Manually coded English
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Manually Coded English (MCE) is an umbrella term referring to a number of invented manual codes intended to visually represent the exact grammar and morphology of spoken English. Different codes of MCE vary in the levels of adherence to spoken English grammar, morphology, and syntax.[1] MCE is typically used in conjunction with direct spoken English.[2]
Manually Coded English systems
Manually Coded English (MCE) is the result of
Seeing Essential English/Morphemic Signing System
SEE-1 was the first American manual English code, developed in the 1960s and 70s by David Anthony, a teacher of deaf and disabled children. Anthony identified a list of proposed basic English words, less than half of which he identified American Sign Language (ASL) signs for, as well as a number of slightly different English words which ASL represented similarly with "only minor" stress and movement variations. Conversely, some English words could be expressed with multiple different ASL signs. Additionally, ASL, unlike English, is a zero copula language, so does not have lexical signs corresponding to English copulas like "is" and "are".[7] Nielson et al. argue that SEE-1/MSS is a poor representation of English because it has only 14 bound morphemes in its citation form, noting that it has not been well-studied since the 1990s, and as of the paper's publishing in 2016, was only in use in Amarillo, TX.[8]
Signing Exact English (SEE-2/SEE)
Signing Exact English (SEE) is the most commonly studied and taught manual code for American English. SEE incorporates a large number of signs which are borrowed from ASL. Where English differs lexically from ASL (such as concepts with multiple near-synonymous words in English but only one or two corresponding ASL signs) the handshape of the ASL sign was generally modified to reflect the first letter of the intended English word. Analogous variation in ASL (where multiple ASL signs all translate to a single English word) is not distinguished in SEE. Supalla and McKee give the example of "right." In ASL, three distinct signs represent distinct meanings ('correct,' 'opposite of left,' and 'entitlement') which are all represented by the single word "right" in both English and SEE.[9]
Use in communication
Although some research suggests that experience can improve the degree to which the information coded in English (morphologically as well as syntactically) is successfully communicated manually, especially by learners who are hearing and/or already fluent in spoken English, multiple studies have identified a number of potential concerns about the use of MCE systems in place of a natural language. The morphological structure of nearly all MCE systems is very different from the structure of documented sign languages. As a result, deaf children exposed only to MCE acquire the artificially created English-like
Another potential issue with MCE use is the rate of information flow. Studies on rate of signing MCE suggest that some systems may take up to two and a half times the amount of time necessary to transmit the same information in either spoken English or American Sign Language. Researchers suggest that this may significantly disrupt communication using these systems, as it may lead to an excessive load on the short term memory compared to natural languages.[11]
In English-speaking countries, some users of Deaf sign languages will
In education
The different forms of manually coded English were originally developed for use in the education of
An early form of this educational method was popularized by
The use of MCE in deaf education is controversial. Contemporary deaf education can follow one or a number of educational philosophies and reform efforts, including education in the local natural deaf sign language, education in a colonial sign language, bilingual-bicultural, Total Communication, a manually coded system based off of the ambient spoken language (such as MCE), or oralism.
One major obstacle to the utility and enforcement of the use of MCE is the criteria used to evaluate it. Multiple researchers note that MCE use by deaf children acquiring it as a first language is typically evaluated according to its adherence to citation forms of spoken English (i.e., MCE utterances are evaluated as if they were spoken English utterances) rather than its intelligibility as a form of communication or a language. Moreover, many studies which evaluate the competence of hearing teachers of the deaf in MCE communication do not evaluate the extent to which deaf students understand what their teachers are expressing. These teachers reported avoiding using spoken English words or constructions that they did not know how to express in MCE, limiting their overall language use. While many studies have found MCE to be comprehensible to those familiar with the code, fewer have attempted to evaluate whether it is equivalently suitable for first language acquisition, given the frequency of morpheme deletion or ellipsis.[14]
In a study of prelingually deaf children taught exclusively using MCE, S. Supalla documented that these individuals displayed spontaneous (without prior exposure), ASL-like innovations. Specifically, rather than using the MCE morphemes designed to mark case, tense, and gender as they are in English, these children demonstrated the use of deictic pointing and spatial modification of verbs, linguistic features not part of MCE because they are considered unique to signed languages.[15]
Finally, the ethics of MCE use is also a matter of contention. ASL is a minority language in North America. The majority of deaf individuals are born to hearing parents, and are not exposed to ASL from a young age. Many Deaf adults raise issues with the manipulation of a minority groups' language in order to enforce learning of the majority language onto children from that minority group.[14] Many hearing parents are encouraged to expose their child to MCE instead of ASL,[16] which delays a child's access to a natural sign language. Additionally, cognitive delays and lower academic achievement may result from or be exacerbated by a lack of complete or comprehensible input by teachers using MCE instead of ASL.[17] [14]
Types
Used globally
Fingerspelling
It is a very simple form of MCE for English speakers to learn, and is often the first 'point of contact' for a hearing person before learning a sign language. Fingerspelling is also used by Deaf people as a part of sign languages, for some
Exclusive fingerspelling is rarely used for extended communication, as it is a very slow method of representing English. It still has currency in some
Note that different regions use different
Signed English
Different systems called 'Signed English' have been developed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, the US, Kenya, and South Africa. However each 'Signed English' has borrowed signs from the local deaf sign language and invented new signs to represent the words and grammar of English. They tend to follow a loose logic of sound rather than the strict
Signed English tends to be slower than spoken English, and teachers using it have usually found themselves 'cutting corners' and reverting to contact sign.
