Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #SignLanguages

Very excited about Hope Morgan et al.'s talk on phonological (wiggle-fingers) complexity and frequency distribution! Relevant to much of my own work! #TISLR13

Phonological complexity can be defined by 1) markedness (frequency/economy) and 2) structure (quantity).

E.g.:
Some handshapes are easier (1). Two-handed signs with simultaneous movements have more structure (2).
#TISLR13

Research question: is there a maximum limit of complexity that can be packed into a sign? #TISLR13

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@jahochcam

#DRRS2019 @jahochcam in her favorite(?) topic: the tyranny of glossing! Glosses are not accessible without a visual representation — glosses+images should be the norm!

We may think that SL glossing is mostly a thing of the 80s, but it's still being done today. With non-transparent glosses, our documentation of #signlanguages will be lost: we cannot access the sign(ing) being described. #DRRS2019

@jahochcam

Things that can be done (from NOW🤙🤙 on):
1. Stable ID glosses
2. Link to lexical database
3. Link to original data
4. Presenting data in publications with images/videos (alongside glossing)

In the spirit of #openscience, @jahochcam also shares her slides!
#DRRS2019

@kristianali_

@kristianali_ presenting work on name signs and tactile sign language in the Bay Islands at @SLL_Radboud Sign Pop-Up.
Many #signlanguages in the #Caribbean! 🤟🏝️

In Bay Islands Sign Language, tactile signers make use of both their own hands and the addressee's hands, as well as both their own body and the addressee's body to produce and perceive the language. Such interactive modality! #signlanguages

Name signs in BISL are noticeably often two-handed! May be motivated by the tactile use of the language: articulation on the non-dominant hand is a salient property! #signlanguages

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@jahochcam

Ardavan Guity & @jahochcam (with a pre-recorded intro) on ethics concerning language documentation of #signlanguages in #Deaf communities. #wfd2019

A very interesting story here is Ardavan being involved in language documentation as an informant at first, but becoming more and more involved, gaining experience and skills along the way (by interaction, collaboration, sharing), ending up a researcher! #wfd2019

Involving the #Deaf community and individual participants is crucial. Communication, information, consent. This enriches the collaboration between researchers and informants and gives agency and empowerment to language users! #wfd2019

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@mesch_joo

@mesch_joo, @crathmann & @DLilloMartin presenting the aims and policies of the @SignLangLingSoc at #wfd2019.

Research on #signlanguages should:
- Promote and include #Deaf researchers
- Give back to the community (inform policy/lobby)
- Respect Deaf communities and diversity

There is tight collaboration with the WFD, who are sometimes better suited to lobby for #Deaf and #language rights to governments around the world (through national/regional associations)
#wfd2019

@DLilloMartin

Q: There are hearing researching #signlanguages without knowing how to sign, what do you think about this?
A: Increase the num of Deaf researchers and support collaborations between Deaf and hearing. Hearing researchers encouraged to sign! [signs hearing @DLilloMartin] #wfd2019

@AnneliesKusters

@AnneliesKusters on stage at #wfd2019 presenting on the @MobileDeaf team on International Sign (IS). IS is a phenomenon that comprises a lot of strategies in various contexts.

The level of conventionalization depends on context. Formal, conventionalized IS may be used at e.g. #WFD, but vocabulary and conventionalization varies with different events and contexts. #wfd2019

IS includes #translanguaging, #iconicity, and attitudes when approaching communication. The more experiences you bring, the more resources you can use when communicating. Interestingly, many outside Europe say they struggle with IS. #wfd2019 #signlanguages

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@ird2004

@ird2004 is giving a presentation at #wfd2019 on the history, ideologies, and current research and revitalization work among #signlanguages in the #Caribbean, specifically 🇹🇹🇨🇴🇬🇾🇭🇳. Also involved in these projects are @benbraithwaite, @rehanaomardeen and @kristianali_

There are a lot of microcommunities of signers on various islands in these countries, current documentation work will establish the relationships between various #signlanguages.

