James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack) (04/15/91)
Index Number: 14872
[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]
Summary of Sam Supalla's presentation on October 11, 1990
(transcribed in English by Patty Brown)
"Manually Coded English: The Learnability Question"
I have travelled to many different states giving lectures.
When I moved to Arizona I discovered that Arizonans have a sign that
is new to me--cactus. When I moved here a year ago, I learned your
sign for cactus. Prior to that, I had asked ot her deaf people what
sign they used for cactus but everyone seemed to sign it a little
differently. Now I'm doing free advertising for you by spreading the
Arizona sign for cactus across the country!
I already gave this presentation to a small group of people
at ASDB. Now I will be giving it to all of you. The title of this
presentation is: "Manually Coded English: The Learnability Question".
We will be talking about whether or not MCE , a sign system which has
been used for the last 20 or so years, is learnable. Can MCE be
learned or are there problems with the learnability of MCE?
What is language? (Responses were that language is a cultural
tool through which information about a people's culture is passed,
communication, a means for community sharing, and expression that
occurs in both structured and unstructured settin
gs.) Who uses languages? Do animals use language or only humans?
The word "language" is frequently misused. Today we will be
discussing true languages, not communication systems used by animals
such as bees. The communication systems used by a nimals have
limitations whereas language used by humans is not limited to
particular functions.
Language is one of the most basic components of education.
Imagine a classroom with a teacher and a student but no language.
Though acting and pantomime could be used to discuss many concrete
concepts, it would be difficult, if not impossib le, to discuss
abstract concepts, even those as basic as "yesterday" and "tomorrow",
without language. Language is an essential component of education.
Without language, education cannot occur.
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