ASL in Academia
ASL = English: ASC is pleased to see the trend of more Deaf professionals taking advantage of the internet and technology to formally present their ideas and research in ASL. Traditionally, even in environments proclaiming bilingualism, there has been a longstanding, often unspoken, message that English still reigns superior to ASL. Compare how readily academic articles published in English receive credibility and status, while lectures and videos delivered in ASL are frequently viewed as less serious or scholarly. Bilingualism may refer to two languages, but in many so-called bilingual Deaf educational institutions it has not always been the case that both are accorded equal respect.
Double Standard: What is one to make of the fact that at Gallaudet University last Friday, a hearing doctoral candidate presented a dissertation defense in spoken English rather than ASL? The student spoke to an audience that included Deaf students and professors, as well as hearing students who are planning on careers working with Deaf people. This reflects a lack of an institutional commitment to honoring ASL, something that should be a minimal expectation at the premier higher education institution for Deaf people. This concession to a hearing, English-speaking graduate student, whose choice to forgo presenting in ASL did little to convey a sense of respect and courtesy, is a sad commentary on the university’s double standard. What such concessions are ever made to Deaf students, who have no choice but to write their dissertations in English, a second language for many? Imagine the reaction if a Deaf student made a request to do a dissertation entirely in ASL! Hearing students can cite insufficient fluency or discomfort in using their second-language ASL in front of an audience, but Deaf students can never opt out of having to use their second-language English to meet their program requirements.
Academic ASL: Without a doubt, Deaf people have been proving that academic ideas, once erroneously believed to be “too complicated” or “too abstract” to be explained in ASL, can be presented perfectly well in ASL. Check out the late and widely-respected Dr. Larry Fleischer’s elegant ASL lecture for a shining example of one of the earliest academic ASL presentations. Take a look at the promising new online Deaf Studies Digital Journal for another example of ASL in academia. There are many more examples online. Please feel free to share your favorites here.
ASC would like to thank Raychelle Harris, who was one of the first people to reference and cite an ASC vlog in a published paper. We also appreciate the many people who have requested permission to show our vlogs for different workshops, classes, and conferences. This is the type of respect and acknowledgement that all ASL vlogs and videos deserve.
To cite: Duchesneau, S. (2009). ASL in Academia? ASC on the Couch. Retrieved (date retrieved), from http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog/?p=498.
Posted by ASCDEAF under Audism, Deaf Issues, Language, Social Justice on | Comments (35)
November 8th, 2009 at 5:29 PM
I fear that what you are talking about the double standard is somewhat close to ASLism where the belief or attitude is that ASL is better or superior to the spoken English language.
Given that Gallaudet University proclaimed itself to be a bilingual institute, it makes sense to me that a student can choose either the spoken English language or ASL for his or her dissertation defense. If he wants to use the spoken English language, so be it. If he wants to use ASL, so be it.
If we judge him just because he decides to use the spoken English language, are we practicing linguicism? If we judge him just because he decides to use ASL, are we practicing linguicism?
ASL is not the only language that has problem in becoming as an acceptable language for academic works. Many minority languages have the same problem. Many colleges and universities still require academic works to be expressed or written in one or several specific languages. But, I notice that this is changing albeit very slowly.
It is great that Gallaudet University is accepting the academic works in ASL, rather than limiting the works to only the written English language. But, this does not give us the license to look down on the spoken English language if a student decides to use it. Both ASL and the spoken English language deserve equal respect. Let’s keep that way.
Joseph Pietro Riolo
josephpietrojeungriolo@gmail.com
Public domain notice: I put all of my expressions in this post in the public domain.
November 8th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
[..Facebook..] Great points, Sharon! Thanks for sharing your views on this vlog and pointing out a double standard incident at GU. I’ve always admire ASC’s work and I will be sure to include some of your work in my work when applicable! Until then, everyone keep up the good work at ASC! Thank you – thank you – thank you!
November 8th, 2009 at 7:36 PM
Joseph – Thank you for taking the time to comment on ASC’s vlog. I want to clarify that we do not view ASL as superior to English, or vice versa. Each language is equally deserving of respect.
The point of our vlog is that Gallaudet is a university whose primary population is Deaf, yet ASL is so often given short shrift in comparison to English, especially when it comes to hearing students and formal presentations. Should not every graduate of this university attain a level of comfort and fluency in ASL so as to be able to present a lecture in the most accessible language of the majority of the university members? It is troublesome to us that anyone who plans to work with Deaf people as a career is not comfortable or willing to use ASL when there are Deaf people in the audience.
If every hearing faculty member at Gallaudet decided to teach in their preferred native English, this would mean more than half of the classes on campus would be delivered to students via interpreters. It is not linguicism to expect that a university centered around Deaf people and issues should expect ASL to be used when it is a viable option.
