I share some of my experiences of my childhood where I grew for the first 6 to 7 years without the technology of captioning for the television set in my home. I also share a memory that many of you may find amusing and innocent. Feel free to share your experiences or leave a comment after viewing the video if you want to
I’m introducing a new brand badge for all of the bloggers who are prelingually deaf to wear with pride. As you can see, it says “Certified 100% Prelingually Deaf”. As many of you may be aware, there was a recent surge in blog entries in relation to the validity of ASL being a language and illiteracy problems among the deaf communities. In truth, these are two of the most popular topics in deaf circles and even the hearing circles when the subject of deafness is brought up.
I was born deaf which is commonly referred to as prelingual deafness. Any baby who suffers hearing loss before the age of when speech is acquired; is also diagnosed with prelingual deafness. Now, for these who wish to use the badge on their blogsites or websites, feel free. I made this for everyone to use. Just put your cursor over the image and save it, then put it onto your website or blogsite! I also made a badge for the good fellas who are postlingually deaf.
A big hat tip to Dianrez for coming up with the idea even though it started out as a sarcastic remark! It's not such a bad idea after all. It's a great way to spread the awareness and fight the popular belief that the deaf in general are illiterate. For these who are unsure why I'm doing this. Here's a blog entry titled 'How Insulting!' posted by Ben Vess last night, I hope this will help you understand why I'm doing this.
Have a grand evening!
Update: Apparently someone had to make a big rant out of the badges.
Update II: Sharon Duchesneau left a comment today. She made an interesting point. So here's another badge for these who did learn ASL before the age of three. Feel free to use it.
Once in a while, someone come along and make all sort of claims to put down the people who capitalize the letter D in the word, 'Deaf'. On an unnamed forum owned by a deaf person, the owner decided to start a discussion on if ASL (American Sign Language) is a language or not. I'm going to post a few comments made from the forum. I'm going to share some of my opinions on the subject as a response rather than on the forum.
I encourage the members from the forum to participate in this discussion instead of the forum. The forum lack diversity when it comes to opinions, if everybody shared the same opinion, it would be quite a boring world to live in. So I'm hoping to read a lot of interesting opinions even if I disagree with some of them. Learning from each other and working together is how we make progress.
Person No. 1,
language
c.1290, from O.Fr. langage (12c.), from V.L. *linguaticum, from L. lingua "tongue," also "speech, language" (see lingual).
Person No. 1 posted the definition from an unnamed source. Basically, s/he is claiming that ASL isn't a true language. It would be unfair to withdraw some information though I'm going to keep them as discreet without disclosing any real personal details. Just the facts. This particular person isn't fluent in ASL. Amazingly enough, this person is teaching his/her child to sign and it's not even deaf. This person holds a strong opinion that ASL is not a language, instead he see it as a tool.
Sound familiar to you, doesn't it?
Amy Cohen Efron, a well-known vlogger/blogger once covered this subject regarding the public opinions of teaching sign language to a hearing baby and a deaf baby. It's titled, 'The Greatest Irony', one of the best vlogs with a powerful message. The reason why I'm making a reference to Amy's vlog is to prove the existence of the irony as brought up in her vlog. The irony is, No.1 Person refuse to acknowledge ASL as a true language yet s/he is teaching his/her child who is hearing to sign.
Person No. 1,As you can see, s/he is putting down the language of the deaf in a disdaining manner. How do one come to be so self-righteous about what define a language? Someone who became deaf later in life and face difficulties in learning the language that the bitterness toward the deaf community builds up over the years? Or is that person just plainly full of hot air?
A language is, by definition, SPOKEN. Duh.
Hot air is more likely it. Though, I don't mean any offense to the owner but it's certainly the impression I get from him/her. I can't help it if my opinion is found to be offensive but that's the way I feel when I read these kinds of comments. I was born deaf and I am fluent in both ASL and English. How can ASL be easily dismissed as a language? Especially when my friends and I grew up with ASL. If it weren’t for both ASL and English, I wouldn't be where I am today. Would I have made it to where I am today if I wasn't fluent in both?
Highly unlikely.
Ignorance can hurt and it does hurt.
Person No. 2,
I guess it is safe to say that ASL is a visual language.
Person No. 2 is taking the safe side and calling it a visual language. ASL is a visual language, not a spoken language. So yes, the person got it right.
Person No. 1,
"Visual" and "Language" are contradictory terms - hence this topic.
