A New Phenomenon at Gallaudet University Urged!

"I hemahema ia haumana, ili ka'ahewa I ke kumu"

in Hawai'ian meaning

"If the pupil is unskilled, the errors reflect on the teacher."

American Sign Language (ASL) and English bilingualism at Gallaudet University is going to be phenomenal. The philosophical discipline of phenomology began in the early 1900 with Edmund Husserl who articulated that phenomology would turn toward "the things themselves," toward the world as it is experienced in its felt immediacy. It wouldn't seek to explain the world, but to describe how the world makes itself evident to awareness. It is about the way things comes to our sensorial experience as Deaf people being bilingual in ASL and English.

I believe rather firmly that Husserl's description of phenomology as a rigorous "science of experience" would establish Gallaudet University at last upon a firm academic footing--not, perhaps, as solid as the fixed and finished "mission" upon which those students pretend to communicate in both languages, but the only basis possible for a knowledge that necessarily emerges from our bilingual experience of the world around us.

Like our hearing counterparts, we the Deaf people do think subjectively. However, our thoughts and ideas could be objectively translated into language that is right next to our heart, ASL. For us to translate these thoughts and ideas into a written form of English, we need first to become aware of sounds, to understand sounds of English words sewn together to make grammatically and rhythmically coherent sentences, which is no easy feat. And, if academic bilingualism exists, it would be phenomenal at Gallaudet University.

Then comes a hard but important question: How does our subjective experience enable us to recognize the reality of other selves, other experiencing beings, other language, namely English? According to Husserl, there exists an inexcapable affinity between these other bodies and our own bodies. The gestures and expressions of these other bodies can be observed from within our individual selves. Husserl called it "intersubjectivity."

I subscribe to Husserl's notion of intersubjectivity because if suggests a remarkable new interpretation of our objective world. The conventional contrast between subjective and objective realities--deaf world versus hearing world--can be reframed as a contrast within the subjective field of experience itself. The real world in which we all find ourselves, then is not a fixed and finished "datum" from which all subject matters could be examined, but is rather an intertwined matrix of bilingual experiences, a coolective field of experienced lived in both Deaf and hearing world.

The mutual inscription of hearing people in my experience, for example, effects the interweaving of my personal phenomenon into a ever-shifting reality. And yet, as I know from my everyday experience, the phenomenal world seems stable and solid; I am able to count on it in so many ways, and I am even able to use both ASL and written English. Besidee that which I directly see of either ASL or written English, I know or intuit that there are also those features of ASL or English that are visible to the other perceivers who see me or read my writing.

When I was in Holland where I was born and raised for over 10 years, my parents told me about Gallaudet University (then Gallaudet College). It has since become the world of my immediately lived experience, as I live it...an MSSD graduate, a Preparatory class president, a Student Body Government president, a 1983 Thomas J. Watson Fellow, and now an alumnus. Gallaudet University is the world that I count on without necesarily paying attention. It is always there when I begin to reflect or philosophize.

Gallaudet University is not a private, but a collective, phenomenon--the real world in which Deaf people are bilingual in ASL and English. It was Husserl's genius that enables me to philosophize that Gallaudet University is phenomenal for different languages and cultures to co-exist through ASL-English intersubjectivity.

Morale: Someone needs to inform James Sorenson that people do not actually come to Gallaudet University for hearing tests and hearing aid checks.

--Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

Open Letter to Gallaudet University

Blogger's note: All who have read the open letter from Gallaudet University President Robert Davila and Provost Stephen Weiner about the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) will find this blog most helpful.

Dear the Gallaudet University community,

This letter reflects the cutting edge of new demands which will greatly assist Gallaudet University as the world's leading academy exclusively for the Deaf. MSCHE has officially placed our alma mater on probation, which shouldn't be surprising, and it calls for irreversible change in catering higher learning and teaching to the Deaf. Since MSCHE has identified the bilingual nature at Gallaudet University, we must now claim the academic status of American Sign Language (ASL).

Gallaudet University needs to reopen the School of Preparatory Studies (SPS) so that the incoming students could be prepared to maximize their skills for university education. Who knows better than the alumnus who began his higher education career as a Preparatory student? And who other than the alumnus better realizes that the absence of Preparatory Studies, coupled with the mission of communication diversity and deception, leads directly to university accreditation failure. I know that American Sign Language (ASL) is not a problem at Gallaudet University, for the lack of diagnostic and remedial techniques necessary to academically instruct both ASL and its spoken and written counterpart English to university students is virtually nonexistent.

A Deaf student is a problem learner because, for one reason or another, he or she does not hear English the way hearing people normally do. He or she should not be judged by his or her academic skills in relation to his or her university level (Freshman, Sophomore, etc.), but rather in relation to his or her bilingual potential.

