Subject: sum : sign-singing

a few weeks ago i posted the following query : ) here in taiwan there is a tv program in which people compete ) to see who is the best singer . there are different categories ) for different types of songs / languages , etc . , and one category ) is for " sign singing " . a tape of a song is played , and a signer ) signs along with the words of the song ( all those i ' ve seen ) compete were not deaf ) . i was wondering if this is common in ) other countries , and if so , what the criteria are for judging ) who is " the best " , and also if it is done at all by people ) who are deaf . thanks . i received a number of interesting responses : ) from jane edwards ( edwards @ cogsci . berkeley . edu ) : ) thought not pertaining to contests or even singing , for that matter , ) i saw something on pbs a couple months back which i wanted to mention . ) they showed a " music appreciation " class taught to totally deaf high school ) kids , in which they each were wearing pad on the back , which converts the ) acoustic output into pressure stimulation . the students were dancing to ) the music , and commenting on different types of music . they were n't ) singing / signing to it , but perhaps they could ? ) from jakob dempsey ( jakob @ u . washington . edu ) : ) one of the largest , most popular choruses in seattle regularly ) has a sign-language " interpreter " on stage during performances ; the ) particular one who has been doing it for a long time is not deaf ; he seems ) to also appeal a lot to the general audience with his expressive , exaggerated ) style . ) from midori yonezawa ( yonezawa @ student . msu . edu ) : ) i believe that there is a sign singing contest because music can be shared ) by everybody and it is natural to want to show different expressions each ) other . ) i learned japanese sign language in japan ( a little bit ) , and sometimes i ) practiced sign singing , too . i went to concerts where the singers were ) all professional " shanson " singers ( " shanson " is french loan into japanese ) . ) they have a concert every year for those who are handicapped , not only ) for deaf people . some singers sang with sign language at the same time as ) they sang vocally , and when the singers did n't do so there was an interpreter ) of sign language on the stage . i noticed and surprised that the ways of ) expressing by sing language are very different from each other and from ) occasions , e . g . fast / slow , soft / pressing , emotional / calm , etc , etc . . ) i also remember a tv program ( on nhk ) about equipment to help those who have ) difficulty in hearing . a technical group developed the equipment so that ) they can hear music . ) from peggy swartzel lott ( pslott @ utxvms . cc . utexas . edu ) : ) when i was a sign language interpreter and interpreter coordinator in ) san diego , california , there was quite a to-do a few years back over ) the issue of song sign . i first remember encountering song sign in ) the early to mid 70 's when a few groups of deaf performers ( i . e . ) musign ) toured the country performing popular songs in sign along ) with recorded sound tracks . later a pair of excellent performers , ) sharon neumann solow and gary sanderson , both individuals who were ) raised with deaf parents and fluent in asl , toured and performed ) songs in sign . ) ) the controversy in san diego centered on a local " annual song sign ) competition " hosted by the area 's rid branch , sanscrid . the ) competition was open to the public and was established both for ) a general " deaf awareness " activity and to raise funds for various ) purposes . prizes were given out for best individual song , best ) group , etc . the performance of the competition was quite popular ) and seemed to be growing in attendance and participation each year . ) ) a group of deaf people contested the competition on various grounds . ) the points i remember best about their objection ( because i ) personally found these issues most compelling ) were that the ) actual performances were offensive to some native signers because ) of the way putting sign to music distorted the linguistic and ) aesthetic dynamics of asl . that is , in order to make a signed ) narrative conform to the lyrics of a song , to translate it ) simultaneously with the recorded music , many grammatical patterns ) in normal signing had to be altered . often the performance bore ) little resemblance to normal signing . ) ) there was great debate for a while in the community over this issue . ) certain deaf people and many hearing interpreters and sign ) students defended the practice of song sign . some insisted that ) they be allowed to exercise their own artistic talents in playing ) with signing in this way . others felt that song sign provided an ) important bridge that enabled many uninformed hearing people to ) become aware of and appreciate the beauty of signing . the ) community was divided over the issue and eventuall y the whole ) thing was dropped . in the meantime , however , certain concerns ) of deaf people were brought to the surface and