Sign Languages Commons^™

Interpreting Beyond The Binary: An Exploration Into The Experience Of American Sign Language Interpreters Beyond And Between Female/Male Binaries, Tristen Evah Hellewell

Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies and Communication Equity Thesis or Action Research Project

This study explores the experience of sign language interpreters who exist between and beyond female/male gender binaries. Limited research in the field of sign language interpreting to date centers the experiences of transgender and non-binary interpreters, prompting the need for inquiry into this population. Through a mixed-methods approach using surveys (N=31), interviews (n=4) and a focus group (n=4) participants were asked to describe experiences with colleagues, interpreter users, hiring bodies and the general interpreting field. Three themes emerged from the findings including (a) collegial relationships indicating both lack of support and instances of collegial solidarity; (b) personhood of interpreters pertaining …

Mixed Reality Prototype Device Showcase: Using Smart Glasses To Enhance Language Access, Aaron Parker, Connor Switenky, Roshan Mathew, Wendy Dannels

Frameless

While the use of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and real-time captioning significantly increases deaf individuals’ ability to participate in a wide variety of functions, there are some limitations. The major problem is that current ways of providing communication and information access to deaf people require them to split their attention between the visual focus of the specific content and the interpreter/captioning display. At any given point in time, deaf people are forced to decide what explanation to miss with subsequent effects on topic comprehension and perceptions of the interaction and environments.

Vr Sound Mapping: Make Sound Accessible For Dhh People In Virtual Reality Environments, Ziming Li, Roshan Peiris

Frameless

In-game audio plays an important role in enhancing the sense of reality and immersion in the gaming experience. In many games, sounds are also used to provide notifications and clues, which are essential to the gameplay. However, in this case, the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) players may fail to access the information conveyed by sounds, which degrades their gaming experience (Jain et al. 2021).

Vr Sound Mapping: Make Sound Accessible For Dhh People In Virtual Reality Environments, Ziming Li, Roshan Peiris

Frameless

In-game audio plays an important role in enhancing the sense of reality and immersion in the gaming experience. In many games, sounds are also used to provide notifications and clues which are essential to the gameplay. However, in this case, the DHH (deaf and hard of hearing) players may fail to access the information conveyed by sounds, which degrades their gaming experience (Jain et al. 2021).

Starved For Knowledge: The Effect Of Language Deprivation And “Mainstream” Education On Deaf Accessibility To The United States Education System, Katherine Arpino

Honors Scholar Theses

The prevalence of language deprivation in deaf and hard of hearing youth makes the United States public education system fundamentally inaccessible to that portion of the population. Previous research has demonstrated that depriving prelingually deaf children of an accessible, visual language during the critical language acquisition period has long-term effects on their reading comprehension, mental health, social development, and cognitive development (Friedman and Rusoe, 2015; Hall et al., 2019; Cheng et al., 2019; Hall, 2017). Furthermore, the lack of bilingual-bimodal education (or purely signed education) in the United States public education system sets deaf children up for failure, as they …

Interview With Natasha Ofili, Monica Blizek

Journal of Religion & Film

Natasha Ofili, the star and screenwriter of The Multi, was interviewed by Monica Blizek about the process that led to the creation of the film.

From The Cold Seat To The Hot Seat: An Agency Guide To Interns, Heather Moore

Graduate Theses, Action Research Projects, and Professional Projects

Sign language interpreting agencies can provide interns with authentic learning experiences and assist with the transition from student to professional. A review of literature regarding the gap between classroom and professional work experiences was conducted. From this review, current practices, problems, and practical solutions were identified. With these providing a theoretical foundation, surveys and interviews of agency owners were conducted regarding their current and past experiences of utilizing interns in their agencies. Results revealed a list of reoccurring themes on how to better include and support interns, such as the use of mentors, shadowing, and development of business practices. Utilizing …

Demonstrating The Proximal Need For Interpreter Education, Jodi Upton

Graduate Theses, Action Research Projects, and Professional Projects

This professional project is an assessment for the greater Chattanooga area on the need for an interpreter education program. Surveys were sent to stakeholders within a two-hour radius of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This includes American Sign Language students, working interpreters, interpreting agencies/organizations, and the Deaf community. The data collected from these surveys will be used to assess the need for an interpreter education program since the closing of Tennessee Temple University, the main source of interpreter education in the greater Chattanooga area. Should the surveys show a need in the deaf community and in interpreting agencies for more qualified interpreters, as …

Creation Of A Neural Network For The American Sign Language To Russian Translation App, John T. Simmons

Capstone Projects

1. A large population of people utilize American Sign Language for their primary method of communication.
2. No commercially available product is available for these people for when they need to communicate with speakers of a foreign language.
3. We must investigate methods to make communication between these two parties easier and more accessible.
4. By using a neural network to classify images of American Sign Language letters, we can build a service to make translation of American Sign Language into foreign languages possible.