ASL is beautiful to watch, and useful for those who can't or won't learn true languages, but is only a useful tool, not a language.
S/he just did it again; he put down the language in a disdaining manner. Useful tool? It's like having a Frenchman saying English is a useful tool. The truth is, English and ASL are two different languages, whether you like it or not.
Honestly, do we really need people who aren't anywhere near fluency in a particular language to tell us that it isn't a language?
Now, I have to warn all of you. Please refrain from trying to guess the name of the forum or the people responsible for making these comments. The two authors responsible for the excerpts, if you wish to come forward and share your opinions on the subject, feel free. The reason why I took this public is because I feel that the forum isn't quite the place to discuss the subject because the forum is lacking in members fluent in ASL. So, take this as a way of seeing how the others feel about ASL rather than limiting the discussion to the forum where a large number of members look down on ASL as a language.
The thing is, a language does not have to be speech-based. It's a fact established by a large number of linguists. It can be argued to be just an opinion, but it is an established fact no matter how you try to put it.
In fact, the government of Ontario in Canada just passed a bill which would recongize ASL as an official language in the province of Ontario.
RECOGNITION OF SIGN LANGUAGE
AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE ACT, 2007 /
LOI DE 2007 RECONNAISSANT
LA LANGUE DES SIGNES
COMME LANGUE OFFICIELLE
Mr. Parsons moved first reading of the following bill:
Bill 213, An Act to recognize sign language as an official language in Ontario / Projet de loi 213, Loi visant à reconnaître la langue des signes comme langue officielle e n Ontario.
The Deputy Speaker (Mr. Bruce Crozier): Is it the pleasure of the House that the motion carry? Carried.
Would the member like to make a short statement?
Mr. Ernie Parsons (Prince Edward–Hastings): Many of our fellow citizens who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing at times experience difficulty accessing public services. This bill, if passed, would recognize sign language as an official language in Ontario in the courts, in education and in the Legislative Assembly.
This is quite a big moment for the deaf communities all across Ontario because this means we will be fully entitled to ASL interpreters in a courtroom, doctor's office, public schools and more. In Canada, we have two official languages, English and French.
In my honest opinion, ASL is a true language.
Now, feel free to express your opinions on the subject. Please keep it on topic. Remember, don't get personal with each other here. Opinions is just that, opinions.
UPDATE: Ben Vess posted a blog entry as a response to this blog entry. It's an excellent read. Click here to read it. It's titled, 'ASL is a Language: An Essay'.
UPDATE II: The blogger from MM's Blogalog wrote a lengthy response and posted it on his blog. Click here to read it. It's titled 'Sign Under Threat?'.
UPDATE III: Ben Vess recently posted an e-mail letter from a linguist he wrote to. Dr. Noam Chomsky, a linguist has confirmed the fact that ASL is a language along with several other sign languages around the world. Click here to read more.
You know what I'm sick of?
Remakes.
God know I'm sick of the remakes. It seems like Hollywood isn't able to come up with an original idea these days so they resort to remaking movies to make quick cash.
In fact, they recently announced plans to remake 'The Birds'. Yes, Hitchcock's horror film. They have already remade several Hitchcock movies and not many of them have been quite impressive. In fact, many, many movies are somewhere inspired by Hitchcock's movies that it could easily be mistaken for a remake.
You know, they should really avoid remaking classics. If it's good, don't remake it. A better idea would be to remake the bad movies into better movies. 'The Fog' remake wasn't something to speak of. What a horrible movie that one was. The original wasn't too impressive either. A reboot of the 'Halloween' franchise is going to take this August as they release the remake of the original. The new version is basically a combination of a prequel and a remake of the original. This hasn't really been done in many cases but it may be actually interesting. Though I love the original, as it's an absolute classic. Rob Zombie may be a strange fellow who has a tendency to pack his movies with heavy nudity and profanity, which isn't really what 'Halloween' is all about. However, I hope this won't be the case.
I do hope the new version will be worth seeing as I was really disappointed with the previous sequel. Truth is, the franchise was pretty mismanaged and the last one really killed the whole franchise. So I have some hope for this movie re-booting and bring people back to the roots of the original.
