Hear the Hungry Lion!

Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 427 - Hear the Hungry Lion

When we left the previous episode I was working with Gemini to make my Master thesis about interpreting Shakespeare's place for the deaf more understandable.  And Gemini said -

Okay, here's the next section, revised for a seventh-grade reading level. I've broken down the longer paragraphs and used simpler language to explain the concepts of ASL grammar and the different styles of interpreting.      And then Gemini continued with

ASL Grammar: A Different Way to Talk
ASL has a unique sentence structure that is sometimes called "topic/comment." This means you often say the main idea first, then add more details. By the way that is a very good way, of stating a rather complicated concept. For example, instead of "Is this a dagger I see before me?" from Shakespeare's Macbeth, a translation in ASL might be "dagger, do I see?"

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Transcript

Welcome to Celebrate Creativity - Episode 427 - Hear the Hungry Lion!

When we left the previous episode I was working with Gemini to make my Master thesis about interpreting Shakespeare's place for the deaf more understandable.  And Gemini said -

Okay, here's the next section, revised for a seventh-grade reading level. I've broken down the longer paragraphs and used simpler language to explain the concepts of ASL grammar and the different styles of interpreting.      And then Gemini continued with

ASL Grammar: A Different Way to Talk
ASL has a unique sentence structure that is sometimes called "topic/comment." This means you often say the main idea first, then add more details. By the way that is a very good way, of stating a rather complicated concept. For example, instead of "Is this a dagger I see before me?" from Shakespeare's Macbeth, a translation in ASL might be "dagger, do I see?"

The word "dagger" doesn't have a single sign in ASL. An interpreter would need to combine a few signs, like "knife" and "protection." The audience would understand from the play's story that it's not a regular knife.

To show that it's a question without needing an answer, the interpreter would raise their eyebrows while signing "see." This shows that the dagger might not be real, which is an important part of the story.

Interpreting Shakespeare: A Special Skill
Interpreting a Shakespeare play isn't something every interpreter can do. It requires a very high level of skill. The interpreter needs to be comfortable acting because they are essentially playing all the parts in the play. They also need to be very careful with details to make sure they get the meaning of the text right.

It's impossible to show how to sign every single word in a Shakespeare play. Each interpreter has their own style, and they need to create their own translation based on their knowledge of both ASL and Shakespeare. This paper is a guide to help them understand how the rules of ASL can be used to translate Shakespeare's language. For example, once you understand the "topic/comment" idea, it's easy to translate "Where is the crown?" into "crown, where?"

Old Signs and Old Words
All languages change over time, and English has changed a lot since Shakespeare's time, which was over 500 years ago. This is why his language sometimes sounds "foreign" to us today.

Then Gemini asked - How does this section look? We've covered a lot of ground here, but I hope the breakdown makes it easier to follow.

And I replied - This is excellent! 

And Gemini continued with Beginning the Process: Modern Day Editions

An excellent place to start in the process of interpreting a play by Shakespeare is to read one of the No Fear Shakespeare editions or Shakespeare in Modern English versions.  They help an interpreter to understand what is occurring in the play. The modern-day translations are not 100% accurate, and often the American Sign Language translation captures the meaning and nuances of Shakespeare’s language much better than a modern day equivalent. Of course, an interpreter should not stop with modern-day texts – the modern-day English equivalents are sometimes clumsy, and can only point to the greatness of Shakespeare’s words. But the modern-day English translations do help in comprehension.
Can you have to understand the words before you can even begin to sign them!

The Parameters of ASL: Use Them Creatively!

American Sign Language has only been recently recognized as a sophisticated language.  Its signs are generally viewed as having five  parameters – location, movement, palm orientation, non-manual markers, and handshape. A sign language interpreter can creatively use these parameters for aesthetic reasons.

Location: The Difference Between “Mother” and “Father”

Location refers to the place on the body where the sign is made.

“Father” in “As when thy father and myself in friendship First tried our soldiership!” (All's Well That Ends Well, 1. 2. 33-34)  and “mother” in “'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother” (The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, 1,2,75) use the same handshape. The only difference is the location of the sign.  In the context of these plays, “father” is formed on the forehead and “mother is formed on the chin.

Movement: “My” Is Not That Different From “Please”

The movement of the handshape can change the sign's meaning. “My” in “Deformed, unfinish'd, sent before my time” (The Life and Death of King Richard the Third, 1.1.20) and “please” in “So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet” (The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, 4.4.32) use the same handshape.  The only difference in the signs for “my” and “please” is the movement parameter. 

Palm Orientation: In or Out?

