Acronymizing 51F

First, watch this video - it's captioned and is only one minute long.

It would be nice to have a handshape alphabet for our computers, eh? :)

Language Purity?

Let's go down history lane... and rattle off a list of famous stories and novels;

• The Three Musketeers
• The Count of Monte Christo
• Les Misérables
• The Stranger
• The Beauty and the Beast
• The Metamorphosis
• The Penal Colony
• Grimm's Fairy Tales (Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel)
• Faust
• 1001 Arabian Nights (Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves)
• War and Peace
• King Arthur
• Robin Hood
• Don Quixote
• Divine Comedy
• The Odyssey
• The Little Mermaid
• The Ugly Duckling

What do these stories have in common? They were originally written in a language other than English. Yet, they are well known, revered, and loved by millions worldwide, despite their translation in many other languages, including that of English. More amazingly, the Bible, containing God's word, was originally written in Hebrew and Greek. Does that make the KJV 'blasphemy' just because it was written in English?

So, why the talk of preserving language 'purity' when it comes to subtitling ASL video entries? Something for your hands to keep busy. :) Subtitling ASL video entries do not mar the language's 'purity' anymore than English would ruin the classic Snow White fairy tale. (Written in German, BTW.) Subtitling can only help broaden your audience and contributes to the overall human discourse going on in the Internet and elsewhere. At any rate, it does appear that the subtitling issue has died down; I'm always fashionably late to these kind of debates, anyway!

FWIW, that's my contribution to the subtitling debate. My take; the ASL video entries are yours. Do with them what you want. Add subtitles or not. Widen or limit your audience. Go unplugged, or polish your video entries. But claiming language purity in refusing to subtitle your ASL video entries is really just a strawman argument.

ASL: A Vanishing Act?

Thanks to DeafRead's latest controversy, courtesy of SeekGeo, I've collected a couple of links debating this issue. My personal thoughts about ASL? I think it will vanish altogether, but not in my lifetime. Probably 100 years from now. The inexorable and relentless march of progress will continue to reduce numbers of deaf people, and there's only so much hearing people can carry the beauty, grace, and legacy of ASL.

One beautiful thing about ASL is that it is definitely the 'Lazarus' of languages; it continues to survive without the absence of a mother country, and thrives within a mainstreamed linguistic minority. Despite years of speech/language training, hearing aids, cochlear implants, Deaf people continue to use ASL, or acquire ASL in adulthood. However, ASL is not immune to anthropological forces that conspire to its disappearance. Time will tell if ASL will continue to live on, despite these extraordinary pressures exerted by mainstream society.

Vlog - Is ASL Fading Away Or Not? [Seek Geo]

Vlog - Year 2200: Deafness goes Extinct; but ASL Survives! [See-Say Jay]

Future Shock [AllDeaf.com]

The Day When ASL Dies [Kokonut Pundit]

LASIK Your Ears!

I'm surprised that the following news haven't surfaced throughout DeafBlogLand. Might as well as comment on it, but first, here's the news:

Minimally Invasive Cochlear Implant Surgery

The implications of the article are profound. If the researchers are successful, it could very well mean that all future CI surgeries would be conducted on an outpatient basis, and activations occurring on the same day. It will definitely do three things; it will lower costs associated with the procedure, lower surgical risks tremendously, and promote quick healing.

IMO, this move is needed, especially when deaf infants and toddlers are involved. I have seen too many cases of language-delayed deaf children to think otherwise. Parents, who may balk at the current CI surgery, may be more receptive and amenable to the minimally invasive alternative, spurring more widespread acceptance and usage.

Deaf adults may be more willing to undergo the CI regimen, especially if he/she knows it'll be an outpatient procedure, and hopefully, not under general anesthesia. If millions of people can easily undergo LASIK surgery, perhaps a similar percentage of deaf adults would be willing to do the same for a similar kind of surgery. There's still the matter of intensive speech/listening therapies for the CI recipients, no matter what surgical method is employed, though.

As with any novel surgical procedure, I hope the researchers will also frame the ethical issues surrounding it, and navigate the resulting ethical minefield. I'd hate to see the procedure to be quickly decided upon by the relevant medical authorities (i.e., FDA) without input from the Deaf community.

In closing, I'd like to offer the parting words of one George S. Porter, upon closing out the final issue of The Silent Worker; "But time brings many changes.... New ideas.... New methods.... New theories.... New conditions.. Such is life." Truer words were never spoken, and they were spoken 78 years ago!

