Sign language can have an 'accent' too! Linguists discover a form of signing that is only seen in Philadelphia
- Linguists have recorded the first ever 'regional accent' in sign language
- They filmed 12 sign language users in Philadelphia to see how they sign
- 'Woman' and 'have' are significantly different to traditional sign language
- The researchers believe the variations may have evolved while deaf children were educated separately from the 1820s to 1984
There are more than 7,000 spoken languages in the world, each with its own range of dialects and accents, but sign language, by its very nature, was believed to be universal.
Now, linguists have documented what they're calling the first ever 'regional accent' in American Sign Language (ASL) discovered in Pennsylvania.
Dubbed 'Philadelphia accent', the researchers believe it developed from the 1820s to 1984 when deaf children were educated in specialist boarding schools in the state.
Linguists have documented what they're calling the 'Philadelphia accent' of American Sign Language (ASL). A stock image of a girl using sign language with a teacher is shown above
Jami Fisher, linguist and ASL programme coordinator the University of Pennsylvania, said: 'Philadelphia ASL historically, and I think anecdotally, has always been seen as a little different. We're not really sure why.'
For example, there are different signs for the words 'woman' and 'have,' compared to textbook ASL.
In traditional ASL, the word 'have' involves touching the chest with the forefinger and middle finger using both hands, with the thumbs extended.
In Philadelphia ASL, however, only one hand is used and it is placed on the chest flat, with fingers splayed.
Together with Meredith Tamminga, director of the university's Variation and Cognition Lab, she is documenting the 'accent' in a bid to work out why it is different from other ASL dialects and what leads to regional variation.
Dr Tamminga said: 'We don't know much about it beyond the lexical level, which is the equivalent of who says 'pop' and who says 'soda'.
In traditional ASL, the word 'have' involves touching the chest with the forefinger and middle finger using both hands, with the thumbs extended (left). In Philadelphia ASL, however, only one hand is used and it is placed on the chest flat, with fingers splayed (right)
Just as some people say 'pop' and others sayd 'soda' depending on where they live, there are regional differences in sign language. The word 'woman' is signed by a female using standard ASL on the left, while the same word has a different action in the Philadelphia 'dialect' of signing
'People get really excited about it but from a linguistic point of view, it's fairly superficial. People can learn new words and the words spread.'
ARMBAND TRANSLATES SIGN LANGUAGE INTO TEXT
There are already dozens of apps and services that help people communicate with others even if they don't speak the same language.
For deaf people who sign, however, this language barrier isn't quite so easy to get through.
To solve this problem, researchers in Texas have developed a wearable armband fitted with sensors that track muscle movements and hand gestures.
It then translates these gestures into text, and sends the translation to a connected phone or computer.
The device was developed at Texas A&M University.
It incorporates a system of sensors that records the motion of hand gestures, as well as the electromyography or EMG signals produced by muscles in the wrist when signing.
An electromyograph picks up electrical signals generated by muscle cells, when these cells are 'electrically or neurologically activated'.
The duo conducted video interviews with 12 of Philadelphia's deaf community, spanning different generations.
It took them two hours to produce every minute of signing captured.
Participants were asked about their experiences by Ms Fisher's father, who is deaf and has lived in Philadelphia for more than 50 years.
The idea was to put them at ease, especially when some of their experiences were not pleasant.
Older participants boarded at deaf schools before the 'Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,' the first iteration of which came in the 1970s.
The schools stayed open until 1984 in the state where children learnt to sign from teachers and peers there.
From 1984 onwards, many deaf children went to mainstream schools, where they typically had fewer deaf peers and less exposure to signing, meaning the landscape for deaf education changed significantly.
The signing they did see most likely came from an interpreter who was often not a native Philadelphia signer, so external influences were introduced more widely.
Ms Fisher explained: 'You no longer had this setting with deaf adults in particular, deaf peers, exposing deaf children to the language, but also to these cultural traditions and norms.'
Since the education revamp, aspects of the regional version of ASL have also changed.
The researchers believe the variation developed from the 1820s to 1984 when deaf children were educated in specialist boarding schools in the state. A drawing showing the instruction of deaf students at the new York Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb in 1855 is shown above
The duo is intent on capturing them with the end goal of creating an online resource they plan to make available to the wider community.
'We want to turn this into a corpus that's publicly accessible,' Dr Tamminga said, 'to build a web interface so that anyone can go online to see the videos, the stories, the annotation and timeline.'
While the ambitious project could take six years or more, the project has the backing of the local community.
'There's this real pride in how different Philadelphia ASL is,' Ms Fisher said.
'Members of the community are saying we need to get this documented, to preserve our heritage.'
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