Palm orientation refers to whether the handshape or sign is facing away or toward the interpreter.   The sign for “feel” in “I feel my heart new open'd” (The Life of King Henry the Eighth, 3,2, 345) and “pity” as used by the old shepherd in “I'll take it up for pity” (The Winter's Tale, 3, 3, 76) are examples of signs with identical handshapes, but different palm orientations.  The sign for “feel” is a self-reference to Cardinal Wolsey, and is signed with the palm orientation inwards. The sign for “pity” refers to the baby that the shephard has just found, and is signed with the palm outward. 

Non Manual Signs: “Look Ma, No Hands!”

Non manual signs are not only integral grammar in ASL, but can efficiently express nuances. The characteristic of “narrow” in “The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder” (The Life of King Henry the Fifth, Prologue) can be communicated in ASL though pursed lips while signing “ocean.”  In ASL, the sign for “thin” in “Are melted into air, into thin air” (The Tempest, 4.1.184) should also be accompanied by pursed lips (Baker, 21)
An interesting use of non-manual signs in ASL is in the translation of King Lear's speech at the beginning at Act 3, Scene 2.   According to the annotations for William Shakespeare, The Complete Works: The New Pelican Text, “crack your cheeks” refers to a manner in which winds were often represented on old maps as heads with cheeks puffed out. (Orgel, Stephen, 1365)  Since there is no formal ASL equivalent of “crack your cheeks,” filling the cheeks with air would be an appropriate ASL translation.  The “puffed cheeks” marker is also the non manual sign for “intense” used in expressing massive size.  Some signers say that the “intense” marker gives an extremely negative and ominous connotation to the object described – as though the subject was too large.  (Baker, 19) The ASL translation therefore provides a  double meaning that Shakespeare probably did not intend, and is a vivid example of how the signer can and must use his or her entire body as an integral part of a translation. 

Handshape: Puns and “Sign-Play”

 While it is possible to use the repetition of  any parameter of sign language to express rhyme or puns, handshape is relatively concrete because  compared to the fluid and less tangible nature of location, movement, and palm orientation, and non-manual signals. Just as Shakespeare often creatively used words of similar structure or meaning, to convey multiple meanings such as “you will find me a grave man,” (Romeo and Juliet, 3.1.79), ASL can use signs with similar parameters creatively.  In other words, instead of “word-play,” the Deaf audience enjoys “sign-play.”  An ASL gloss of Mercutio's line is “will see me man bury peace.”  The word “grave” in ASL does not lend itself to the double meaning of “serious,' but this line could be translated using “bury” and “peace.” “Bury” is obvious enough, and “peace” can also mean “quiet,” thus adding a new dimension to Shakespeare's use a language.  The signs for “Bury” and “peace” also have the same handshape parameter  and flowing movement/

Classifiers: The Crown as Classifier

Classifiers are important part of ASL, and do not have an exact equivalent in English.  Classifiers are a set of handshapes used to describe 

1)a physical characteristic of a noun, and/or 2) the movement or location of a noun.  In “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown” (The Second Part of King Henry the Fourth, 3 1. 33) the concept of “crown” is shown by prefacing the classifier with the sign for “king,” using two handshapes to form the outline of a horizontal circle, and placing the classifier on the king's head.  The classifier shows the physical shape of the crown, and emphasizes the king's role as ruler  in this scene.  Once the classifier has been established, the sign language interpreter can use the same handshape for “crown” in such lines in the next act of the play as  “Set me the crown upon my pillow here” 

(4. 5. 5), “Why doth the crown lie there upon his pillow” (4, 5, 22), “My due from thee is this imperial crown (4.5 43), “Where is the crown? (4.5.63), But wherefore did he take away the crown? (4.5.72), “There is your crown” (4. 5.72), “I spake unto this crown as having sense,”(4.5. 80), and “How I came by the crown, O God forgive” (4.5.76)

Classifiers can be used in an infinite number of ways, and provide enormous creative flexibility.  In ASL, class, status, and power can be shown visually.  A classifier representing a specific character might be located in a higher or lower space in relation to another character.

An examination of an ASL translation of “a turn or two I'll walk, To still my beating mind” (The Tempest, 4.1.195-196) serves as an illustration of classifiers, the economy of signs, and the artistic use of  similar handshapes.  The phrase “a turn or two I'll walk” can be communicated by signing pointing to yourself, and moving the upright index back and forth in front of the body while the eyes follow the movement of the “person.”  “To still my beating mind” can be translated in this context by following the movement of the index finger with the ASL rhetorical “why,” and answering the question with a gloss of  “still mind trouble.”  “Beating” in this context means “troubled”  Note that this passage can be made even more aesthetically pleasing by using an ASL construction  for “why” that can be described as “for-for.”   The signs for “still” and “trouble” have different movements, but the same handshape.  The classifier used for the person walking, the sign for “mind,” and the “for-for” form of why all share the index finger handshape.  The result is that eleven spoken words can be translated in ASL using a combination of two handshapes and five signs.

