effectively.
> Same difference. The point is that each must have the choice. If some
folks
> at Gallaudet don't see this, well, either they will in time, or they'll
> retire and be replaced by folks who do....
True. I think basically, that's what we are all saying here more or less.
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squirrel
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