Contact sign
Not strictly a form of manually coded English,
Contact sign drops the initializations and grammatical markers used in other forms of MCE, but retains basic English word order. In the US, ASL features often seen in contact sign include the listing of grouped items and the repetition of some pronouns and verbs.
Sign-supported speech, or simultaneous communication
Sign-supported speech (SSS) involves voicing everything as in spoken English, while simultaneously signing a form of MCE. The vocabulary, syntax and pragmatics of English are used, with the MCE signing serving as a support for the reception of speech. Signs are borrowed from the local deaf sign language and/or are artificial signs invented by educators of the deaf.
The terms SSS and SimCom are now often used synonymously with total communication (TC), though the original philosophy of TC is quite different.
Cued speech
Cued speech is not traditionally referred to as a form of MCE, in part because it does not use borrowed or invented signs in an attempt to convey English. Rather, cued speech employs the use of "cuems" (eight handshapes intended to represent consonant phonemes and four placements around the face intended to represent vowel phonemes, combined with mouth movements) to represent auditory elements of the language being cued in a visual manner.[18] Cued languages are a distinct class of visual languages.[19][clarification needed] Cued speech has been adapted for languages and dialects around the world.
In North America
Signed English (SE) – American
The term 'Signed English' refers to a much simpler system than SEE1, SEE2, or LOVE. Signed English (occasionally referred to as
Seeing essential English (SEE1)
Developed in the US in 1966 by a deaf teacher named David Anthony, Seeing Essential English
Signing exact English (SEE2)
Signing exact English (SEE2) was developed by Gerilee Gustason, Esther Zawolkow, and Donna Pfetzing in the early 1970s. As an offshoot of SEE1, many features of SEE2 are identical to that code system. Initializations and grammatical markers are also used in SEE2, but compound words with an equivalent ASL sign are used as the ASL sign, as with butterfly. SEE2 is also used in Singapore. About 75% to 80% of SEE2 signs are either borrowed from ASL or are modified ASL signs. Signing Exact English uses more markers than the 14 used in Signed English.
As there is no more formal use of SEE1, signing exact English is no longer referred to as SEE2, but rather SEE.
Linguistics of visual English (LOVE)
Developed by Dennis Wampler, LOVE is also quite similar to SEE1 in construction. While most forms of ASL and MCE are transcribed using English glosses, LOVE is written using the notation system developed by William Stokoe.
Conceptually accurate signed English (CASE)
CASE, one of the more recently developed forms of MCE, combines the grammatical structure used in Signed English with the use of concepts rather than words[dubious ][clarification needed], as is done in ASL. It is becoming one of the more common forms of MCE[citation needed], and has been used in both interpreter training programs and mainstreamed deaf education. The term Sign Supported English is sometimes used to refer to the same thing.
Rochester method
Perhaps the closest type of MCE to written English, the Rochester method involves
In the United Kingdom
Signed English (SE) – British
Intending to use signs that would be readily understood by deaf children, British Signed English borrowed signs from British Sign Language and combined them with fingerspelling, as well as signs and markers invented by hearing educators, to give a manual representation of spoken English.
Sign-supported English (SSE)
Sign-supported English is the British equivalent of conceptually accurate signed English (see above). BSL signs are used in English grammar. As with PSE the balance of BSL signs to English varies greatly depending on the signer's knowledge of the two languages.