In present Gallaudet University, where students often are pressured to achieve a certain year level of performance, the problem student is a source of never-ending disappointments. Whether the pressure is subtle or direct, both the student and the professor sense failure. The professor may react by giving up on the student or by feeling that he or she is indifferent, lazy, or troublesome. It is well-said and often-said in the English Department that these problem students are warm bodies (my former coordinator told me in my face many, many times!). This reaction may be followed by punishment that usually fosters a hostile attitude between not only the professor and a student, but also the English language and ASL.

The School of Preparatory Studies needs to adopt the following motto: Accept and Challenge. This motto is suggested for all who plan to work with Preparatory students. We must accept the student, because he or she is but a product of his language experience. If we reject and criticize those experiences, we are, in fact, rejecting and criticizing the student. Instead, we must accept those experiences as real and good...genuinely accept the total student, his or her language, his or her habits, his or her attitudes, and his or her skills. Perhaps the most crucial factor in Preparatory Studies School lies in the area of university's attitude toward students. It should be remembered that the professor's first and foremost responsibility at Gallaudet University is to educate all of the students as effectively as possible...in both ASL and English.

This is how I translate MSCHE's proposal of bilingualism, period, at Gallaudet University. It doesn't necessarily mean to add this "bilingualism" in the university mission statement to continue communication diversity and deception. Every graduate of Gallaudet University needs to be well-honed in both ASL and English.

Thank you for reading and making a "perfect" comment.

Carl Schroeder, the Creator of ASL Dragon

Winds of Change Steep Through Gallaudet

The Hawai'ian words were not

as strong as they used to be

before the white man came.

The Hawai'ian words couldn't

hurt or heal they way they used to,

and often these days they couldn't

explain what was happening

around the world. The white man's

ways are like a great ocean,

lapping at the Hawai'ian shores.

--Anonymous

Deaf people in general are a speech community steep in language oppression and deception, and no where is that more exemplified than at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the world's only academy exclusively for the Deaf. Known for the strict hearing people's ways the recent campus events move at a glacial pace to question whether American Sign Language (ASL) has an equal academic status as its language counterpart, namely, English, for graduation requirement.

This year, however, the university administration and board have invited some monumental changes including the Sorenson Language and Communication Center project and a somewhat controversial deception, which allows the university to capitalize on ignorance of our general society about the language and communication manifestation of the Deaf, requiring ASL, period.

A lesson from Hawai'i may be worthwhile learned to allow change to happen: On June 26, 1803, King Kamehameha saw horses--a stallion and a mare--for the first time. They were gifts to King Kamehameha from the American trader Richard J. Cleveland who recorded in his journal that these horses swan ashore from his ship, Lelie Byrd.

The Hawai'ian villagers who saw these horses called them "giant pigs with long, slender legs upon which balanced a graceful body bearing an arched neck and a small, tossing head." The Hawai'ians found that these horses were taller than two men and stronger than King Kamehameha.

What a contrast King Kamehameha and Richard Cleveland made! The trader was "covered all over with dark cloth, even his arms and legs are wrapped up tightly." Facing him, and towering over him stood King Kamehameha, dressed in his loincloth and a brilliant golden feather cloak "which glossed against his dark skin and hung from his powerful shoulder to the ground."

The beautiful animal is called horse, brought from the white man's land for the king. King Kamehameha learned how to ride the horse by guiding it by means of the rope looped around the horse's nose. The Hawai'ian watched how the horse and the king moved royally around, the horse stepping proudly, his head dipping majestic rhythm, the king sitting straight.

No problem? Well, suddenly the horse's forelegs rose high in the air. With a yell of surprise, King Kamehameha slid off the horse's back and landed on the ground. No one dared to laugh. White men ran to help the king to his feet, since none of the Hawai'ians were permitted to touch the king.

Proud to have learned how to ride the horse, King Kamehameha desired to have his people to learn all about the horses. Today, not all Hawai'ians ride a horse, and they say: "The rider bends too much to the wind of the white man."

Morale: There are certain Deaf people bending too much to the wind of the hearing people.

Comment Maker, Find Me a Perfect Comment

Comment Maker, you know
Why we all are here
At this Kalalau's Korner.

And it is not
Because we want
World peace or language.

On the other hand,
I seek a planet
That has no rules.

No questions--
Just happy people
We want to be.

So now that we have
That out of the way...
Let's find a way

To make that happen
Save the games--
for recess

If I want drama,
I can turn the TV
And watch a mini series

Without closed captioning!
Hey, who wants to say
No to ASL...to good times?

Not you, because
You are reading this...
Kalalau's Korner starts

With a hello
Name is C-A-R-L
Not to sound rude

But DO NOT make
A comment to suggest
your complete oblivion

Of things around
The Deaf around the world
And around yourself

I am your basic blogger
And vlogger who likes
The same thing you like.