continued to be a ) source of discussion : issues about who has the right to make poetic ) use of signing and what sorts of alterations in signing style are ) acceptable to native users and which are not . i found the whole ) debate quite interesting and was genuinely convinced by the ) argument of the deaf people who were opposed to the practice . ) from richard arnold ( richard . arnold @ vuw . ac . nz ) : ) here in new zealand we have an annual new zealand sign langauge story - telling ) competition . mostly the competitors are deaf , but some codas also partipate as ) well . i have yet to see any hearing compete , however i know of some deaf for ) whom nz sign language is a second language learnt later in their adult life ) also participate . ) ) the winners are usually those who are quite fluent in nzsl . the criteria for ) judging is ( to my understanding ) as follows : ) ) - is the signing clear to the audience ? ) - does the signer get the audiences attention ? ) - is the story well structured ? ) - is the story within the time limits set ( usually 3 minutes ) ? ) - does the signer keep to the rules ? ) this usually consists of - no dirty jokes . ) - no overzealous religious contexts . ) ) the competitior must give a title to his / her story and state its type , ( ie true ) story , joke story , sad story , not true story etc . . . ) ) ) if the story exceeds the time limit a point is deducted . however the signer is ) not interrupted if he / she exceeds the limit but is allowed to complete the ) story ( unless it really is too long ! ! ! ) . ) ) sometimes , at the end the winner ( if he / she is popular with the audience is ) asked to repeat it or give another story ) . ) ) . . . sign-singing is not too common among the deaf community far as i am ) aware . it is mostly done in religious situations . i think it is n't a strong ) component of deaf culture . however story-telling is a strong part of deaf ) culture and especially of making jokes and light-hearted teasing . anyway thats ) my deaf experience here in new zealand . ) from karina bingham ( karina @ uhunix . uhcc . hawaii . edu ) : ) there is an african - american a cappella group called " sweet honey in the ) rock " who have a full-time signer in the group . she performs with them and ) signs her interpretations of the songs . they recently published a book ) for their 25th anniversary : ) ) reagon , bernice johnson . the long journey home . 1994 . ) ) in which the signer discusses her experiences in the deaf community and ) a deaf church ( where the congregation sang in sign ) . her parents were both ) deaf ; she is not . ) from marina mcintire ( mmcintir @ lynx . dac . neu . edu ) : ) you have inadvertently touched upon a very tender issue in the deaf ) community here in the us . first , let me say that only in the us have i ) seen this phenomenon . brits ( both deaf and hearing who work with them ) ) are confounded and amused by it . in the us , it used to be quite the ) thing to translate songs and develop routines to go with them , produce ) recitals and concerts , and the like . it arose , most likely , out of a ) strong church-related tradition of " helpers " for deaf people . ) ) in the last ten to fifteen years , however , deaf people have begun their ) own liberation . song - signing has been a casualty , by and large . it is ) viewed as representing one aspect of a pathological or clinical view of ) deafness , i . e . , that the worst " loss " resulting from deafness is music . ) this is , of course , far from the truth . and for culturally deaf people , ) music is a peculiarity belonging to the mainstream hearing world and of ) no consequence in their lives whatsoever . so * that * motive ( helping ) d / deaf people appreciate what they ' re missing ) is not acceptable . ) ) another complaint is that , by and large , translations are more ) influenced by the rhythm of the music than by any sense it might make in ) asl , presenting d / deaf audiences with nonsensical or distorted versions ) of signs and signed syntax . this arises partly , of course , out of the ) difficulty of translating any poetry into any language . ) ) worst of all , and perhaps most puzzling to d / deaf people , is the ) insistence of most song-signers on including things like " tra la la " or ) humming . there is * nothing * that could make less sense to a d / deaf ) audience ! ) ) i will say that i have seen some wonderful song-sign translations done , ) including some with rather elegant dance routines . sometimes these have ) been done by d / deaf people and sometimes by hearing folks . by and large , ) however , this practice is no longer an acceptable pasttime in our ) community . exceptions are made , ironically , for interpreters who work in ) theater . musical productions , because of their general inclusion of ) dance ( a more interesting visual event ) and costume / props / etc . . . are ) quite popular and well-attended ( comparatively speaking ) by d / deaf ) theatre-goers . many thanks to all those who replied . randy lapolla institute of history and philology academia sinica
