User:Enm13209/sandbox

Article Critiques:

• I appreciated that this article immediately differentiated between sign languages of the deaf and signed versions of spoken languages (manually coded language).

• It is good that iconicity was discussed. ASL signs have just as much of a chance to be abstract as they do iconic, and many people probably do not think about this.
• Typology, Cardinal Numbers, Simultaneity were also well covered.

• The discussion on classifiers was excellent: "Common linguistic features of many sign languages are the occurrence of classifiers, a high degree of inflection by means of changes of movement, and a topic-comment syntax. More than spoken languages, sign languages can convey meaning by simultaneous means, e.g. by the use of space, two manual articulators, and the signer's face and body. Though there is still much discussion on the topic of iconicity in sign languages, classifiers are generally considered to be highly iconic, as these complex constructions "function as predicates that may express any or all of the following: motion, position, stative-descriptive, or handling information". It needs to be noted that the term classifier is not used by everyone working on these constructions. Across the field of sign language linguistics the same constructions are also referred with other terms..." (Wikipedia). So many more details were included later on.

• I love that the lack of recognition by the linguistic and scientific community was discussed. The linguist William Stockoe put ASL linguistics on the map. There is still very little recognition. "Today, linguists study sign languages as true languages, part of the field of linguistics. However, the category "Sign languages" was not added to the Linguistic Bibliography / Bibliographie Linguistique until the 1988 volume, when it appeared with 39 entries" (Wikipedia).

• I would like to see more information on William Stockoe.

• There were great discussions on morphology: "The large focus on the possibility of simultaneity in sign languages in contrast to spoken languages is sometimes exaggerated, though. The use of two manual articulators is subject to motor constraints, resulting in a large extent of symmetry or signing with one articulator only. Further, sign languages, just like spoken languages, depend on linear sequencing of signs to form sentences; the greater use of simultaneity is mostly seen in the morphology (internal structure of individual signs)" (Wikipedia).

• I appreciated that home signs were distinguished from pidgins (like International Sign Language) and creoles.

• I loved the giant list of different sign languages that was included. In reality, there are hundreds.

• I actually learned a lot about typology from this article.

• Only dedicating a tiny paragraph to language acquisition in Deaf children was a huge disservice. Much more needs to be said about that and also the benefits of sign languages for hearing children. So much research has been conducted on this recently, and it needs to be included. Although, baby sign language was discussed later on.

• The Deaf community and its culture received two sentences. This is not fitting. Language and culture are so intertwined. In the case of Deaf people, there was no cultural realization until the 1980s when it was announced that sign languages were "real" languages.

• Legal recognition of sign languages was hardly touched on.

• I thought it was cool that the gestural theory of human language origins was discussed.

While this article was incomplete is nearly every section, the information it did include was accurate. I was reassured that false information was not being spread, at least.

Added/Edited Sentences, Ideas and Sources:

In the Linguistics and History sections, when discussing the five parameters of ASL, it was merely pointed out that non-manual expression is one parameter. There should have been more specifics given. These expressions are also known as non-manual markers, non-manual signals, or non-manual signs (NMM/NMS). This includes a wide array of features such as, facial expression, body language, role shifting (what is technically referred to as Constructed Action and Constructed Dialogue), etc. More details were given later, but still not a lot: "As in spoken languages, these meaningless units are represented as (combinations of) features, although often also crude distinctions are made in terms of Handshape (or Handform), Orientation, Location (or Place of Articulation), Movement, and Non-manual expression. More generally, both sign and spoken languages share the characteristics that linguists have found in all natural human languages, such as transitoriness, semanticity, arbitrariness, productivity, and cultural transmission" (Wikipedia).

Furthermore, in the Linguistics section, I saw no discussion of the sentence types in ASL, like declaratives, wh-questions, rq-questions, topic-comments, conditionals, etc. This is a huge part of the structure of ASL. Also, William Stockoe (credited as the father of ASL linguistics) was not discussed much. Some useful sources:

• Baynton, D. C. (1996) Book. Forbidden Signs: American Culture and The Campaign Against Sign Language. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
• Holcomb, T. K. (2013) Book. Introduction To American Deaf Culture. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Van Cleve, J. V., & Crouch, B. A. (1989) Book. A Place of Their Own: Creating The Deaf Community in America. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.

