Daniel Greene

Category: Language

My observations about grammar, language, and linguistics

  • Participated in an ASL Hangout On Air, discussed how to have better signed language videoconferences

    Google Inc, 谷歌美国总部
    Google Inc, 谷歌美国总部 (Photo credit: Yang and Yun’s Album)

    Naomi Black at Google headquarters invited Willie King, Jared Evans, Ben Rubin, Richard Goodrow, me, (and maybe others who couldn’t make it) to a Hangout On Air so she should show JAC Cook how Google’s videoconferencing technology works. We talked about some of the plusses (no pun intended) and minuses of Google+ HOA’s (Hangouts On Air, not Homeowners’ Associations). On the plus side, you have an attractive service and you don’t have to deal with firewalls; on the minus side, it is hard to have group talks in ASL when only one signer is in a big pane and all the others are in “thumbnails” in the “filmstrip” along the bottom of the screen. We discussed ways of moderating multi-signer videoconferences, such as having people hold up their hands when they want to talk and waiting to be called upon. Naomi reminded us you can select the thumbnail of the person you want to watch in the big pane, and a few of us recommended doing away with the screen-and-filmstrip layout and going to a more equally-sized multi-pane layout (or one where you can control the size of panes). Jared Evans & Willie King work at ZVRS and they said they would like to give Google some tips on more effective multi-point videoconferencing for signed language users.

    The Brady Bunch opening grid, season one
    The Brady Bunch opening grid, season one (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    I am glad that Google keeps seeking the opinions of the signing communities; I just hope they are willing to change the layout of Hangouts to a “Brady Bunch” grid format– or at least offer it as an alternate layout.

    How about you? Does the current implementation of Google+ Hangouts work for you, or would you like to see changes made? Please leave your thoughts in comments below and/or send your feedback to Google! 🙂

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  • Resources for learning signed languages and Deaf culture

    Here is just a sampling of links. Some of these I found on Discover Interpreting, and some of them I found on my own. I just found a page full of links on Omniglot, so I shall give you this list for now, recommend you check out the Omniglot links to websites about signed languages and manual alphabets around the world, and welcome you to post responses with other resources you think should be listed.

    Is there anything else you think should be listed here? If so, please leave a link in a comment.

  • Beginning a teaching practicum

    https://twitter.com/#!/danielgreene/status/187976483363504131

    On Thursday, I Skyped from my home office to a classroom at Western Oregon University to begin a teaching practicum. As a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies program with a concentration in teaching interpreting, I will be observing and participating in a Linguistics of ASL course in the Bachelor of Arts in Interpreting program. It is as important for me to audit this course as it is for me to observe and help teach it, because we did not have an ASL linguistics course in my ITP in the early nineties. We did learn about ASL linguistics from the green books (Baker & Cokely, 1980), and my Deaf Culture teacher, Freda Norman, shared with me articles on ASL linguistics studies from Salk Institute; still, this is my first actual ASL linguistics class. I am excited to work with professor Elisa Maroney, student teacher Halene “Hal” Anderson, and the students in this class.

    Have you ever done a teaching practicum or had someone doing a teaching practicum in one of your classes? If so, what is one thing you would tell a person starting one?

    Books used in this course

    • Baker-Shenk, C. & Cokely, D. (1980). American Sign Language: A teacher’s resource text on grammar and culture. Silver Spring, MD: T.J. Publishers.
    • Humphrey, J. & Alcorn, B. (2007). So you want to be an interpreter? An introduction to sign language interpreting, fourth edition. Renton, WA: H&H Publishing Co, Inc.
    • Lucas, C. & Valli, C., Mulrooney, K.J. & Villanueva, M. (2011). Linguistics of American Sign Language: An introduction. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

  • What interpreters can learn from HTML

    What could HyperText Markup Language (HTML) possibly have to teach interpreters? I learned HTML in the nineties, and I made the connection to interpreting the other day when I watched a colleague’s interpretation. The English sentence she interpreted was:

    Also you can take them to a consignment shop, which– they’ll buy your clothes, which gives you a little extra money.

    My colleague’s ASL interpretation was: (more…)

  • Vague language interpreting dilemma of the day

    https://twitter.com/#!/danielgreene/status/182562513710358528