We saw throughout this course that tone can influence or determine the meaning of an utterance. Protolanguage hums can even transmit messages by themselves. But what happens when face-to-face communication no longer involves a voice?
The importance of the voice in transmitting messages made me wonder if and how sign language compensates for a lack of vocal tone, as well as the lack of audible volume. In American Sign Language (ASL), I expected to find facial expression being exaggerated to fill the role of tone. Instead, I found myself investigating the section of ASL known as nonmanual markers. Nonmanual markers, also called nonmanual signs or NMMs, are exactly what they sound like. They include facial expression and body language that, although they are not necessarily signs for words, convey meaning. Nonmanual markers can be “found to function like tone of voice in a spoken language—a communicative but not a grammatical function” (Lidell 2). Similar to tone in spoken English, the absence or presence of a nonmanual marker can change a sentence's meaning. (Nonmanual markers do serve grammatical functions as well, but this project will not examine the other functions of nonmanual markers.)
As a primary source for this project, I interviewed Chris Friedrich, an ASL interpreter in Chapel Hill . (If you attended the New Student Convocation this year, he was one of the interpreters on stage.) Chris works for Sorenson Communications, a company that provides video and internet relay services for deaf and hard-of-hearing callers. For example, a deaf caller uses a videophone (similar to a webcam) to sign to an interpreter at Sorenson, who translates by phone for the recipient of the call. The videos shown as examples are taken from the Sorenson website.
Transcription
NonManual Markers as used in general description
See video: How do I contact Sorenson VRS?
Note the signer's expression in the video as she signs. As the speaker says “black screen” and “poor video quality,” note the signer's facial expression, which describes what she is signing.
“Because the deaf do not generally hear loud/soft or voice inflection, they rely on body movement and facial expression for conveyance of feeling, interest, or focus. The signer must use his or her eyes to exhibit a range of emotion from sadness to excitement. Facial expressions can transmit interest, enthusiasm, or cheerfulness, depending on the subject matter of the presentation.” (Schneider 1)
Pressure and then relief: “…the lips are parted and tense, the eyes squinted. This part shows the ongoing pressured activity. The second part shows the end of the activity, as the mouth drops open, the eyes relax…” (Valli 108)
“…pursed lips may accompany handshapes representing thin objects, while puffed cheeks may accompany handshapes representing larger objects.” (Valli 146)
“If I were to describe these columns—” Chris gestures to the large columns at Graham Memorial—“I might do this.” He makes a round shape with his mouth. “Describing their shape.”
See video: Do I need to have more than one videophone?
NMMs in Yes-or-No questions:
“When a speaker of English says this yes-no question, his or her voice usually rises at the end of the question. … Yes-no questions in ASL do not have any particular word order, but they do have nonmanual signals that go with them. When someone asks a yes-no question, the eyebrows are raised, the eyes are widened, and the head and body may tilt forward; sometimes the shoulders are raised and sometimes the last sign is held.” (Valli 127)
See video: Why keep a TTY?
NMMs in Wh- questions:
“When a speaker asks a Wh-question, his or her voice usually goes down at the end of the question. … When someone asks a Wh-question, the eyebrows squint and the head tilts; also, the body may lean slightly forward and the shoulders may be raised.” (Valli 128)
NMMs in Imperatives
“ASL imperatives also have particular nonmanual signals, including making direct eye contact with the person being talked to, and possibly frowning.” (Linguistics 131)
NMMs in conditional sentences
“Conditional sentences can be constructed in ASL with nonmanual signals and without the use of signs to show the conditional. The nonmanual signals for conditionals include raised eyebrows, a head tilt, and possibly a short pause.” (Linguistics 132)
NMMs as indication of volume: sign space and sign size
"We also have ways of talking about private issues in public places (e.g., whispering), and we see examples of it in ASL, as well. Signers may use very reduced forms of signs or sign with one hand in a very reduced signing space." (Valli 171).
"If two people want to have a private conversation and whisper, they will greatly reduce their signing space. If a person signs to someone very far away, the signing space will be noticeably increased." (Pinky Extension 23)
"When an interpreter wishes to convey that the speaker is whispering, for example, the interpreter can lean forward to create a mood of intimacy. On the other hand, if the speaker is shouting, the interpreter may wish to use a larger fulcrum for bigger, more exaggerated signs." (Schneider 1)
Analysis
In light of a lack of vocal tone and volume, I expected facial expression to be overemphasized in ASL. After viewing the videos shown as examples, one might conclude, as I did, that users of ASL do use slightly stronger facial expressions, and use them more frequently, than users of spoken English. However, William Stokoe claims just the opposite: “the deaf are sometimes supposed or even seriously said to exaggerate facial expression. …The kinesic behavior of the educated deaf in American culture is nowhere sharply separated from the cultural norms.” In other words, Stokoe says that the deaf use facial expression no more intensely than your average English-speaking American. I believe the slight difference I noticed in the videos can be explained: I was watching for the facial expressions much more closely than I would in a clip of spoken English. In addition, these were individuals signing for a camera audience, and may have had more pronounced facial expression the same way commercial actors sometimes sound WAY too excited about their product. Stokoe also mentions individual variance in the use of facial expression, and looking through the videos on the site, there is indeed a difference in facial expression use between the different individuals. Chris, who occasionally signed as he spoke during our interview, shows facial expression comparable to any English speaker. In spoken English, a question or phrase seems normal when asked or said in an appropriate tone, with or without facial expression. Without tone, however, spoken English grates on the ear. The facial expression that is redundant with vocal inflection in spoken English has become a necessary part of ASL. It is interesting to note that speakers of English may lean forward when speaking softly, and lean back when shouting. This would logically be explained by trying to contain a spoken message to a certain space, or trying to broadcast it to a larger number of people. ASL signers may not use this physical lean, but they reduce or increase both the size of their signs and the area in which they sign. Chris also mentioned that facial expression and body language are used more extensively in ASL (a language whose grammatical structure does not always mimic spoken English) than in Signed Exact English (SEE, a word-for-word translation from English) or Cued Speech (signs for spoken phonemes). This displays ASL's status as a separate language from English. SEE and Cued Speech, as translations of spoken English, do not make use of NMMs. It seems that nonmanual markers in ASL more than adequately provide for a lack of vocal inflection and volume.