So...so don't treat
Me and anyone else as if
We were from Mars.

American Sign Language and Freedom of Speech

In this vlog, Carl Schroeder discusses ASL as a form of speech that is protected by the freedom of speech clause in The First Amendment to The U.S. Constitution.

ASL Dragon and the Vase

In this vlog storytelling, Gisbatzed likens ASL Dragon to a vase.

Stop Insanity at Gallaudet University

Someone once said that the definition of insanity is to do the same stupid thing over and over again--expecting different results. Sound familiar in Deaf education?

Ask: What is Gallaudet University for? Answer: The same stupid thing!

Gallaudet University's proposed Hearing Sciences and Language Services building, subtly known as Sorenson Language and Communication Center (SLCC), ignores the fact that Deaf people, especially Deaf babies across the nation and in Canada, need American Sign Language (ASL) more than ever. Rather than researching ASL for k-12 education, Gallaudet University chooses to prepare Deaf students for a transition to hearing sciences and language services...the same stupid thing!

As someone who grew up in two different languages and cultures, Gebarentaal/ASL and Dutch/American respectively, people asked me almost daily why Gallaudet University continues its ill-fated mission in higher education? "Why aren't Deaf people outraged and protesting on the campus like those across the nation?" "What is next in Deaf education?" "Cued language?" My reply: Gallaudet University does not teach democracy; it offers hearing sciences and language services...the same stupid thing!

Although there is a mounting anti-SLCC sentiment (even by many people at Gallaudet), many people made it clear to me by their random acts of kindness they don't hate the university administration, just those who promote hearing sciences and language services...the same stupid thing!

I tried to assure them that housing ASL/Deaf Studies was right around the corner and that a majority of the faculty now wants to use more ASL. "Just be patient," I told myself, "and changes will be made." Well, now is our chance. Now is our time to stop insanity at Gallaudet University. Hearing sciences and language services are the same stupid thing!

I join with others who value ASL in calling for our alma mater to bring ASL on the table in its Faculty Senate now. We want to see a faculty vote that indicates ASL belongs in higher learning and teaching and has an equal status with its spoken and written counterpart, English in academia (English 101 = ASL 101, etc.). Gallaudet University needs to bring a flag where it is never flown. Ideally, the flag is the co-existence of ASL and English, not hearing sciences and language services...the same stupid thing!

Resist Much, Obey Little: Protest SLCC!

I have been in the mainland for several days for a series of job interviews. Yes, I was stranded by United Airlines' computer crash and flew to four different cities for my final interview and then my destination. No extra mileage in my account :( It was quite an experience. During my adventure in those airports, I had opportunities to read blogs via DeafRead in my Sidekick. Here are my thoughts and ideas I want to share with my faithful fans.

The American poet, Walt Whitman, advises,"Resist much, obey little," in his epic of radical democracy, Leaves of Grass. During the 2006 FSSA protests at Gallaudet University, the blog and vlog networks filled the air with information barely known before. Our knowledge has been exploding, and they must be attributed to yellow journalism of both DeafRead and GallyNet.

Yet, the largest bloggers and vloggers ever spoke in a single voice in all of recorded history of the Deaf. These "voices" blogged and vlogged were breathtaking, brief, and each one different from the next. We are basically claiming American Sign Language (ASL) being some kind of decor that politics is never separate from ASL because it would be one of the most specious and dangerous arguments there is. Politics is and will always be very much part of using ASL and responding to the Deaf world.

I am here angry at that bunch in the present Gallaudet University administration for the way they are running higher education. I am here really ashamed at what Gallaudet University is becoming under their hands. And I am here in fear at what Gallaudet University may use Sorenson Language and Communication Center (SLCC) to "fix" Deaf children and ourselves... I feel that this is a kind of turning point in the mission of Gallaudet University, and that we now have a resistance.

Okay, how could Bob Davila have known, considering his educational background--but it is clearly unwise to make Deaf people mad. In doing so, he provided the great service of censoring GallyNet permanently. Perhaps we the Deaf come to the foreground at such times because ASL already exists at the margins, our language represents a kind of powerless power, and maybe we become interested in it; the idea that we can devote a life to something that will not bring the usual rewards. This is a kind of language identification in which we feel we have so little to say in the matter. ASL remains oppressed, suppressed and integrated with "hearing science and language services" at Gallaudet University!

However, Gallaudet University did us another favor by housing ASL in its pet project SLCC, the building appropriated originally and exclusively for the expansion of the Hearing Science and Language Services (HSLS) department. While Bob Davila respects and supports ASL, he also has opinions and believes it would be inappropriate to turn what is intended to be the SLCC agenda into a political forum. Most remarkable is the plain stupidity exhibited in the Gallaudet University censorship of blogging and vlogging on the basis of "politics," given his own blogspot, Bob's Vlog.