November 8th, 2009 at 7:58 PM
While I applaud the growing acceptance of works in ASL by universities and internationally, I don’t agree that there has been special effort to look down on such works. It’s just that English, whether we like it or not, has become something of a lingua franca in many fields. I recall being told that this is especially true in Science (which probably means linguistics and other related fields.)
And while I applaud the growing acceptance of ASL as an academic language, I’m leery of a unilateral statement that all dissertations should be allowed to be submitted in ASL… because Deaf students’ first language is ASL. This isn’t a good argument because it’s inherently reductionist; I worry that it implies that Deaf people are linguistically disabled and simply not able to become fully bilingual in ASL and English, and so should be deferred to.
I agree that there seems to be a lack of commitment to ASL by your example. Your point is that since Student H was allowed to use English, their first language, Student B, whose first language is ASL, should also be allowed to turn in their presentation only in that language. To deal with my concern, I present a counter-suggestion based on what I’ve looked up at a few other universities: Doctoral theses should be defended in the college’s first language, and the dissertation in the language determined by the department. This shows commitment to ASL, does not require full fluency (a hearing student could choose to become fluent in the language of their discipline, provided their department showed support, which is reasonable since they only have four years to both learn ASL and their field’s requirements.) The written/signed portion I feel should be up to the department: it does a biology student no good to sign her dissertation, only to graduate with no idea of how to survive in the English-heavy world of publish or perish – while a signed dissertation for an ASL major would be a major asset and for a Deaf Studies major a great way to disperse ideas.
I think focusing on the language of the college rather on the culture or background of the individual helps you accomplish the same goals without resorting to identity squabbles.
November 8th, 2009 at 8:06 PM
From the way I see, I don’t assume that the students are homogenous and that they are able to attain fluency in ASL in the same amount of time. Also, giving a presentation is very different from making a conversation with a person. A hearing student who does not have high confidence in his or her ASL skills may not be comfortable using ASL during presentation but he or she may be comfortable using ASL during conversation with his or her friends and peers. In the specific case of dissertation defense, the hearing student might have decided to use the spoken English language to give his or her best performance. If he used ASL, he might have not succeeded in defending his dissertation.
The fact that the hearing student did not use ASL during his presentation does not necessarily mean that he will not use ASL with the ASL users during his career.
Your new point about hearing professors is good but it is different from the issue about the hearing students. I will go along with your new point for a moment. I have no problem with hearing professors using interpreters if I am able to get high quality education from them that otherwise would not be possible if they use ASL below the level of fluency. It becomes a serious problem when they have an attitude that puts down ASL.
Joseph Pietro Riolo
josephpietrojeungriolo@gmail.com
Public domain notice: I put all of my expressions in this post in the public domain.
November 8th, 2009 at 8:32 PM
“I worry that it implies that Deaf people are linguistically disabled and simply not able to become fully bilingual in ASL and English, and so should be deferred to.”
In other words, hearing students are linguistically disabled and simply not able to become fully bilingual because they are not comfortable defending their dissertations in ASL. Deaf people already proved to be linguistically abled by doing dissertations in English and then defend their dissertations in ASL — very bilingual. What did hearing people prove when they refuse or are unable to do present their dissertations in ASL? Many hearing do their dissertations in English and defend dissertations in English — not very bilingual. We should not worry about Deaf people, but about hearing people!
November 8th, 2009 at 8:43 PM
Katherine,
You’re misconstruing my comment. Later in the same comment, I advocate that all defenses and presentations be done in the language of the college. If that’s Gallaudet, that would mean ASL. That’s the official language of the college, isn’t it? And if it’s not, maybe that should be the question right now.
I’m not talking hearing people or deaf people – I’m asking to focus on the choice of language and language policy instead of the identity politics that divide our community.
Joseph Riolo, I would assume that after four years of working in a department in a university like Gallaudet, a student would have some sort of situational bilingual fluency in their departmental vocabulary in ASL. I’d expect a Chemistry student to be strong in chemical terms in ASL but possibly know nothing about psychological terms.
As such, they ought to be able to make simple presentations in ASL, at least. I mean, if this is a major goal of the college, which I gather it is.
November 8th, 2009 at 8:49 PM
P.S. I think we should stop blaming the student in Ms. Duchesneau’s example – if he made a choice allowed by the University, then our focus should be on the whys and wherefores of the University’s policy, why we’re uncomfortable with the way it turned out, and how we can help create a resolution. Maybe the student was actually a perfectly good signer, but just FELT incompetent, and there wasn’t a support structure in place to help them. Food for thought?