Review: A Permanent Grave by Mösdeux

I'm no movie reviewer (I would like to become one, though!), but I'll go ahead and write one up about the movie, A Permanent Grave, produced by Mösdeux. Thanks must go to HOVRS in sponsoring Movie Night at the FAD convention last weekend and exhibiting the movie in its entiriety before a captive (& spellbound!) audience.

First things first; The HOVRS team put up a chintzy setup of two projector screens 'stitched' together in order to create a suitable movie screen that is large enough for the audience to view comfortably. By doing so, the dual projector screens created a slightly noticeable (& distracting) distortion running down the center of the movie.

Moreover, they used a laptop computer and for some reason, (overheating? defective DVD?) the movie got very choppy at the very end, ruining the movie experience. Plus, there was no sound. The HOVRS team didn't make it clear if the DVD had sound, or that the laptop hookup did not have any sound capabilities.

From what I can tell, A Permanent Grave is a high quality production and deserves a rich moviegoing environment, and the Mösdeux team may well be served in carefully screening future venues, in ensuring that the movie viewing experience will be a positive one. Quality viewing issues aside, I enjoyed the movie, and savored the high production values that obviously all went into this movie.

*Spoiler Warning: Do not read any further, if you haven't watched the movie!* Apologies for the length of the review; I wanted to be a little bit more indepth, in order to do the movie justice.

Casting:
Let's start with the cast; I loved the casting of Vae, Amber Stanton, and Joey Baer for their respective roles in the movie. Gotta confess that I really didn't like the casting choice of Howie Seago as the swarmy H.S. Science teacher spinning out of control. Actors/actresses need to 'sell' their roles, and Howie's character getting romantically mixed up with a young Lolita kinda stretches the imagination a little bit. (Still, stranger things have happened, and unfortunately, this kind of thing did indeed happen at a couple of Deaf institutions!) The only saving grace for Howie was that he was nicely cast opposite Vae as the cheating husband.

Technical Stuff:
The movie had multiple camera angles, multiple locations, a wide variety of props, and an obviously dedicated crew covering every minutae of the movie. The end result has a highly professional feel to it; worthy of screening at a movie theater, whether it be IMAX or a small one. I cannot think of another Deaf-produced movie that ever came close to the quality exhibited in this movie.

Plot:
The plot was nicely paced, albeit somewhat confusing initially. The main plot started like five hours before, and progresses throughout the night in question. While the plot was nicely written, it could have been a little bit more 'tight', and with a minimum of loose ends (preferably none!). And there was the unexpected twist at the end, which really put the tragedy into perspective.

For example, there was a story arc about a wayward girl (played by Leila Hanaumi), in which Howie tries to set straight. Howie fails to do so, as the girl's father asserts himself, and this girl is not heard from again, a loose end. Granted, this arc could be more about Howie's increasingly spiral descent into madness, rather than an indictment of sorts on the dysfunctional family dynamics commonly found in such Deaf/hearing familes.

And what was that exchange at the bowling alley between Amber's character and that of the father? (Played by Michael O’Neil) And the 'chase' sequence undertaken by a lecherous young Deaf guy (played by Michael Davis) ending up in attempted (or successful, even) rape of Amber's character? I felt the entire sequence to be superflous; it did not advance Howie's character and his continuing descent into madness, other than to cement his reputation as a creepy character that likes to pick up young Lolitas. It did, however, helped flesh Amber's character to be a tragic individual, setting her upon the self-destructive path that will eventually course through the movie's climax.

And there's the odd sequence of Vae's character's participating in a fund-raiser full of hearing people. It did help flesh Howie's character's continuing impressions about his wife, however mistaken they will eventually turn out to be. Moreover, it helped flesh out Vae's character, borne in a common situation we all can relate to at some point in our Deaf lives.

Conflict:
Which comes to the main plot; Howie's character is increasingly getting estranged from his wife, played by Vae. And vice-versa for Vae's character. Vae's father senses the disconnect and tries to intervene as a hearing father would do, despite his limitations into understanding the Deaf world immersing her daugther. However, Howie's character accidentally kills the father, and sets in motion the irreversible series of events that will take a tragic turn for the worse as the evening progresses.

The plot has a Gift of the Magi feel, where both protagonists have no clue about why they are doing what they are doing, and are acting out under mistaken impressions they have for each other. And Amber's character comes hurtling right into the volatile mix of it all; replete with a cheesy choreographed struggle for the steak knife. The results are predictable, and tragedy ensues. (I wonder if DJ Kurs is an O Henry fan!)

