Signs from the void

Abstract

This is a report on a pilot project commissioned by the BBC in conjunction with the author's final MA dissertation for Durham University. The purpose of the research was to investigate British Sign Language (BSL) production on television and its comprehension by the viewing audience. The data analysis could then be used for programme decisions relating to cultural and linguistic specifications. This is especially pertinent in view of the current Broadcasting Act in Great Britain, which stipulates 1% of sign language transmission on all digital and terrestrial television by 1999 and an increase to 5% by 2009.1In the original research, 70 hours of signed data were recorded. Individual profiles were made for each signer on a sample tape as well as a thorough description of a respondent group.The research focused on a comprehension test.This involved three group categories reflecting two varieties of sign language users, a group whose BSL is most informed (influenced) by English, another whose BSL is dominant, and a hearing (non-signing) group used for comparison. All sample and test responses were analysed and profiled in view of signing production and psychosocial treatment of the language. The use of sign language on television was compared with its wider use among deaf people.This paper summarises and concludes the discussion and recommendations that may be directly referred to by programme makers and translators/interpreters.2

Comparing modes of communication

“…A field in which the effect of interpretation has been explored in depth is sign language interpreting, where many studies have used comprehension testing to compare the cognitive end-result of a speech for ST and TT audiences (Cokely 1990;Livingston et al 1994;Llewellyn-Jones 1981;Marschark et al 2004;Murphy & Fleischer 1977;Napier & Spencer 2008;Steiner 1998). …”

Sign language interpreting on Chinese TV: a survey on user perspectives

“…Kurz (1996Kurz ( , 2002 investigated the psychological stress that media interpreters have to deal with. In investigating SLI on TV, Steiner (1998) looked into the BSL production on TV and its comprehension by the d/Deaf viewers. Kurz and Mikulasek (2004) reported on the development of programmes for the d/Deaf in the German-speaking world.…”

Chinese Deaf viewers’ comprehension of sign language interpreting on television

“…Constructed dialogue is a term coined by Tannen (1989), to define the recreation of past dialogues by a narrator. Role-shifting, the combination of body posturing and eye gaze, is prominently used in sign language as a way to indicate to the addressee that a dialogue is being recounted and as a discourse strategy to help reference characters.…”