Is there such a disclaimer like this: Gallaudet University shall not be liable for information contained within blogs and vlogs or for any loss or expense that results from the oppression or marginalization of ASL? Is ASL solely responsible for the description of Deaf people and their culture? What then is Gallaudet University for? Do we need a higher education institution that preserves and promotes our own language and culture in academia? Do we really need to submit ourselves to hearing sciences and cued language?

Resist and be persistent in our language and culture liberty: ASL is here to stay. Blog and vlog now!

Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

How Funny Your Idea of ASL Would be

How funny your idea would be
If it could follow back to where
The origin idea was thought of,
Telling itself that, or maybe
Some other ideas told of it
And named that idea. It would be
As hard as tracking a river to its
Source, which would be impossible.
Like signs, rivers have no source.
They just automatically appear in
A place where they get wider,
And soon a real river comes along,
With fish and derbis--parameters
In ASL as you please, and someone
Has already compare them: non-manuals
(Facial expressions are popular in ASL) or,
Or some other sign language, which comes
at long last to realize that river, on its bank,
Appears as funny as the river. you can say
what you want to say. But I want your idea
To be as funny as any river without its source.

Oppressing Queen Liliuokalani of Hawai'i ... and Deaf People

Blogger's note: We the Deaf can learn from what happened in Hawai'i and how wealthy Americans often rob us of our dream ... and our language. Please remember that Jane K. Fernandes, a daughter of wealthy American parents, was in Hawaii, and she must have been bureaucratically inspired to treat Deaf people the way the United States government still treats Hawai'ian people.

Meet Lydia Kamekeha: Queen Liliuokalani of Hawai'i

Lydia was our years old when she discovered that Chief Paki and Konia were not her real parents. She had been adopted at birth. It was the custom in Hawaii in the 1800s for chiefs of royal blood to give their children to other chiefs. They believed it was better not to bring up their own children.

Lydia Kamekeha was born in 1838. Her Hawaiian name was Liliuokalani. She attended the Royal School, a small boarding school run by missionaries. Her childhood was filled with happy times with families and friends, and sad events affecting the Hawaiian people. She married John Dominis, an American who had been appointed governor of Oahu. In October of 1877, King David Kalekema named his blood sister, Lydia, heir to the throne. Lydia became Queen Liliuokalani when he died in January of 1891.

A fierce legal battle followed in 1893 between the wealthy, powerful American land owners and Queen Liliuokalani. They wanted Hawaii to become part of the United States. She wanted to restore power to the throne and to the Hawaiian people. Queen Liliuokalani lost the battle. Hawaii was annexed to the United States in 1898.

To help overcome her sorrow of the changing Hawaii, Lydia wrote the song Aloha Oe, which became the traditional farewell song of Hawaii. Lydia died in 1917, a queen without a crown, but a queen in the hears of her people.

Source: Remarkable People! by Marguerite Lewis and Pamela J. Kudla

Aloha Oe

Ha`aheo ka ua i nâ pali

Ke nihi a`e la i kanahele

E uhai ana paha i ka liko

Pua `âhihi lehua a o uka,

Hui:

Aloha `oe, aloha `oe

E ke onaona noho i ka lipo

"One fond embrace" a ho`i a`e au

"Until we meet again."

Translation:

Proudly by the rain in the cliff

The creeping silently and softly up the forest

Seeking perhaps the bud

Flower âhihi lehua of inland.

Chorus:

Farewell (to) Thee, farewell (to) Thee

Sweet fragrance dwelling in the dark forest

One fond embrace, before I now leave
"Until we meet again."

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet: He Worked as a Peddler

In 1991, the Center for Applied Research in Education published short stories about different people who made all the difference in our lives, and these stories are in the book, Remarkable People! by Marguerite Lewis and Pamela J. Kudla (ISBN 0-87628-792-5). Among these stories is about Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a peddler.

Meet Thomas Gallaudet: "What Might Be"

Thomas kept a secret journal. He wrote over and over again that he wished he could climb a tree. His weak lungs and poor eyesight kept him from participating in any type of physical activity.

Thomas Gallaudet was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 10, 1787. He earned the right to be valedictorian of his class at Yale University, but the second-best student was chosen because he was tall and robust. Thomas became a lawyer and a tutor, but ill health forced his retirement. To live an outdoor life, he worked as a peddler.

Thomas became interested in a young child named Alice Cogswell, who became deaf at the age of two. He was sure her intelligence could be unlocked through sign language. After successfully teaching Alice, Thomas atudied the two methods of teaching the deaf: sign language and lip reading. It was his opinion that sign language was the better method, but he developed a program using both methods.

