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From:
Cecelia Smith Date: Thu Mar 16, 2000 12:25 am Subject: Fingerspelling as English | ||||||||
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<< True up to a point. However, fingerspelling is not signing, >> Actually, I beg to differ. Fingerspelling is a critical part of ASL, it is used frequently during signed conversations, and follows all the rules and requirements of any other sign. It is an old concept that Fingerspelling is not ASL...and has provided for quite a lot of heated debate in linguistics circles...until people realized that, just as there are words that represent the letters of the alphabet, there are signs that represent the letters of the alphabet.... the spoken word "eye" stands for the letter "i" the sign that has the little finger extended, the others curled into a fist, and held at approximately shoulder height, palm out represents the letter "i" By the way.... the spoken German word "ee" represents the written letter "i". Or, for the letter "J" we speak the word "jay" but Germans say "yote" -- but we all write "J". Fingerspelling is NOT simply something borrowed from English. The signs used to represent the letters of the alphabet seldom resemble (although some do) the letters they represent. >Those handshapes when strung together form English >words, ergo, that IS a Sign Written form of English. ummmmmm.... No, again. The logic here is a bit fuzzy. Yes, those ASL handshapes when strung together, usually do represent an English word....However, to be picky here, putting a few words here and there does not make a language. They represent an English word. Sometimes. But back to an earlier comment I made, if I fingerspell Julio Am I fingerspelling English? Or Spanish? How about the word Paris Is that English or French? Just as I am typing them.... did I type Julio in English or in Spanish? Or is that Italian? Those handshapes, when strung together REPRESENT something. Sometimes it is English. Sometimes it is not. Sometimes, as in the case of what are inaccurately called Loan Signs, they represent a concept that is used in the language of ASL and are independent of the actual letters .....for example the Loan Sign BUSY.....in slow motion video tape of many different Native Deaf signers, is seen to be signed quite clearly using only the letters B and Y -- and even then, the B is frequently barely present, and the sign is made using movement that is not really considered permissable by fingerspelling rules....So you have B-Y but they don't mean by? So you have two Fingerspelling handshapes strung together that form a word (by) but don't mean that word. So.. are the handshapes still English? I don't think so. Anyway.. that's my food for thought. | ||||||||
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