Speed of Spoken English Versus ASL: The Mouth Versus the Hands

The unique communication requirements posed in signing a play by Shakespeare require a brief examination of the nature of the perception of visual and auditory information.  A Deaf person's perception of the rhythm of the hands is quite different from a hearing person's perception of the rhythm of speech.  In  a play where the lines are spoken at a  conversational speed, the actors typically speak at a rate of approximately five syllables per second, or roughly three simple words.  Producing a single ASL requires roughly twice the amount of time as a single English word.  While the articulation rates for speech and a sign are significantly different, the rate of transmission is approximately the same for an ASL sentence as for an English equivalent. 

An examination of the basic dynamics of sign production shows how an interpreter can “keep up” in ASL.  Signing a character's lines requires more time than spoken language because the boundaries of the manual articulation space are a larger than the boundaries of the space required to voice a word.  A sign may also use one of both hands in specific combinations.  The hands may move comparatively large distances on the body, incorporate multiple body references, and even perform a series of intricate body movements.  All of these elements impact the speed of a sign.

Economy of Movement in ASL: Saving Time

While the production of isolated signs is a comparatively time-consuming process, a line from a Shakespearean play makes up for this time lag through an efficiency fundamental to American Sign Language. An interpreter saves significant time by reducing a line to elements that contain actual content.  ASL strategies allow the signer to use fewer signs in communicating a line of text than he or she would need in English while conveying approximately the same amount of information.

Articles in American Sign Language: More Savings

In English, articles usually signify that a noun will follow.  Articles can introduce an object, a proper name,show the singularity of something.  But articles do not furnish semantic information in and of themselves, and are therefore committed in American Sign Language.  In the line 'Now the hungry lion roars,' (A Midsummer Night's Dream, 5.1.394) ASL omits the article “the.”  In The Life and Death of King Richard the Third,  ASL translates the famous line “a horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse” (The Life and Death of King Richard the Third, 5. 4. 6 ) using five signs by omitting the three occurrences of “a” and substituting the sign  “exchange” to convey the concept of “for” in the context of Richard's frustrations at the Battle of Bosworth.  Spoken English (and Signing Exact English) require nine signs to communicate the same idea.

Verb Tense: Stage Actions

In a similar way, ASL does not mark verbs for tense or show a change in verb tense by changing verb form.  English has such tense markers as “ing,” “s,” “en” and “ed.”  In All's Well That Ends Well, Lafeu refers to “only the losing of hope by time.” (1.1.13)  American Sign Language would translate “the losing” as “lost' because the use of “the” and the suffix “ing” are grammatically incorrect in ASL. These may seem like small points to the observer at first, but it would be difficult, and aesthetically unpleasing to sign a Shakespearean play using twice as many signs.  If the interpreter wanted to emphasis the action of “loosing,” he or she could use the principle of reduplication to sign “lost” repeatedly, therefore showing that a continuous process is involved.  

ASL shows verb tense by beginning a statement with such “time indicator” signs as “now,” “ago,” or “future.”  “Now the hungry lion roars” (A Midsummer Night's Dream  5. 1.393),  is translated in ASL as “now lion hungry roar.” The line begins with “now” (the time indicator) and omits the article “the.”  ASL does not use the suffixes, so there is no need to sign “ry” in “hungry' or “s” in “roars.”  Note that while it would take Signing Exact English seven signs to sign this line,  ASL can communicate the line in four signs. 

Gemini stopped to ask me if I was pleased, and said - Here is the next section of your paper, revised for a seventh-grade reading level.
How to Get Started: Modern Versions of Shakespeare
A good way for an interpreter to start is by reading a modern version of a Shakespeare play, like one of the "No Fear Shakespeare" books. These books translate the old English into modern English, which helps you understand what's happening.

However, these translations aren't perfect. They can sometimes lose the beauty and poetry of Shakespeare's original words. An ASL translation can often capture the meaning better. Still, these modern versions are a great starting point for understanding the story before diving into the real language.

The Building Blocks of ASL: The Five Parameters
American Sign Language has five key parts, called parameters, that make up every sign. An interpreter can use these creatively to make their signing more expressive, just like an actor uses their body and voice.

And I think we'll leave off with that and start the following episode with a brief description of those five parameters.

Sources Include:  Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Works of Shakespeare by Isaac Asimov, American Sign Language: A Teacher's Resource Text on Grammar and Culture by Charlotte Baker and Dennis Cokely, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom, and Shakesfear and How to Cure It, an unpublished manuscript by Ralph Cohen.

Join celebrate creativity for episode 428 - for more information about interpreting Shakespeare's plays into American Sign Language in an episode called yesterday and tomorrow.

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