The process of interpretation could have been elaborated on. It is a very complex process dealing with communication access and cultural and linguistic mediation. I would have included information from these sources:

• Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. Jr. (2013) Book. The Demand Control Schema: Interpreting As A Practice Profession. First Edition. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
• Mindess, A. (2006) Book. Reading Between The Signs: Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters. Second Edition. Boston, MA: Intercultural Press, A Nicholas Brealey Publishing Company.

The history of ASL was brief. This is understandable because the history is extensive, involving dozens of prominent figures, like famous American families, Laurent Clerc, Alice Cogswell, and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. Nevertheless, the beginning of sign languages, particularly ASL, can be partly contributed to the work of Spanish monks who took vows of silence. One such monk was Juan Ponce de Leon. On a further note, Native American tribes may have also played a role in the development of ASL. Some sources:

• Van Cleve, J. V., & Crouch, B. A. (1989) Book. A Place of Their Own: Creating The Deaf Community in America. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
• Baynton, D. C. (1996) Book. Forbidden Signs: American Culture and The Campaign Against Sign Language. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
• Van Cleve, J. V., Editor (1993) Book. Deaf History Unveiled: Interpretations from the New Scholarship. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
• Baynton, D. C. (1996) Book. Forbidden Signs: American Culture and The Campaign Against Sign Language. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

It might be useful to include information on the first and largest Liberal Arts University for the Deaf in the world, Gallaudet University. It was founded by Edward Minor Gallaudet. Some sources:

• Van Cleve, J. V., Editor (2007) Book. The Deaf History Reader. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
• Van Cleve, J. V., Editor (1993) Book. Deaf History Unveiled: Interpretations from the New Scholarship. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.

Language Development and Acquisition among Deaf children needs more discussion. Legal rights related to bilingualism and the fight for bilingual education is very important. Some sources:

• Grosjean, F. (2001). The right of the deaf child to grow up bilingual. University of Neuchatel, Switzerland. Retrieved February 17, 2016, fromhttps://www.gallaudet.edu/Documents/DSDJ_Grosjean_BSL.pdf.

• Humphries, T., Kushalnagar, P., Mathur G., Napoli, D. J., Padden, C., Rathmann, C., Smith, S. R. (2012). Language acquisition for deaf children: Reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches. Harm Reduction Journal, 2012, 9:16. Retrieved February 17, 2016, from http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/9/1/16.

More is needed on Deaf culture and how that affects sign language. Some sources:

• Bauman, H-D. L., Editor (2008) Book. Open Your Eyes: Deaf Studies Talking. Minneapolis, MINN: University of Minnesota Press.
• Van Cleve, J. V., Editor (1993) Book. Deaf History Unveiled: Interpretations from the New Scholarship. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
• Baynton, D. C. (1996) Book. Forbidden Signs: American Culture and The Campaign Against Sign Language. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
• Holcomb, T. K. (2013) Book. Introduction To American Deaf Culture. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Van Cleve, J. V., & Crouch, B. A. (1989) Book. A Place of Their Own: Creating The Deaf Community in America. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.

Reflection On My Contribution:

I think my critiques would lead to more information regarding the cultural side of things. Legal recognition and scientific recognition are very hot topics in the Deaf community. I would discuss these more. Also, there is enough data on language development and acquisition among Deaf babies and children, learning sign languages, to probably constitute its own Wikipedia page. I would contribute so much more to this cursory summary of the topic.

The discussion of Morphology was not bad. The coverage of Typology, Cardinal Numbers, Simultaneity, and Iconicity were great. Concerning Linguistics in general, I would expand more on sentence types and the five parameters of ASL.

All of the excellent sources I listed were unused in the article, to date. I feel that these texts and articles could be very beneficial. They cover information related to everything from linguistics to history. Proper sources would add to the article and help clarify many misconceptions.