Thomas convinced some wealthy Philadelphia (sic) citizens to sponsor a school for the Deaf. As the school's first principal, the gray-eyed, quiet man calmed the fears of childten, locked into silence and separated from home and family. The first signs the children learned were tears and smioles. Later, when his healthy forced him to reture, he wrote books on the deaf, with the help of his deaf wife.

After his death on September 10, 1851, the National Deaf-Mute College in Washington, D.C., was named Gallaudet College. Today, a bronze statue of Thomas teaching Alice greets students from all over the world. They come to study in preparation for taking their rightful place in all walks of life.

Learning to Be Bilingual in ASL and English: Several Sophisticated Tasks

Being bilingual in both American Sign Language (ASL) and English is a matter of fact for most Deaf people in the United States and most Canada. Although few Deaf children or adults are aware of several sophisticated tasks and the abilities to apply them to their acquisitions of both ASL and English, all people who learn to use and understand ASL and English master these five language components. In this blog I will discuss ASL-English language learning.

1. ASL Phonology: the structural parts of signs--hand shapes, palm positions, start-finish locatives, non-manual cues, and modifier movements; English Phonology: the sound structure of words--consonants, vowels, intonations, stresses, and rhymes.

In much the same way that the infant, Deaf or not, learns from what he sees, he begins to recognize the "shapes" and "movements." A Deaf infant learns to recognize signs naturally and realizes the parts of signs. He may see the sign MOM used in a variety of ways, each with its own non-manual cue (eye-gazing), modifier movement (excitement), and "accent" (Southern). A hearing infant learns to listen to sounds across the natural sound spectrum and hears the silences, or "spaces," between words or sounds. A hearing infant learns to hear the word Mom spoken in a variety of ways, each with its own intonation (soothing tone), volume (excitement), and accent (Southern).

2. ASL Semantics: the meaning of signs and the networks of meaning among them; English Semantics: the meaning of words and the networks of meaning among them.

Just as most hand shapes have meaning, so do most sounds. In ASL, the vehicle classifier of the car may signal the departure or arrival of someone, and in English, the sound of the vehicle may signal the departure or arrival of someone. In ASL, a handful of signs capture the direct connection between action and meaning. BARKING in ASL stands for and imitates the action a dog makes. In English, a handful of words connect sound with meaning. "Arf-arf" stands for and imitates the sound a dog makes. Both Deaf and hearing children develop a "listening vocabulary" of something they understand.

3. ASL Syntax: the way signs are strung together to communicate ideas; the spheric patterns of sentence construction; English Syntax: the way words are strung together to communicate ideas; the linear patters of sentence construction.

Once the developing child begins to communicate ideas, the day when she will combine signs or words is near. In the "one-sign/one-word" stage, the child attaches names to what she sees. Advancing to two signs or two words, she can modify, describe, categorize, and denote.

In ASL:

DOG THERE (denotation)
DOG BIG (size)
DOG MY (ownership)
DOG EAT (activity)

In English:

this dog (denotation)
big dog (size)
my dog (ownership)
dog eat (activity)

As she discovers the rules for combining signs or words, the child opens herself to the limitless possibilities for creative expression that either ASL or English provides.

4. ASL Discourse: The structure of stories, explanations, descriptions, and other communicative constructions; English Discourse: the structure of stories, explanations, descriptions, and other verbal constructions;

Once children, Deaf and hearing alike, learn signs or words and can put them together in sentences, they are at the threshold of enormous growth in communication skills. Language must happen before communication becomes possible.

5. ASL Pragmatics: the variations in the use of ASL according to context and purpose; and English Pragmatics: the variations in the use of English according to context and purpose.

As the children listen to and derive meaning from the signs they see or the words they hear, they are affected by qualities they commonly think about in relation to the rhythmic patterns of the signs or words as they go together. The complex of skills that involves integrating verbal and nonverbal language to determine meaning is extremely sophisticated.

Anyone who has struggled to learn these elements consciously when studying ASL and English, a Deaf child's ability to become bilingual in these languages simply by listening to ASL and English and comparing them seems truly amazing.

--Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

OUT: ASL Dragon, IN: Bi-Bi Dragon...Are You Ready?

A Vlog* about ASL Dragon: Gisbatzed explains a new statue he saw in another village where Deaf people are.
*Translation and Interpretation are welcome!

Systematically Misleading Labels in the Deaf World?

When I was young and still in school (Model Secondary School for the Deaf), I had an opportunity to be involved in a small research by a graduate student. With permission from our parents, she was collecting not only our short essays but also our audiograms. I was basically nosey so I asked her how my audiogram would apply to my essay and what her ideas were. She explained that she had a theory in which a deaf person with better hearing abilities can write a good essay. Well, she admitted that she was mistaken because I am profoundly deaf and my essay surpassed the most samples she collected. I asked as the devil’s advocate whether her findings were correct if I never participate. She said she would find mediocrity in cognitive development among the essay samples. I asked what she would call us, she dodged my question.