November 8th, 2009 at 9:22 PM
You are right that it it is possible the student is a good signer, but did not feel competent enough to do it in ASL. We need to discuss why Gallaudet University lets a student like that off the hook. Like Ms. Duchesneau said in her vlog, Gallaudet University should show commitment to ASL by expecting presentations to be done in ASL just like they expect Deaf students to do their dissertations in English and give support. Many Deaf people feel incompetent with English, but they write English everyday! Hearing people need to go ahead and do ASL even if they feel incompetent. They can’t just hide behind English/interpreters if they plan to work with Deaf people. How can people be bilingual if they don’t practice both languages all the time?
November 8th, 2009 at 9:47 PM
A college aims to turn out students who can function competently in the world. In the case of Gallaudet and other colleges serving deaf students, the aim is to turn out students who can effectively communicate both in English and in ASL, who can write coherently on their jobs and who can use interpreters provided with effectiveness, just to list two applications.
Other examples include administration of programs for deaf; working with the deaf, parenting deaf children, and advocating/functioning in societies that involve deaf people.
If the aim is simply to further academic excellence on campus, one could demand competency in one or both languages. However, this is a very narrow intention. More crucial is what communication skills are needed for living in the community.
November 8th, 2009 at 10:34 PM
Your vlog is very good. Your observations show good many points. Other groups have tradition of using English or other spoken language. It’s like their brains are wired and they can’t change the programming. The biggest reason is because oralism has influenced deaf children to grow up with English or other equivalent spoken language. Later these deaf children become adults and block their own Deaf culture and the language ASL. The oralism, audiologists, speech pathologists and the medical doctors have the power to influence the parents to make biased decisions. That is how they run their businesses, with only a medical view point. This is how native ASL users are robbed of their first language. The professionals take advantage of this to conform deaf to make them fit into their society. They do not want to co-exist. They want to block Deaf culture and ASL. This is how we have two separate groups with two separate identities. Not all Deaf have accepted this fact and opened their minds. Oppressive experiences help them to wake up. Later in life they realize they need ASL and learn ASL their true FIRST language.
Spanish language is accessible everywhere in the USA. The bank, the church, stores….everywhere! Why is ASL not equally accessible? The Spanish speaking people have the options to learn English. But they don’t. Why are ASL users forced to learn English when the Spanish speaking people can keep their language? Why is it that ASL videos are not accessible in a bank, a church or a store? How it is that Spanish language can become so accessible for people who refuse to learn English, but yet ASL is rejected and not even really recognized? I want equal accessibly for ALL.
November 9th, 2009 at 1:36 AM
Excellent vlog, Sharon! Your point about the double standard is crystal clear. I sometimes shake my head in disbelief at the double standards that people attempt to perpetrate against ASL and culturally Deaf people. Looks like we’re headed into a period of “three steps forward and two steps back,” but let’s keep the faith, because it *is* possible to climb that mountain and make it to the top.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:51 AM
[...Facebook...] Thanks for sharing, Candace!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:52 AM
[..Facebook..] Good and important piece of info. I didn’t see any places where I could click on for Digital Journal at Gallaudet, etc. Anyone knows what Sharon meant about ‘clicking on down below…’??
November 9th, 2009 at 7:53 AM
[..Facebook..] Sandra – she meant in the ASC blog where there are links. Go there,
November 9th, 2009 at 7:54 AM
[...Facebook...] Ohhh – I get it! Thanks Charles!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:55 AM
[...Facebook...] I want to applaud the making of this vlog and the points she raises. Also to point out that the ASLTA Board took a big step 2 years ago by filming the whole national professional development conference held in Tampa and offering the DVD’s as our proceedings. Now we just need to figure out how to make it more affordable for the community.
November 9th, 2009 at 7:56 AM
[..Facebook..] cool!!
November 9th, 2009 at 7:56 AM
[...Facebook...]see http://www.dsdj.gallaudet.edu
November 9th, 2009 at 7:56 AM
[..Facebook..] I totally agreed with her No questions about it
November 9th, 2009 at 7:57 AM
[..Facebook..] I see it as an improvement about the proceedings on DVD. I would love to do more video work. No one is hollering yet? =)
November 9th, 2009 at 7:58 AM
[..Facebook..] To make it affordable? sell it for $10 (ten) dollars??
November 9th, 2009 at 7:59 AM
[..Facebook..] Sandra, see http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog. There are links there. Sorry there are no links here!
November 9th, 2009 at 11:28 AM
I am deeply disturbed about the double standard that exists at GU. Ironic as it may sound, Congress established Gallaudet for deaf students because there were no signing professors and signing students in OTHER universities. GU should mandate all faculty and students to utilise ASL. If they do not feel comfortable utilising ASL, they have no business to teach or study at Gallaudet. Period.
