Culture Signs

By Gael Hannan

It’s a great idea whose time has come. In fact, I wish it had come earlier - and somewhat smaller. "The Canadian Dictionary of ASL," published by the University of Alberta Press, is a magnificent offering of superb writing and illustrations, two inches thick and a whopping five pounds. While the dictionary is an exciting addition to any working desk or library, it’s not very portable, making it tough to use when I’m out and about.

Working in the hearing loss field, I often interact with Deaf people who communicate with ASL (American Sign Language). Often when meeting up with a Deaf colleague, I can’t get past the salute-like greeting. My "good morning" sign comes out as a rude ethnic arm gesture, my "how are you?" resembles a handgun, and my "it’s nice to meet you" becomes "it’s nice to meet me." I’m now so shy to attempt a chat that I simply wave hello and keep walking - or look about desperately for a sign language interpreter.

Thanks to one week of immersion sign language classes two years ago and some on-the-job experience, I’ve learned a few useful signs. Among these is the sign for "Excuse me, I need to use the facilities" (a loose translation), which I learned from a Nova Scotian friend. However, I didn’t realize that there are regional differences in the way ASL is signed in Canada. On one social occasion, I was chatting to a Deaf man and excused myself to go to the loo. I still haven’t recovered from the embarrassment of his telling me - in no uncertain terms and through an interpreter - that I’d made a comment about his anatomy.

It was for people like me - hearing or hard-of-hearing students of ASL - that the new "Canadian Dictionary of ASL" was conceived and produced by the Canadian Cultural Society for the Deaf. As the project developed, the writers realized that the dictionary must also meet the needs of Deaf students of English. Material for this extensive work was drawn from many sources and includes input gathered from members of Canada’s Deaf communities over the past 20 years. During that time, the project went through two publishers, 10 years of field research across Canada, and another 10 years of illustrations and writing, totaling over 100,000 person-hours of work!

The result is an impressive 912 pages of more than 8,700 signs, many unique to Canada, that are not only easy to understand, but also to re-create. Learning to form a sign correctly from an illustration is not an easy task. The dictionary itself concedes that "a three-dimensional language in motion, ASL is difficult to capture and represent adequately on paper."

In her book "Deafened People," written with Miguel Aguayo, Kathryn Woodcock writes, "It is impossible to learn any language simply by reading a dictionary, and it is much better to learn signs in person than from books. The diagrams of sign movements do not always convey what the sign looks like in reality."

Can we learn fluent ASL from a book? The short answer is no. ASL is a language with its own distinct grammar, syntax, nuances and rules of usage; it’s a visual language that uses the human face as punctuation. To learn and become fluent in ASL, one must learn in person, interact with Deaf people and practise, practise, practise - or sign, sign, sign.

However, "The Canadian Dictionary of ASL" is not a how-to manual but an outstanding work of reference for Canadians. Regional sign variations occur more in vocabulary than in grammar and while there are many available publications, videos and CD-ROMs that illustrate signs, this dictionary is unique in its depth and scope, and its commitment to showing regional differences that are not always subtle. For example, the term "about" is signed in radically different ways in Ontario, Atlantic Canada and the rest of the country. The Canadian sign variations were painstakingly researched and documented, a lengthy process that has paid off in an excellent publication.

"The Canadian Dictionary of ASL" contains extra information that elevates it above other language dictionaries. For example, for compound sign equivalents of single English words, the writers explain the ASL concept. The sign for "brainstorm" involves the sign for "idea" followed by the sign for "throw" (throw many ideas around - get it?).

One of the most helpful elements for those not fluent in ASL are the introductory pages that devote much time to an overview of ASL, fingerspelling, ASL handshapes, numbers, pronouns, time concepts and Canadian geographical place names.

It’s easy to see why so many hearing people find ASL fascinating - it’s beautiful, fluid, pure communication. Even once I no longer needed to refer to the dictionary for the purposes of this book review, I had a wonderful time looking up signs. And guess what? The L shape against the forehead is not a proper ASL sign for "loser"!

If you have any interest in learning or improving your ASL skills, this is a fabulous book. And now, I will wait patiently for the softcover, eight-ounce pocket version - while working on my "good morning"!

(Gael Hannan is a freelance writer living in Toronto, Ontario. "The Canadian Dictionary of ASL" (ISBN 0-88864-300-4) is available for $75 at your local bookstore, or by e-mail: orders@gtwcanada.com.)