Fast forwarded …while a graduate Educational Administration student at American University, we debated labels: what to do was the chief weakness in the diagnosis-treatment-improvement chain for developing curricula. This was partly because the diagnostic and prescriptive material which we receive in our report was incomprehensible. Often, too, the treatment procedures suggested were not specific enough and didn't really work if applied.

When I presented my discussion that Deaf people in general are mislabeled because they were diagnosed pathologically, I described how hearing loss is identified specifically on audiograms to be observed carefully. The audiogram is specifically described so priorities and remedies could be applied, which often results in amplification and oral education. Oral education (My parents, sister and I went to an oral school in the past) has erratic priorities in teaching the Deaf. Restoring hearing is as impossible as restoring nerve cells. Speech and lip-reading trainings are as individualistic as practicing a piano or a trombone.

Deafness is a frequent target of unscrupulous marketing campaigns and false labels. Audiology, cochlear implants, and hearing restoration-oriented claims, labels and related marketing campaigns often mislead consumers about the quality of deafness marketed with American Sign Language (ASL). Rarely do parents of Deaf babies get the whole truth about ASL. They are constantly inundated with marketing ploys and goaded into amplification that supposedly will restore their hearing and speech abilities. While they often listen without questioning the source, it is time to look more closely at some of the agendas that affect their audistic habits.

What these parents need to realize is that deafness is not a hearing loss in the same manner as olive skin is not a pigment gain. Deafness, whether total or only partial, is a biological condition that manifests a completely different channel--mental perception--through which information, knowledge and communication are conveyed. It is the faculty of seeing; the perception of language has to be done by use of the eyes. ASL is a sight-based language.

ASL enables sighting a meaning to everything. We the Deaf know ASL by sight, but most of us know nothing about it. Parameters, classifiers, non-manual modifiers and other linguistic and poetic aspects of ASL are as confusing in the Deaf world as parts of speech, figurative speech, alliterations are in the hearing world. We don't even tell hearing people how we like the way they use an adjective that modifies another adjective for a specific noun they are talking about. Or they got as confused as we would with how we use a plural classifier to assimilate a verb sign we use. Am I confusing you already?

You may dodge my question if you wish.

A Vlog Clip for The S-Y System Sportmanship

Aloha friends of American Sign Language (ASL)! Click here for my idea of the S-Y system sportsmanship. Enjoy!

To Bi Or Not To Bi: Taking the Initiative

Get up! Stand up for your rights! Don't give up the fight! How many of you know hearing people who love American Sign Language (ASL)? All of us know of at least one hearing person, if not more.

Gallaudet University is drafting a new mission statement. With the impacts of ASL yielding many vital issues, it's perplexing why we are among the worst in the nation in participating in the educational process. It is time to realize our dreams of shaping and influencing higher education.

It's possible that lackluster interest is an outgrowth of the old plantation mentality, where the decisions of the administration at Gallaudet University weren't questioned. Perhaps it's a result of a mediocre Deaf Education system. Or it could be that the faculty (numbers of Deaf and hearing faculty) itself is too complex and dysfunctional, with ASL being compromised into bilingualism.

One glimmer of hope happened at Gallaudet University in the year 2006, when the Board of Trustees selected then Provost Jane K. Fernandez as the ninth president, stemming campus protests. The faculty voted no confidence for her selection twice in the single year 2006.

Negative labels and accusations ensued against not only students, but also faculty and staff during protests. They were called criminals, outaws and bullies. Over 130 people of tomorrow of all the Deaf were arrested and booked with mug shots and fingerprintings. These people will be hassled by police and FBI for the rest of their lives. No mistake about it!

It's a cultural issue, I would say. Not a criminal issue. Indeed, I believe that fear of what would become of the arrested people was the prevailing reason why many Deaf people wouldn't speak out. It was paranoia even though we were simply demanding a better president at Gallaudet University.

In addition to examining the draft mission statement, I believe firmly that ASL-English bilingualism is not necessary. In fact, ASL is the language of higher learning and teaching that makes Gallaudet University exceptional, extraordinary and unique. I think a good university mission statement should include something to indicate that there are unlimited possibilities that Gallaudet University caters to all the Deaf.

--Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

A Two Column Blog: Queen Lili'uokalani and American Sign Language

Hypocrisy prevails everywhere. It is also realized in Hawai'i, and for this blog, I'd like to do two column blog to talk about how wealthy American businessmen and Christians, along with the United States marines, helped our United States government steal "the loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean (Mark Twain, 1886)" from native Hawai'ian people. I'd also parallel it to how benevolent hearing educators of the Deaf actually robbed Deaf children of American Sign Language (ASL).