Ending:
The nice thing is that there's an unexpected twist, and thanks to the choppy video at the very end, I really couldn't understand how the ending could have happened. I have a feeling that even if I watched the movie again, from a freshly-minted DVD on a optimal home theater setup, I would still not be able to 'grasp' the ending. It could have been a little bit better written, tying up a major loose end. Still, a nice twist, one that I did not expect at all and saved the entire movie from being a depressing tragedy it could have very well ended up to be.

Final Thoughts:
I would rate this movie to be very good for Deaf audiences; Due to the violent content of the film and suggestive scenes, it is understandably rated 'PG-13'. One thing about the movie is that it contained a good number of references into Deaf Culture, which I feel will not necessarily translate well into mainstream audiences. I would love for Mösdeux to create more films, with content that can be enjoyed by Deaf and mainstream audiences.

For now, you can enjoy the movie by going to the HOVRS website and participating in their Are You Purple? program. It is to my understanding that as a part of the MacOSX Secrets tour, again sponsored by HOVRS, there will be more private screenings of the movie. [Note: I am not affiliated with HOVRS.] Hopefully in the near future, Mösdeux can mass-produce DVD's of the movie, complete with extras, and market it themselves, and even distribute it via traditional outlets like Netflix, etc.

Now, grab that bucket of popcorn, and enjoy the movie!

Estimated Deaf Population for the State of Florida

For a fun lil' exercise for the armchair statistican in myself, I decided to see how many Deaf people lived in my state, using publically available resources. Sure, my methodology and numbers may be off, but it did struck me on how low our numbers truly are. Ready? Brace yourself...

The total estimated Deaf population for the State of Florida is roughly at 7,180 people. Yes, that's not a misprint or a typo, and yet, based on my purely subjective anecdotal observations, that number somehow feels right, maybe a little bit low for my liking. Also, thanks to missing data on Deaf adults, this figure should be considered as a bare minimum estimate of Deaf people living in Florida, and the actual numbers could be higher.

There were two sources I used in coming up with this 7,180 figure; GRI 2005 Florida Demographics and that of Census Estimates by Age or Sex for States.

According to the 2005 GRI Demographics, there were 1,575 Deaf people under age of 18 for Florida. (1,752 total - 177 (Ages 18 and over) = 1,575.) According to the 2005 Estimated Census for Florida in all ages under 18 category, there were 3,968,247 people. Dividing up the 1,575 Deaf people by the 3,968,247 population figures comes to a miniscule incidence figure of Deafness in the Florida school-age population to be .0397%!

Now, this is where estimates start to vary widely from the actual numbers; It's calculating the numbers of Deaf adults living in a particular state; Unfortunately, the GRI does not keep demographic statistics for that segment of the population, and the Census does not track hearing status. Thus, reasonable estimates need to be applied, with the understanding that there may be a wide variation between them and the actual numbers.

Again, the 2005 Estimated Census for the State of Florida comes to 17,768,191 people, and for 2006, the figure is bumped up to 18,089,888 people, an increase of 321,697 people or 1.8105%. I simply took the 2005 Estimated Census figure of 17,768,191 people and multiplied it by the incidence figure of .0397% to arrive at 7,052 Deaf people for that year. Next, I took that 7,052 figure and multiplied it by the 1.8105% population increase, and arrived at 7,180 Deaf people for 2006.

There you go. :) Yes, I am well aware of many other factors that will skew the 7,180 estimate; There's no accounting for the Rubella bulge of Deaf people that live in our state and elsewhere. There's the usual population migration patterns and Deaf people are of no exception. There's no accounting for late-Deafened adults who consider themselves Deaf and use some sign language, auxiliary aids, and/or services.

One other factor is that I used school-age population statistics. Why did I rely on such a 'flawed' statistic? Well, I'd like to take the easy way out and point to the availability of GRI's demographic resources. :) But, it goes a little bit deeper than that.

People that are Deaf or HH when they are before 18 years old are much more likely to acquire/use ASL. Thus, we avoid the problem of counting people who have lost their hearing during their adulthood, which will really skew the population figures. These people tend to be senior citizens and by large, they do not really consider themselves to be a part of the Deaf community. Even late-Deafened adults, by large, do not quickly accept their hearing loss and do not usually acquire/use ASL.

