1. Gallaudet University INT 492, Spring 2017
Production of Numbers by Deaf Native ASL Signers and Hearing Non-Native Signers
Aviva Levy
Gallaudet University INT 492, Spring 2017
Introduction
Results
Discussion
Figure 1: Coding of Hearing and Deaf Interpreters
This study compared the ASL number production of three ASL-English interpreters were were hearing, non-native ASL signers with one interpreter who was a Deaf native ASL signer. Studies of spoken language bilinguals show that number production in their second language is often problematic; however, number production in ASL-English bilingual interpreters has yet to be examined.
Hearing interpreters did not produce the same quantity of non-manual markers in number production as the Deaf interpreter. For example, the Deaf Interpreter incorporated more eye gaze, repetition emphasis, and body movement in his production as seen in Figure 2. However, some numerical information was omitted by Hearing Interpreter 3A, which resulted in a loss of equivalency in the target utterance by Deaf Interpreter 3B. This may be explained by a prior study which suggested a time cost for bilinguals to switch into their dominant language (Karaminis & Thomas, 2013).
The use of numbers by bilinguals in their second language affects comprehension, computing, and production (Lin et al 2005, Rinsveld et al 2015). Additionally, Korean-English bilinguals were shown to code-switch when using numbers in order to incorporate the complexity of the Korean numbering system (Chung, 2006).
Methods and Materials
Participants
Three professional ASL-English interpreters who were hearing, non-native ASL signers
One professional ASL-English interpreter who was a Deaf native ASL signer
Figure 2: Occurrences with Number Production Features
Deaf Interpreter 3B and Hearing Interpreter 3A
Hearing Interpreter 2
Implications
Video Material
A commercially-produced video containing ASL-English interpreters rendering the same source material that contained 7 instances of English numbers (Taylor, 2015)
The Deaf interpreter incorporated more eye gaze, repetition emphasis, and body movements to express the quantity of numbers in the source utterance. Hearing non-native signers may benefit from more interaction with and examination of Deaf native ASL signers’ production of American Sign Language numbering systems. Further study should be done comparing native and non-native production of American Sign Language interpretations and this information should be included into interpreter education programs.
Analysis
Compared the ASL production of numbers across all four interpreters with the three occurrences: omissions, body & facial grammar and repetition emphasis.
Contact Information
References
Aviva Levy
Gallaudet University BAI
Blanco-Elorrieta, E., & Pwlkkännen, L. (2015). Brain bases of language selection: MEG evidence from Arabic-English bilingual language production. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9.
Chung, H. H. (2006). Code switching in Korean–English bilinguals: A case study of Korean–English bilinguals. Bilingual Research Journal, 30(2),
Lin, J-F. L., Raisada, R., Imada, T., & Kuhl, P. (2005). Interaction between speech and numerical processing: A behavioral and fMRI study in bilingual adults. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 118(3).
Rinsveld, A., Brunner, M., Landerl, K., Schiltz, C., & Yugen, S. (2015). The relation between language and arithmetic in bilinguals: Insights from different stages of language acquisition. Frontiers in Psychology, 6.
Taylor, M. (2015) Interpretation Skills: English to ASL Companion DVD-Ants. Alberta, Edmonton, Canada: Interpreting Consolidated.