Sources: “American Sign Language.” National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. 04 May 2006. National Institute of Health . <http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/asl.asp>
Baker, Charlotte and Dennis Cokely. American Sign Language: A Teacher's Resource Text on Grammar and Culture. Silver Spring , Md. : T.J. Publishers, c1980. “Information on Sorenson VRS.” ASL Videos. Sorenson VRS. <http://www.sorensonvrs.com/vids/index.php> Lapiak, Jolanta A. “Bodicon and Emoticon.” HandSpeak. <http://www.handspeak.com/tour/icon/index.php> Liddell, Scott K., 1946-. American Sign Language Syntax. The Hague ; New York : Mouton, c1980. McClave, Evelyn. “Nonmanual gestures in American Sign Language.” California State University , Northridge. <http://www.utexas.edu/coc/cms/International_House_of_Gestures/Conferences/Proceedings/Contributions/McClave/McClave.html> Neidle, Carol et al. The Syntax of American Sign Language: Functional Categories and Hierarchical Structure. Cambridge , Mass. : MIT Press, c2000. Pinker, Steven, 1954-. The Language Instinct. New York : William Morrow and Co., c1994. Pinky Extension and Eye Gaze: Language use in Deaf Communities. Carol Lucas, Editor. Washington , D.C. : Gallaudet University Press, c1998. Schneider, Elaine Ernst. “Body Language for Signers.” Learning American Sign Language (ASL) or Signed English (SE). 24 July 2002. Lesson Tutor. <http://www.lessontutor.com/ees_asl_body_language.html> “Sign Language: Facial Expression.” SignGenius. <http://www.signgenius.com/info-sign-language-03.shtml>
Stokoe, William C. Sign Language Structure: An Outline of the Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf. Buffalo , Dept. of Anthropology and Linguistics, University of Buffalo , 1960.
Valli, Clayton, Ceil Lucas and Kristin J. Mulrooney. Linguistics of American Sign Language: An Introduction. 4th ed. ed. Washington , D.C. : Cleric Books, 2005.
About the
AuthorI'm Rachel Will. I was born in Sunnyvale, California, where I lived there until the age of eight and a half. My family moved to Cary, NC to be closer to our relatives. I've been an avid student of Spanish since fourth or fifth grade, and I love "la bella lengua." I plan to major in Spanish, with hopes of becoming a Spanish teacher at the high school or college level. Sadly, I haven't had much experience in the language outside of the country (1 day in Mexico), though I have had contact with native speakers at my high school. I hope to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country while I'm here. As far as information technology goes, one could classify me as a geek. My dad is an electrical engineer, so I've always been around computers and other gadgets. I don't have much formal knowledge and have never taken a computer class, but I've learned a lot from experience and my dad. If you have anything electronics-related that breaks, I love to fix stuff. I've played guitar (all kinds) for five years and have taught it for four. I love music of almost every kind and I'm usually listening to something. I also like to write (can you tell? This is getting longer and longer!) and I love to read. I took art and I like to doodle but nothing serious, and you'd laugh if you saw me (try to) dance.
I've begun to suspect that my love of English and Spanish is really a love for language in general, and that's why I signed up for this course. I'm looking forward to learning anything to do with linguistics, how humans learn language, and how language changes over time. I also think I'd like to be an expert in something language-related, or maybe just languages in general. I don't know how you'd become an expert in language as you would in chess... but it would be neat to try. (I do know how to play chess, but I'm abysmal at it. If anyone's willing to play me, I'm happy to.)
I'm Rachel Will. I was born in Sunnyvale, California, where I lived there until the age of eight and a half. My family moved to Cary, NC to be closer to our relatives.
I've been an avid student of Spanish since fourth or fifth grade, and I love "la bella lengua." I plan to major in Spanish, with hopes of becoming a Spanish teacher at the high school or college level. Sadly, I haven't had much experience in the language outside of the country (1 day in Mexico), though I have had contact with native speakers at my high school. I hope to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country while I'm here. As far as information technology goes, one could classify me as a geek. My dad is an electrical engineer, so I've always been around computers and other gadgets. I don't have much formal knowledge and have never taken a computer class, but I've learned a lot from experience and my dad. If you have anything electronics-related that breaks, I love to fix stuff. I've played guitar (all kinds) for five years and have taught it for four. I love music of almost every kind and I'm usually listening to something. I also like to write (can you tell? This is getting longer and longer!) and I love to read. I took art and I like to doodle but nothing serious, and you'd laugh if you saw me (try to) dance.