When Queen Lili'uokalani came to power,
she tried to rescind the Bayonet Constitution
which was widely known as the 1887
Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawai'i
under King Kalakaua. The Constitution was
so unfair it favored the wealthy and the
Americans over the Native Hawai'ians.
Queen Lili'uokalani proposed a new constitution
that would restore the citizenship and the voting
rights to the Native Hawai'ians.

When ASL comes to education, it would

replace English as the language of instruction

which is widely known as the effective education

of the Deaf. The current education of the Deaf

is so unfair it favors the non-native users of ASL

over the native users of ASL. ASL can teach

what would reinforce the intellectual life among

the Deaf.

On January 17, 1893, wealthy American businessmen
and landowners summoned the United States marine
to arrest Queen Lili'uokalani at gunpoint. Believing that
justice would prevail, the queen refused to allow armed
resistance, and she stepped down. There was no trial,
but she was convicted for the only crime, being the queen.
She was also accused as a pagan and a sorceress. She was
imprisoned in her own palace.

In 1880, the educators of the Deaf from all over the world

gathered together and ratified what is called the Milan

Resolution denouncing the use of sign language everywhere.

As the result, a great many of Deaf teachers were dismissed

from educating the Deaf in the United States, and today

we are still in prison of language bigotry, language

hegemony, and language oppression.

In prison, Queen Lili'uokalani wrote many volumes
about Hawai'i and its culture and traditions. There
are two lines by Queen Lili'uokalani that are my favorites.

The ultimate Christian hypocrisy:

"Perhaps I have 'indulged' in harmless 'superstitutions'
of our native customs in hoping to preserve some of
our old traditions. Nevertheless, while the missionaries
have ornamented their Christmas trees we have never
called them Druids."

The Queen's Prayer:

"Your love is in heaven,
And your truth so perfect.
I live in sorrow imprisoned,
You are my light,
Your glory my support.
Behold not with malevolence the sins of man
But forgive and cleanse.
And so, O Lord, beneath your wings
Be our peace forever more."

Like Queen Lili'uokalani, today Deaf people are bloggers

and vloggers to share their thoughts and ideas.

Hand Shapes.

Symbols and Shapes.

Parts and Parameters.

Movements and Modifications.

Palm Positions.

Out, in, up, down, sideway.

Meaning Changes.

Meaningful Linguistic Units.

Locations.

Onset, Movement, Coda.

Reduplication for Nouns.

Contact, Proximal, Distant.

Non-manual Cues.

Eyebrows and Mouthing.

Head and Torso Movements.

All Embedded in Signs.

Parts of Signs.

Hand Configurations.

Palm Orientations.

From Start to End Always.

The history of Hawai'i is a reflection of the history

of human nature. Ohana is the Hawai'ian word for

family descended from Kumuhonua and Ke'olakuhonua,

the first man and woman with the innate tendency to sin

against the Maker. Unforntunately, Christian missionaries

forbad the Hawai'ian version of the human race by

destroying their cultural heritage, the lifeline of their

traditional knowledge and practice, including language,

medicine, and sports. The ideal agenda: If they lose their

culture, they lose who they are. Truth is, every human being

comes from ancestors of lokomaika'i.

The history of Deaf people is a reflection of a language

not spoken and written. Big Bang came with thunders and

lightnings to breathe life in the creation. We the Deaf do not

know what language Adam and Eve spoke, and we do not

know if Jesus Christ actually said "Ephphatha," the word from

the Aramaic culture, to make a dumb hear and speak. Maybe

our hearing counterparts know these languages because

they were spoken and therefore theirs to claim and elaborate.

Today many Hawai'ians continue not only to extend aloha

explicitly, but also to extend mahalo for continuing

their culture implicitly. To ensure the well-being of

tomorrow's generation in Hawai'i, we need to preserve

their culture and customs today. I am challenged to

support and protect Native Hawai'ians because

lokomaika'i is in their language and culture meaning

the goodness in human nature. It's not because I am

so idealistic, but simply because Hawai'i is full of aloha

and lokomaika'i. To Hawai'ians, lokomaika'i is not merely

a habit but is strongly bound to their culture and beliefs

about creation.

Today Deaf people continue not only to use ASL explicitly,

but also to express themselves culturally implicitly. To ensure

the well-being of the tomorrow's generation of ASL, we need to

preserve our language and culture. I am challenged to study

and protect Deaf world because ASL is our vehicle through which

our meanings are conveyed. To us the Deaf, ASL is not just a

habit but is strongly bound to our community.