In the end, I still don't believe remaking a movie is always a good thing. In most case, it backfires. 'All The King's Men' remake released last year was pretty weak when compared to the original. John Carpenter and Wes Craven, both are famous for directing horror movies, which includes the original 'Halloween' and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'. Today, they are cashing in on the remakes based on their earlier works. It's a pity to see filmmakers who once had talent to turn into talent less filmmakers with no soul as a result of greed. In fact, a remake of John Carpenter's 'Escape from New York' is in the works. Why remake a cult classic?
Money.
The 'Planet of the Apes' remake was pretty unnecessary, anybody remember this one? I'll be the first to admit that this movie had some amazing make-up but it didn't save the movie from falling flat onto its face. The storyline was just plainly awful; the acting was sub-par at best. 'The Omen' remake was outright awful.
'Around the World in 80 Days' was quite a movie to remember, but the remake with Jackie Chan wasn't worth remembering. Neither was the 'Psycho' remake. 'Sabrina' remake was definitely not needed, as the original was already good enough. I liked the original 'The Longest Yard' much, much better than the remake starring Adam Sandler.
'The Haunting' original and remake were both awful. I hope they won't dare to remake it again. Do you remember the 'Godzilla' remake? Like that was really Godzilla. Honestly, it may have received better reviews if they didn't use the 'Godzilla' brand. It was still a cheap thrill fest though; it's kind of a guilty pleasure. Shhh, don't tell anyone I said that!
Oh yes, 'The Poseidon Adventure' was a cheesy disaster movie but somewhere fun to watch because of all the celebrities. However, the remake was a true disaster. I don't know what they were thinking when they remade this. The TV remake wasn't any better either. I also felt that we didn't need a remake of 'Flight of the Phoenix'. The original wasn't that great.
I admit that there are a few remakes that I’ve enjoyed, I did enjoy the remake 'Ocean's Eleven' while I found the original to be rather dull. However, the movie does not have a high replay value. 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' was somewhere entertaining, but it's not my kind of movie. 'War of the Worlds' remake was rather good if you ask me, but I do think the last 15 minutes really dragged it down. 'Assault on Precinct 13' was entertaining, it's probably the only remake based on a John Carpenter film that I enjoyed. 'The Italian Job' remake was fun but a lot like the original.
The only fantastic remake of a cheesy original I can think off my head is 'Battlestar Galactica'. Yes, I know it's not a movie but it is a remake and a damn good one if you ask me.
I did feel somewhere bothered that they were planning to remake 'Poltergeist'. If they were to take cue from the original, it would end up looking campy. It's hard to imagine how they would improve this one over the original. The original could have been better if it wasn't for the far-fetched ending. Thankfully, they cancelled the project. Though they are remaking 'Scanners'. Err, can't really tell you that I'm looking forward to it. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they are planning to remake 'Robocop'. Like we really need that.
God forbid they remake 'It’s A Wonderful Life', 'Jaws', E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial', 'Back to the Future', 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and many more. There are so many movies that should never be remade. Never.
Hollywood, please take it easy with the remakes. I'll rather see movies with a touch of originality to them. Or are you just running dry on ideas?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
In this vlog entry, it's a short skit I made up to show how a deaf person has to deal with nonsense from the hearing people in public places. In this skit, I play the deaf character and the 'eager' employee who happen to be a 'communication expert'.
I might be doing more of these skits in the short future, perhaps as a way of enlightening people what it's like for us. Often, we do feel pretty awkward in these situations. Really.
No captioning is necessary as I minimize the use of spoken and signed words. Body language tells the whole story here.
I have betrayed all of you people. The people I've come to care for, the people I've befriended, the people who greatly appreciate my works and many more. I've betrayed all of you.
Today is a hard day for me. I made a difficult decision; I've decided that I have to make a confession. I have done a terrible, terrible thing. I've been pretending to be a deaf person for years and I've succeeded in fooling all of you into thinking I'm actually a deaf person.
I'm actually hearing. I can hear just fine. It just started out as a harmless joke but now I have became a part of the deaf blogosphere. It's a great honour, but I know I don't deserve to be part of it because it's all one big lie. I lied my way into this wonderful world.
I know many of you will feel outraged, betrayed and violated by what I just said. I hope all of you will find it in your hearts to forgive me for deceiving all of you into thinking I'm deaf.
Now, before some of you run off to blog about what a fraud I am. I want to ask all of you to do me a little favour before you chastise me for the ultimate betrayal I've committed.
Look at the date of this blog entry.
Do you realize what's so special about this particular date?
April's Fool Day.
Gotcha. ;)
