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If you’ve never read about Helen Keller in any other context than “what an inspiration!” Or “lol Helen Keller jokes lololololol” you should check this out.
Comparisons between ASL, JSL, and LSF.
(Video has captions)
Your daily reminder that sign language is not universal.
Anonymous asked: Hi! I'm currently a year 12 student in NSW and am considering exploring the Deaf culture through my major works for drama in the HSC. I found the play Tribes by Nina Raine and want to turn it into a monologue and learn basic Auslan (I found a course in my area for next term) so I can sign in my monologue. I was wondering your opinion on this in terms of respect for the Deaf culture and in difficulty. Thanks!
Hi there, I have never seen or read this play, so I can’t comment on the play itself other than side eye the fact that it was written by a hearing person with no real connection to a Deaf community that I can find (I won’t lie, it was a real quick search). I don’t know how difficult it would be to translate a monologue from this play as I don’t know which part you would be using. Basically there’s not enough context here for me to be able to comment.
I would say that if you were planning to translate it yourself, that it is generally fairly difficult for anyone to translate into a language they’ve only spent a few weeks learning. Like, if I wanted to translate a monologue into French (which I can’t speak or read, but have definitely had a few weeks worth of classes in) and I used like google translate and a French dictionary I think the final product would be fairly difficult to understand for a French speaker. I do understand that it might seem like Auslan is more related to English than French is to English, but this is just not true, they are completely different languages, like I’ve been studying Auslan for nearly two years, and I don’t know that I would be completely confident to translate a text for a performance.
I really can’t comment on the cultural aspects of what this would mean; I don’t know who you are and I don’t know anything about this play or which parts/angles you would be taking on it. But, I would say that when hearing people play Deaf characters it is pretty uncool.
I think that I am definitely not the person to be asking about this, like I am hearing (and grumpy), if you genuinely want to do this in a respectful way (and I have to say it might not be possible to do it respectfully and you need to be prepared to accept that and pick a different thing to do) you should talk to some Deaf folks rather than random hearing people on the Internet.
I think it’s really cool that you want to learn Auslan! Anyway, good luck with your studies, and I hope you can find someone to help you nut this out!
I am mostly posting this so I can go back and have a more thorough read later, but it’s worth a look if you have time!
Also, Cole! This is the article Steph was talking about that time in class, which you maybe missed? But anyway, Deaf HP academic fanfiction?
You’re welcome.
[image description: a series of moving gifs showing an 8 month old baby having a cochlear implant turned on, there is a pacifier in the baby’s mouth and it falls out when the mum starts speaking, there is also a wire coming out of the side of his head. end image.]
8 month old baby hearing his mother’s voice for the first time with cochlear implant
This is the most beautiful thing ever.
thank you science
THE BINKY JUST…….
DROPPED
HE WAS JUST MINDING HIS BUSINESS WITH THAT BINKY
AND THEN HE HEARD IT, AND HE STARTED SCRAMBLING TO RECOGNIZE IT
AND WHEN HE DID, OH GOD THE WAY THE BINKY JUST DROPPED
LOOK AT HIM HE’S SO HAPPY UGHThis is amazing
Ok.
No.
Firstly, this kid is 8 months old and the parents decide that for a non life threatening thing, they are going to cut into their brain? The parents decide that shit, usually because the doctors tell them to, so I’m not just saying the parents are assholes, but they kind of are.
So, can I just mention at this point that children with a cochlear implant are thirty times more likely to have meningitis than children without. So you know, you could have a deaf (medical term here, talking purely about deafness) kid, or you could potentially have a dead kid.
Also, I know at least two people who’s cochlear implants actually destroyed what risidual hearing they had (for y’know, hearing sirens and that sort of unimportant shit) and for one of them she now frequently gets headaches as a result of I dunno, unnecessary brain surgery.
I’m not saying cochlear implants are bad - they’re not, (fuck you I don’t hate science, fuck you), but performing brain surgery on a minor better be for reasons other than “Oh, I can’t learn a new language!” or “ButMUUUUUUUSSSSIIIIIIC!!!”
If that kid had the opportunity to grow up d/Deaf and later decided they wanted to get a CI, that’s fine, that’s I dunno… informed consentor some shit.
Also, you all know that this kid is gonna hafta miss a bunch of school to do speech therapy (something a lot of Hard of Hearing and Deaf folks I know dreaded when they were in school, and actually caused some to fall behind, and for one woman I know was a convenient way for the school to refuse to allow her to do music classes as her schedule was full.)
Anyway, just think before you go all gushy about this shit. This video must be from months after the surgery (they don’t show you “video of an 6 month old baby unable to play or be hugged by parents because bandages and potential brain fluid leaking” they just show you the switching on moment, and the only people in the room who can express whether of not they think it was a good idea, are the hearing parents. You gotta wait until like, 16 years down the road to get the kid’s opinion.
Also, I am serious when I say it is often the doctors pushing the CI as a sole option, I know one woman with a Deaf daughter, and the doctors never even told her there was the potential to learn to sign and raise a healthy, happy Deaf child, they were just like, “If you want your child to have the same opportunities as other children, and are not a terrible mother you will have your daughter implanted.”