These small islands are also often forgotten by their respective governments, which limits the access to language and education for these communities (more so than for the larger sign language communities). #wfd2019

Kosovar Roma Ruva Kremers, now based in the NL, on Deaf Roma communities, ending her presentation by showing the Roma flag which "includes both Deaf and hearing Roma". #wfd2019

Q: You refer to Roma Sign Language, is that a uniform language across countries or related to the local national sign language?
A: These are languages used in the community, never used in school etc, probably influenced by national #signlanguages.

I think this needs research!

There should be many many minority-within-minority sign languages/varieties around the globe 🌎🌍🌏. Members of these communities should be given training and resources to document and research! #signlanguages #wfd2019 #HumanRights

William Herlofsky on ideophones in Japanese Sign Language. Based on the definition "marked and open class", he argues that JSL initialized signs are ideophones by productively incorporating iconic elements of a base sign with the (iconic) addition of Japanese kana forms. #ill12

There was no time for my question/comment, but I would argue that the described category falls far outside the scope of ideophones. IMO, there are many signs/cxs in #signlanguages that could be argued to be ideophonic, but this is definitely not one. #ILL12

It seems too much importance has been given to the criterion of "open class", interpreted as "productive word formation". I would argue that "sensory depiction" is _less_ informative in intitialized signs than other signs... #ill12

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Gabrielle Hodge

@gab_hodge

@NTNU

Out today: “The semiotic diversity of doing reference in a deaf signed language” bit.ly/2Ed8YUL Lindsay Ferrara @NTNU, @bananabull @hvl_no and I looked at the different strategies signers use to introduce, maintain or reintroduce humans, animals and inanimate referents..

We analysed the usual suspects (eg conventional signs, pointing, enactment) but also oft-neglected English mouthing and invisible surrogates (where a confluence of indexing actions enables signers to imagine an entity in the signing space and behave as if it were present)...

In this dataset, choice of strategy most strongly motivated by activation status: new referents expressed with more conventionalised forms (eg manual signs and English mouthing); maintained and reintroduced referents involved fewer and more improvised, context-dependent stuff...

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Politische Bildung

@Aktionstage_PB

In zwei Monaten beginnen die Aktionstage #PolitischeBildung. Erinnert wird bei den #atpb19 auch der Gründung des Europarats vor 70 Jahren.
Der Europarat ist die älteste und größte zwischenstaatliche Organisation Europas.
Abb./Logo ad #CoE70 | #Europarat70: 70.coe.int/communication-…

Die Aktionstage Politische Bildung wurden mit Blick auf das „European Year of Citizenship through Education 2005“ sowie als öst. Beitrag zum Europaratsprojekt „Education for #DemocraticCitizenship“ ins Leben gerufen und 2003 erstmals durchgeführt.
bildung.bmbwf.gv.at/ministerium/rs… #atpb19

@AlexanderWojda

70 mal #Europarat
Lesen Sie hier aus Anlass #CoE70 | #Europarat70 ab morgen tägl. bis zum #Europatag in 70 Tagen
> Geschichten aus der Geschichte des Europarats, Wissenswertes über Arbeitsfelder & Programme, Infos zu Menschen und Einrichtungen u.v.m.
@AlexanderWojda @Europarat_DE

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@ToxicMaple

@ToxicMaple presenting work on iconicity in the visual modality: can gestures of hearing non-signers give us answers to cross-linguistic similarity of #signlanguages?
#SignCAFE1

'whiskers' = 'cat'
'claws' = 'cat'
'walk' + 'ears' = 'cat'
*audibly meowing* = 'cat' (though excluded b/c sound ≠ sign)

@olgacapirci

@olgacapirci asking @ToxicMaple if they'll use the recorded silent gestures for e.g. comprehension studies. Fortunately, @ToxicMaple says: "That's other work in process!" So much papers to look forward to!
#SignCAFE1