The Structure and History of Black American Sign Language

这个项目的目的是描述非裔美国人使用的各种美国手语（ASL）的语言特征，通常被称为黑人ASL。黑人和白人聋儿的长期系统分离为这两种不同类型的美国手语的发展提供了条件。第一所白人聋哑儿童学校于1817年建立，但直到19世纪50年代中期才尝试为黑人聋哑儿童建立学校。在大多数情况下，种族隔离一直持续到20世纪60年代中期，在1954年具有里程碑意义的布朗诉教育委员会案（Brown vs. Board of Education）判决之后很久。这个项目的数据包括五个地点的自由谈话和采访录像带，这些地点是根据黑人聋哑儿童学校的建立时间选择的：北卡罗莱纳州（最早的地点，1869年）、德克萨斯州（1887年）、阿肯色州（1887年）、阿拉巴马州（1892年）和路易斯安那州（1938年）。手语者被分为两组：“50岁以上”，即在种族隔离时期上学的人；“35岁以下”，即在种族隔离后上学的人。将分析符号形成和词汇的具体方面。调查结果将以关于该项目的书籍和DVD、在专业会议和社区讲习班、教材和项目网站上广泛传播。该项目涉及加劳德特大学语言学系、美国手语和聋人研究系以及加州大学戴维斯分校语言学系的合作。

The aim of this project is to describe the linguistic features of a variety of American Sign Language (ASL) used by African-American signers, usually referred to as Black ASL. The long-term systematic separation of black and white deaf children provided the conditions for the development of these two distinct varieties of ASL. The first school for white deaf children was established in 1817, but no attempt was made to establish a school for black deaf children until the mid-1850s. In most cases, segregation lasted until the mid-1960s, well after the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954. Data for this project consist of videotapes of free conversation and interviews in five sites selected according to when the schools for black deaf children were founded: North Carolina (the earliest site, 1869), Texas (1887), Arkansas (1887), Alabama (1892), and Louisiana (1938). Signers are placed in two groups: "over 50", i.e. those who attended school during segregation, and "under 35", i.e. those who attended school after integration. Specific aspects of sign formation and vocabulary will be analyzed. The findings will be widely disseminated in a book and DVD about the project, at professional conferences and community workshops, in teaching materials and on the project web site. The project involves the collaboration of the Department of Linguistics and the Department of ASL and Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University and the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Davis.