Anyway, you should also check out some folks on the Deaf tag, and what they say every timesomeone reposts this shit and tags it “deaf”. Maybe it could be good to actually listento folks who this directly effects.
(via lifefullofiction)
Edan Chapman - The Man and the Tornado
omg attn: pleaselookaftermyghost
I met Edan a while back when we were studying Deafblindness (modes of communication, how to guide, differences between Deafblind and Deaf culture etc), anyway, he’s a really awesome person, and a great photographer (most of the photos from the Australian Deaf Games in Geelong are his). We were having an assessment, the point of which was to guide a Deafblind person around which didn’t really happen for my group because Edan decided he’d much rather guide us around while we chatted and tried to use his white cane.
Point being, everyone should check out his youtube channel, he’s got some great stuff on there and lots of it has the focus of accessible signing (ie for non-signers to enjoy as well), plus his vlog which I haven’t looked at yet because I am lazy, but he’s a really good storyteller, so defs check it out.
THE state government will revive Victoria’s only remaining sign language diploma course as it moves to stem the damage of Ted Baillieu’s TAFE cuts.
I will believe this when I see it. In the above article Farrah Tomazin uses language like “lifeline” and “reinstated”, but there will still be a tender process, meaning it may not be at Kangan, and that the teachers at Kangan will still lose their jobs, the current students will still have to pay $7500 for the last three months of a fast tracked Diploma.
This is one of those articles like “Look we fixed it, it was all [most hated MP]’s fault, ok stop talking and campaigning about this.”
Obviously this is good news! There will be a course into the future, that’s great, but I am still not convinced that this information is in any way new.
My main point would be fairly similar to the Labour line here:
Labor spokesman Steve Herbert described the tender process as a wasteful “bureaucratic exercise.”
“Clearly there’s a need for this training, and the government should simply fund a TAFE to provide it from the start of next year,” he said.
If they were actually “reinstating” this course, they would be offering teachers their jobs back, they would be offering current students a way to finish which is not phenomenally expensive, and that provides what the course is designed to deliver (ie not a compressed version with only one teacher instead of six), and the course would be continuing from the next intake in January.
I just got a whole bunch of excited texts about this article, and I hate to be the big grumpy nitpicker, spoiling all of the relief, but this is in no way a change of their most recent position of removing teachers, overcharging students, and releasing the course to the lowest bidder (most likely a private provider, given how much the Baillieu government seems to be in love with education as a business.)
Anyway, the short of this is: Campaign not over, course not fixed, current teachers losing their jobs still, current students still being fucked over, course still being auctioned off, Bailieu still a wanker, Peter Hall still avoidant and pretending that he has been in support of this course the entire time.
The main thing that this article tells me is that the state gov have made an official statement which means that in the very least their position is now solid rather than the “change the story every 24 hours” position they had back when the course was first axed.
I really want to stress that this is positive news, but that it doesn’t mean everything is fixed. There has been a lot of speculation from both the research team hired by the state government and by a few people about the place about delivering this course online (which I am not completely averse to, but as a sole delivery method sucks), and the fact that the first intake will be mid 2013 with a “capped number of places” puts me on edge.
Anyway, this is good news, but not new news. Don’t start baking giant Auslan themed cakes yet. (ps i hate cake)
PPS I reserve the right to later talk with my teachers and other folks involved and have them tell me I am completely and utterly wrong and then retract the shit out of this, but with the info I have now, things look about the same.
[image description: a photo of eight lovely people holding a plaque (the E R Noble Award), all looking a bit overwhelmed and very happy.]
The beautiful Save Auslan team - I am so lucky to fight alongside brilliant capable people, who I not only see every day in class, but can call my friends <3 #me #tafe #saveauslan (at Vicdeaf)
I may or may not have had a secret little cry… but only because of the onion cutting I was doing right before.
Anyway! Every photo I’ve seen from this with me in it I’m either laughing or trying not to laugh! I blame Stef for making one million silly faces while taking photos. (I am the silly butch on the far right with a strapped up wrist)
Also, things I never noticed: Omer (the tall guy with the stubble standing right at the back) is really tall. Like reeeeeaaally tall. That makes all of the times I joke about us fighting so much funnier… am now picturing how that looks from the outside…
[image is of a chihuahua woofing at a great dane who is bailed up on a couch looking like “what the fuck is your problem??” there is a caption which reads “Come down here and say it to my face!” end image.]
Anyway, this campaign is still not over. If you want to check out the latest news you can go to our website here [link]
Hey folks in Melbourne, you should check this out! I went last year and there was some pretty great stuff. It’s not like a conference conference, it’s just a bunch of presentations and also last time (I dunno about this time) they had some pretty good finger food. Plus Stef Linder is amazing! I don’t know what specific things she has to say about theatre interpreting but she is a really beautiful signer and always has informative thoughtful things to say.
Presentations this year include:
Check out/RSVP to their facebook event here : [link]
Cold hands, one on top of the other, hand on hand action.
Haction?
“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…”
baked-like-a-motherfucking-cake:
Abandoned Amusement Park in New Orleans
ugh, it’s so...
well i just spit lemonade all over my desk
Pleased to announce that I am the new writer/artist on Incredible Hulk. Here’s the first page of my first issue. I’ve quacked...
OH SHIIIIIIIT
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