November 9th, 2009 at 1:27 PM
[..Facebook..] What about the likes of the esteemed Dr. Harlan Lane? Many of the deaf community don’t at all mind him not signing his presentation but this isn’t reconciling with ideals talked about here. Oh, don’t forget Dan Luis of Purple Communication not at all using the language his customers are using which generating the largest majority of revenue (VRS over any other relay modes and probably community interpreting). What gives?
November 9th, 2009 at 7:19 PM
For those who are not following DVTV comments, check out http://www.deafvideo.tv/63019. DSQ89 shared a powerful story about how turned off she was with a hearing person who did not sign her presentation. You can watch other commenters, too.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:22 AM
[..YouTube..] You made good points. I wonder if Deaf Studies Digital Journal requires people to do both ASL and English or will they accept ASL submissions only without any English text? It is disgusting that the student you mentioned used voice/English for his or her dissertation defense. Gallaudet University people better watch your vlog and make changes. No more spoken English!
November 10th, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Suzann Bedrosian – Thanks for the kind words.
Joseph – We appreciate hearing your thoughts. The comment about Deaf students doing dissertations in ASL was made in irony and not meant to be interpreted literally. Both Deaf and hearing students should be bilingual.
Katherine – Agreed, the issue of ASL often being secondary goes right to institutional policies. This is where the focus ought to be – on Gallaudet – less so, on the student.
Dianrez – And hopefully, part of turning out students who are bilingual and able to communicate in ASL fluently, means there is some obligation on the part of the new ASL users, to demonstrate their fluency in ASL, in a public situation, such as in the example.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:21 PM
Elizabeth – Kudos to ASLTA!
Katherine – Thanks for pointing out the DVTV comment for those who may have missed it.
Everyone else – Thank you for your comments!
November 10th, 2009 at 1:23 PM
Robert Alfred Hawkins – Thanks for your question. The highly respected Dr. Harlan Lane is a graduate of Columbia and Harvard Universities. If he were a graduate of Gallaudet, and also a product of today’s sociopolitical climate where there is much greater awareness of the need for respecting minority languages and cultures such as ASL, then we would expect him to be fluent in ASL. The example cited in the vlog refers to a 2009 Gallaudet graduate, who presumably spent several years on campus completing a degree, and who did not use the campus language for a presentation. We would expect that an English-speaking American graduating from a university in France would learn how to speak French (or sign LSF if Deaf) fluently on campus. Why should not the same be true for Gallaudet?
November 10th, 2009 at 3:57 PM
This discussion reminded me of the fellow graduate student in counseling at Gallaudet way back in the 60’s. He was a hard of hearing fellow, or perhaps late-deafened or both. He could sign passably, but we noticed that he had an apparent attitude problem because he came off as opinionated and supercilious in classroom discussions.
What was impressive about him was his refusal to make eye contact or to keep it. Whenever he spoke, his eyes would be directed somewhere by the upper right corner of the room. When someone else spoke, his eyes would dart there frequently.
He only lasted a year in the program as he was asked to leave before practicum started. I have wondered how deeply his skill in sign was tied to his eye contact and attitude. Perhaps Gallaudet imposed some standard and it wasn’t ASL. However, it hints at Gallaudet graduates being expected to have command of ASL in a cultural sense.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:50 AM
It takes common sense for the person (deaf or hearing) to speak in college’s main language. For Gallaudet University, it is clearly ASL. It should be enforced by administrators and professors.
December 7th, 2009 at 7:50 PM
[..YouTube..] Agree for what u just said.. However it s not easy to do with ASL videos into all that techincal stuffs. Also, it s not easy to talk yrself in video that is what I m having a hard time. Full details to share with others. I am not satisfied to use ASL in the videos because it s more of isolation or talk to myself as I dislike at all. No one like to have a good debate as far as I can see. Prefer to express more into my writings.I can see many are afraid to debate with me. So whats up with that?
December 14th, 2009 at 2:32 AM
Thank you for this.
I think it’s definitely reasonable for Gally to say “This is our space. Please respect that ASL centric space.” Like a HBCU or a womens college or something. Others can study there but it should be focused on Deaf people who use ASL.
Also, I think a lot of people definitely feel more able to express themselves in their first language, no matter how long they have been speaking the 2nd language for. You can speak English for 20 years and still feel more comfortable with ASL.
ASL does not represent a deficient mind. It was isolation and the historical discrimination against ASL that led to it being a little behind the times and fragmented among regions of the US… but now with the Internet, conferences, etc everyone can connect and make standardized signs that everyone can agree on.
[Personal note – I was born Deaf, English was my first language, but I now use ASL equally or more often than English.)
December 16th, 2009 at 9:55 AM
Daniel – Thanks for your comment. We agree that Gallaudet can be an ASL-centric space – and hope it will be one day. There is a great need for a space where ASL is the de facto language.