In around 900 to 1000 AD, the discovery and settlement

of Hawai'i occured after sailing across the Pacific Ocean

with lokomaika'i in the hands and hearts of the Polynesian

explorers. Lokomaika'i today teaches me that the creation

of our universe includes goodness that blends our inner beauty

and openness with the humanity.

In around 2,300 years ago, Plato wrote in his book Cratylus

about the use of sign language by Deaf people. Socrates

questions whether words be replaced by signs to suggest

that Deaf people entertain their own intellectual pursuit. Plato

teaches me that the language of the Deaf is after all human.

In 1959, Hawai'i became the 50th state in our U.S. government.

On November 23, 1993, President Bill Clinton, along with the support from Congress, apologized to Native Hawai'ians for an illegal

annexation of the Kingdom of Hawai'i in 1893. The damage was

done, and we have a lot of work to rebuild lokomaika'i in Hawai'i.

In 1817, the first American School for the Deaf was built by

both a Deaf French educator, Laurent Clerc, and his American

mentor, The Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who was

a hearing guy who listened to Alice Cogswell, Laurent Clerc,

and ultimately his wife, Sophia Fowler, all of whom were Deaf

and used ASL for information, knowledge and communication.

Today we the Deaf are still waiting for an apology from our

hearing counterparts about the invasive 1880 Milan Resolution,

and we need it in order to heal the way our Hawai'ian cousins

do today. It's going to be a lot of work to rebuild lokomaika'i

here (Deaf people) and there (Hawai'ian people).

The Power of Criticizing System in ASL Case Study

"Criticizing signs" can breathe life and excitement into an otherwise dull set of stereotypes and often stiff use of American Sign Language (ASL). Joey Baer, for example, attempts to explain the implicit inner environment (bigger picture) of Deaf community. Even if he is only partially successful in presenting it, the excitement of the moment draws on almost everything we have ever seen about ASL. Joey's hand shape Y for the sign glossed as SYSTEM is charged with the electricity of the criticism by our fellow bloggers and vloggers.

A most valuable situation for ASL has just taken place. We have experienced the invaluable need to express and understand, and have consequently reached deep inside ourselves to find what is essential to communicating aspects of the criticism of ASL.

Historic linguists inform us that Laurent Clerc brought the manual alphabet to the education of the Deaf in America. He introduced initialized signs by applying the manual alphabet to the first letters of the words. MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY and SATURDAY are initialized in ASL, leaving Sunday out for some strange reasons. A linguist colleague of mine also conducted a pilot research and discovered that nouns are easily initialized in ASL but verbs are not. Interesting?

Creativity in ASL. I don't think that the hand shape Y denotes something weak or vulnerable. We use the same hand shape Y for the signs: STAY, SAME, UNITY. STABILITY, CONTINUE. I think that the notion of language creativity includes the four language skills: structural, semantic, discoursal and inventive aspects. It is very difficult to define language creativity because it has relatively little to draw on from education field. This is especially the case for ASL classes in colleges and universities where the students remain stuck in the dualistic approach to ASL...right signs versus wrong signs.

Even for five to ten minutes, we walk the walk and talk the talk of right signs versus wrong signs. A fine-grained analysis of ASL within the context of right signs versus wrong signs/strong signs versus weak signs may provide a clearer understanding of the relative benefit of ASL self-aggrandizement.

Finally, this blog has forwarded the notion that play with ASL is part of the natural language of the Deaf. We should be encouraged to play with our signs. That's my system with the hand shape Y.

101 Things to Do about AGBAD

No need to shell out wordy attacks at the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AGBAD) to take a peek at the oppression of American Sign Language (ASL). I have better ideas to share with you.

In 1972, Student Body Government at Gallaudet University decided to send two students--Mary Martone and Ron Stern--to the AGBAD Conference during summer. They came back with some unfavorable remarks and experiences. AGBAD folks were primarily upset at the presence of ASL interpreters during the meetings, and they made numerous insulting remarks about not only ASL, but also those who used it.

In 1974, while living in Atlanta, Georgia, I discovered there was another AGBAD function in the city. I decided to attend it with some of my Deaf friends. Several AGBAD members protested our presence and called us outlaws and mavericks. The hotel security officers informed us that our behavior (presumably our use of ASL) was disruptive, and we were escorted out of the premise. We were warned that if we weren't cooperative, they would call the city police.

Call it our answer to a trendy practice of language bigotry, language hegemony, language oppression at AGBAD. We the Deaf need to show up in all AGBAD functions to catch a glimpse of language mockery and rejection. Bring media reporters so they could write articles about AGBAD.

Of 101 things to do, I'd send both Ricky Taylor and Bobbie Beth Scoggins to the upcoming "Talk for a Lifetime Conference" in Arlington, Virginia this July 27-28, 2007, and they will love them. Don't forget to bring the medial folks, too!