A single sign is often differentiated into a number of English words by clearly mouthing the word. Thus in order to comprehend SSE well, one needs good
Limited interpreting services are available in the UK for SSE.[citation needed]
National Signed English (NSE) is a recently promoted communication system that uses a combination of BSL and SSE. Its authors, the Open College of Sign Language (OCSL), claim it creates perfect syntax, present and past tenses and allows the user to communicate in word perfect English.[citation needed] Promotional literature for this proposed new system has generated considerable controversy in the UK Deaf Community and alarm among Sign Language Professionals because of remarks about British Sign Language by the charity's Operations Director styling it a "basic communication system".[citation needed]
Cued speech
Cued Speech is unique among forms of MCE in that it does not use borrowed or invented signs in an attempt to convey English. The American and British English versions of Cued Speech uses eight hand shapes – none of which are derived from sign languages – to represent consonant phonemes, and four hand placements around the face to represent vowel phonemes. British and American Cued Speech are very similar but not identical. Cued Speech must be combined with mouthing (associated with the speaking of a language), as the hand shape, hand placement, and information on the mouth combine as unique feature bundles to represent phonemic values. Cues are not intended to be understood without mouthing, however, many deaf native cuers are able to decipher the cues alone without the use of the mouth.[citation needed] Similarly they tend to be able to perform well at deciphering the information on the mouth without the use of the hand (which is commonly referred to as lip reading).[citation needed]
As of 2022, there are far fewer Cued Speech users than BSL and SSE users in the UK and a much lower percentage of deaf users than many other countries, however it is well established and is represented by the Cued Speech UK charity, based in Devon. Cued Speech has been adapted for languages and dialects around the world.[citation needed]
Paget Gorman sign system
The
The system was widespread in Deaf schools in the UK from the 1960s to the 1980s, but since the emergence of
Used elsewhere
Australasian signed English
In Australia, 'Signed English' was developed by a committee in the late 1970s, who took signs from Auslan (especially the southern dialect), invented new signs, and borrowed a number of signs from American Sign Language that have now made their way into everyday use in Auslan. It is still used in many schools. Australasian Signed English is also in use in New Zealand.
Singapore – SEE2
Signing Exact English (SEE2) is widely used in deaf schools in Singapore, and is taught as the preferred form of sign language by the Singapore Association for the Deaf.[21]
Kenya Signed English
The Kenyan government uses Kenya Signed English, though the University of Nairobi backs Kenyan Sign Language.[22]
See also
References and resources
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-80385-4, retrieved 2024-03-18
- ^ "Hands & Voices". handsandvoices.org. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ ISSN 1543-0375.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-80385-4, retrieved 2024-03-18
- ^ "Hands & Voices". handsandvoices.org. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ISBN 978-0-226-25152-3.
- ISSN 1543-0375.
- ISSN 1543-0375.
- ISBN 978-0-521-80385-4, retrieved 2024-03-18
- doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190241414.001.0001.)
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(help - ISSN 1543-0375.
- ISSN 1533-6263.
- ISSN 0302-1475.
- ^ ISSN 1533-6263.
- ISBN 978-0-226-25152-3.
- ISSN 1543-0375.
- ISBN 978-0-521-80385-4, retrieved 2024-03-18
- ^ Metzger, M. and Fleetwood, E. (2010). C. LaSasso, K. Crain, & J. Leybaert (ed.). Cued Speech and cued language for deaf and hard of hearing children. San Diego, CA. p. 53-66.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Fleetwood, Metzger, Earl, Melanie (1998). Cued language structure: an analysis of cued American English based on linguistic principles. Silver Spring, Md.: Calliope Press.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - S2CID 32313260. Retrieved 2019-03-03.
- ^ "Sign Language". Singapore Association for the Deaf. Archived from the original on 2 March 2007.
- ^ Kenyan Sign Language at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- Paget Gorman Signed Speech Full Manual (1990). Northumberland: STASS Publications.
- Jeanes R. C., Reynolds, B. E. & Coleman, B. C. 1989 (Eds.), Dictionary of Australasian Signs (2nd Edition), Victorian College for the Deaf, 597 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, Victoria 3004.
- Branson, Jan & Miller, Don (1998), Nationalism and the Linguistic Rights of Deaf Communities: Linguistic Imperialism and the Recognition and Development of Sign Languages., Journal of Sociolinguistics 2 (1), 3–34.
- Jeanes, R., Reynolds, B. & Coleman, B (Eds) (1989) Dictionary of Australasian Signs (2nd Edition), VSDC Melbourne