Demonstratives In Nsélišcn ‘Montana Salish’, Aspen A. Decker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents a detailed analysis of the Nsélišcn ‘Montana Salish’ demonstrative system. I propose that there are three features encoded in the demonstratives that I examined in this thesis: (i) proximity of the speaker in relation to the referent, (ii) common ground between the speaker and addressee, and (iii) visibility of the referent. I further propose that the Nsélišcn demonstrative system distinguishes three degrees of proximity: proximal, medial, and distal. Nsélišcn is a member of the Southern Interior branch of the Salishan language family. The data analyzed in this thesis was collected from native Nsélišcn speakers.

Silent And Accessible Theatre, Nicole Line

Honors Projects

Silent and Deaf accessible theatre challenges the stereotypes many people have of theatre and introduces audiences to new perceptions of the artform. When it comes to theatre, one often thinks of long, multi-act plays with lots of spoken dialogue. While this is the most common style of theatrical performance, there is more to theatre than staged language. When deciding my project’s concept this past year, I brainstormed many different ways to include all areas of my studies here at BGSU including theatre, dance, and American Sign Language (ASL). I am very passionate about these aspects and wanted my project to …

The Role Of Access: Interpreting For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Immigrant Students, Anna Jacobs

Graduate Theses, Action Research Projects, and Professional Projects

As immigrant and refugee populations in American schools continue to increase, the education system has opted for changes to better accommodate these students. The impact schools are experiencing requires careful reflection and analysis. Considering the number of deaf individuals who are included within the immigration numbers, it seems incumbent upon American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters as professionals to also prepare themselves in order to provide accessible interpretations for students. This research will highlight the progression and change within the educational interpreter’s landscape and attempt to provide temporary strategies that ASL interpreters can utilize while the student is in the process …

Learning Alone, Practicing Together: A Case Study Exploring The Flipped Classroom To Improve Interpreter Education, Marquette Laquey

Graduate Theses, Action Research Projects, and Professional Projects

Flipped classrooms may provide interpreter training programs with an alternative to the traditional classroom while also improving their hands-on, practical interpreting skills by way of experiential learning. This study was designed to provide a framework in the examination of a flipped classroom approach applied to interpreter education. An exploratory case study was conducted to gather data regarding the experiences of implementing a flipped classroom in a community college ASL/English interpreter education program. Surveys, interviews, and a classroom observation were carried out to obtain the entirety of the experiences of both students and instructors with the implementation of the flipped classroom …

The Iconicity And Non-Arbitrariness Of Body Locations In Four Unrelated Sign Languages, John Samson

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I show that universally, there is a strong tendency for signs located on the body to have an iconic or non-arbitrary motivation, especially in their original form. I analyze sign language dictionaries from four unrelated sign languages and establish an iconic or non-arbitrary link between the form of the signs and their meaning, and classify those links according to 8 categories of body location iconicity and 3 categories of non-arbitrariness. The strength of this tendency depends on the percentage of signs that are shown to have an iconic or non-arbitrary link. For the data analyzed here this …

Deaf Inclusion And Accessibility In The Dance Field, Samantha M. Doyle, Caroline S. Clark

Symposium of Student Scholars

Over the past ten years, the dance field in the United States has shifted towards practicing diversity and inclusion. However, there are still underrepresented groups in dance, such as the Deaf community. There is a current lack of pedagogical content to help dance teachers and choreographers be inclusive to Deaf dancers. This research addresses the gap by discussing issues and access for Deaf and hard-of-hearing (HOH) dancers in the dance classroom and on stage. To do so, I present a literature review and analysis of current scholarship with a goal of bringing awareness to the current lack of accessibility to …

Afterword: Can We Return To Martha’S Vineyard?, J. Albert Bickford

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Reverse Integration: Centering Deaf Children To Enrich Everyone, Bryan K. Eldredge

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

American Sign Language For Everyone: Considerations For Universal Design And Youth Identity, Samuel J. Supalla, Anita Small, Joanne S. Cripps

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

Asl In The Academy: We Have Come A Long Way, But More Work Remains, Russell S. Rosen

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.

American Sign Language And The Academy: The Little Language That Could, Brenda Jo Brueggemann

Society for American Sign Language Journal

No abstract provided.