Finally, we turn to the local school district; Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS). Dr. Deborah Finley, ESE Supervisor for the school district, reported only 461 Deaf and HH students! [Source: Miami Herald (Copy at Deaf Progressivism Blog)] And if this Wikipedia article is to be believed, the total 2007 student population for MDCPS stands at 414,128 students. Dividing that 461 Deaf/HH figure by the 2007 student population number of 414,128 students comes to a Deaf incidence figure of 0.1113% in the school-age population for Miami-Dade County!

According to Census Quickfacts for Miami-Dade, the estimated total population stands at 2,402,208 people. Multiplying that figure against the 0.1113% incidence figure comes to an estimate of around 2,674 Deaf people living in the Miami-Dade County. Again, this is just a bare minimum estimate, and actual numbers reflecting the Deaf adult population could be higher.

Now, I have a better understanding on how truly small a community we are, and the more important it is to band together on common issues that touch us all. We are simply too small a community to remain fragmented over polarizing issues affecting us, and we need to make inroads in our mainstream communities.

Why use ASL Gloss?

Obviously, videos are the best way to capture ASL narrative and record it for all posterity. However, I know that digital videos have a definite lifespan and such works may be lost forever. Here's a couple of examples;

• The video hosting provider could go out of business; (Yes, even Google Video/YouTube are not immune from market forces!)


• The hard disk drives containing the videos could be damaged;


• I could have a Homer Simpson moment and accidentially delete the video and realize that there is no backup.


• Planned technological obsolence will render current (2007) state of the art digital video formats to be all but unreadable, ten, twenty, or thirty years ago. (C'mon, try to read a 8" disk right now with modern equipment! I double-dare ya! :) )

The list goes on and on...

There is a good reason why the George Veditz video was preserved and archived for future generations to view and enjoy; It was printed on celluoid. Even then, the ravages of time will destroy the physical reel, and only the meticulous and watchful care of its stakeholders will tend to its digital equivalent for pretty much forever, given its importance.

With that in mind, I needed to reduce my ASL videos to a written form, that can be easily edited, printed, distributed, understood, archived, searched, etc. I checked out a couple of systems used to reduce ASL to a written format;

• SignWriting [Wikipedia]


• HamNoSys [Hamburg University]


• Stokoe Notation [Wikipedia]

The first two systems, SignWriting and HamNoSys, are pretty much similar. They rely on symbols and notations suggesting movement, location, etc. However, they needed specialized software and they do not lend themselves to ease of searching or being understood. The last system, Stokoe Notation, had the advantage of using regular Unicode characters, but there remains a steep learning curve and apparently is designed for the linquistic community. It also may not lend itself suitable for searching or reading by lay people.

That only left me with one suitable choice; ASL Gloss. As the name implies, I just write down the equivalent English words for the signs as used in the video, in that order. Yes, I know the resulting English looks butchered and broken. But, it does not imply in any way that ASL is inferior to English or really is just Bad English. It just connotes that English is a poor substitute in transcribing ASL.

ASL Gloss met my criteria in reducing my ASL videos to writing; I can understand the system, and a fair degree of Deaf people will also. A lot of hearing people, if they can get past the red herring that is in the seemingly 'bad' English, will also readily grasp the minimal narrative. ASL Gloss can be easily typed, edited, printed, searched, archived, distributed, etc.

However, using ASL Gloss is not like using it in a vacuum; A corresponding English translation is provided. This way, I can compare the English translation with its corresponding ASL Gloss transcript to see if I've strayed far from its original meaning, and make revisions as needed.

More importantly, it allows readers to compare the two, and arrive at an reasonably high degree of understanding of what the ASL video is saying, even if they have not watched the video in question. Now, is that written literature for a manual language like ASL? Has ever there been literature where readers have to read and compare two competing written systems in order to fully understand and appreciate such videos? Maybe it is just isn't realistic; ASL deserves to stand on its own pedestal in the literary pantheon?

Admittedly, this is not a perfect system. I am hopeful that one day, some genius will come up with a writing system for ASL that is in widespread adoption. In closing, there is an ad hoc glossary of sorts, to help you understand what is being said in the transcripts;

• (FS) - Finger-spelled


• (CL:xx) - Classifier/handshape used.


• (RE) - Repeated sign


• (ID) - Idiomatic sign - No true English equivalent. Some improvisation required in the reader's imagination.


• More to come as more ASL Gloss transcripts are developed.

Much Ado About Name Signs

In this 1:25 minute (captioned) video entry, I talk about using name signs and whether we should have a specialized 'name' vocabulary for ASL.



Click here for the Name Signs Translation - English text.
Click here for the Name Signs Transcript - ASL Gloss.