Making Court Come Alive�

A guide by Maestra Suzanne de la Ferté,

Society Sign Herald Deputy

Monotone and Deadpan

As a hearing person, have you ever been on the receiving end of a speech delivered in monotone?��How about a joke delivered in deadpan?

Monotone:

Speaking in a droning, unchanging tone. Nothing can put you to sleep quicker than a teacher talking in a monotone.

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Deadpan:

Dry humor (dry-wit humor) is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality / no emotion.

Have you heard of someone giving a “flat”, “lackluster”, or “lifeless” performance? Perhaps you’ve encountered someone whose acting style was described as “one-dimensional”.

Dramatic and/or Vocal

Performance

These same terms can be assigned to a Sign/Silent Herald … Are you signing in a monotone? Is your signing deadpan, lifeless, or one-dimensional?�

You CAN Change This!

Because the Deaf do not generally hear tone of voice or loud/soft voice inflections, they rely on body movement and facial expression to convey that information.��Your facial expressions can and will affect the meaning of your signs. They are used to show emotions like interest, cheerfulness, or enthusiasm. ��

Conveying Emotions with Your Face

• If you add an exaggerated or intense facial expression to the sign “quiet”, you are telling your audience to be “very quiet”.

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• When a joke or funny story is being told it is often expected that the signer smile.

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• A deadpan, expressionless face will convey to your audience that you are bored.

Good illustrations of facial expressions found in the research paper “Neural organization for recognition of grammatical and emotional facial expressions in Deaf ASL signers and Hearing non-signers” Cognitive Brain Research 22 (2005) p195. https://crl.ucsd.edu/newsletter/Publications/McCullough_CBR_05.pdf

Facial Expressions

Facial Expressions for Questions

Yes/No Questions

Raise your eyebrows and tilt your head forward a bit.

Who, What, When, Where, Which, Why, How, How Much, How Many Questions

Furrow the eyebrows a bit and may tilt the head back a bit while the body might lean forward a bit.

Expressions and explanation by Dr. Bill Vicars of ASL University / www.lifeprint.com

Yes/No: https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/yesnofacial%20expression.htm

Wh-Q: https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/whfacialexpression.htm

Conveying Emotions with Your Body

Sign Language is a visual language and includes the whole body.

Much like Commedia dell’arte, meanings of words are conveyed and can change based upon facial expressions and body language.

When conveying that the speaker is whispering, you can lean forward to create a mood of intimacy. Conversely, if the speaker is shouting, you can make bigger, more exaggerated signs. A grimaced facial expression would also aid in conveying this concept.

Know Your Audience

One-on-One or Small Group

• Intimate / Signs are made within a small frame of space, usually bounded by the shoulders on either side, the neck at the top and the waist at the bottom.
• Signs only need to be large enough to be seen by the individual who is usually only a short distance away.
• Facial and body expressions need to be clear, but do not need to be exaggerated unless the conversation calls for it.

Large Group

• Public / Signs are made within a larger frame of space often bounded by the width of your arms and may reach above your head and below your waist
• Make your signs large enough to be seen from a distance.
• Facial and body expressions need to be clear at that distance, so they may feel a bit exaggerated to you.
• ASL as a theatrical performance

James “JJ” Jones, a Deaf mime artist who has been performing for over 40 years explains the similarity and differences between ASL and Mime.

• Both have the same facial expressions.
• Both have body expressions.
• Both have hand expressions / “pictures”.
• When you mime, you CANNOT sign or speak.
• Mime is only used theatrically.

ASL (or Sign Language) vs Mime

Link for JJ’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymO4X205C8s

ASL as a Performance

• Signing for an actual theatrical performance like commedia dell’arte
• Signing the procession into Court of someone to be elevated and the elevation ceremony
• Signing the telling of a story during Court
• Signing the text of an award scroll being presented in Court

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All of these examples require planning, time, and thought to present the spoken words as visual concepts. Do we sign the meaning behind the words? Do we become poetic and paint pictures with our signs?

Signing Songs in ASL

1. If your goal is to avoid controversy, then you should: �Avoid signing songs and focus instead on storytelling and “ASL Poetry”
2. If your goal is to practice ASL signing, then you should: �Analyze the song thoroughly. Determine its message. Interpret that message into ASL. Sign the ASL interpretation using the song as background music. Do not focus on matching your signs with the lyrics or the beat of the music. Instead, consider the general tempo of the music and select an appropriate flow for your signing.

• If your goal is to practice “contact signing” (formerly called “PSE”), you should:�Choose signs that match the lyrics’ concepts and put them in the order of the lyrics. Avoid using filler words. Sign the concept when it is obvious. For example, instead of “was” or “Once Upon a Time”, you could sign “past” or “long ago”.�Regardless of the sign system chosen, use facial expression and incorporate visual/gestural principles when appropriate. For example, if you are signing a song about a little girl communicating with God, you should look up a bit while signing her words and look down a bit while signing God’s words.

Dr. Bill Vicars, in response to a student’s question “How should songs be signed? Should I sign in the same word order as the song? Just sign the main words?” made this response:

The approach you should take depends on your goal.

Source: https://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/topics/songs-the-signing-of-songs-in-asl.htm

Questions?

Maestra Suzanne de la Ferté,

Society Sign Herald Deputy

SilentHerald@heraldry.sca.org

Ask your kingdom’s Sign Herald or Principal Herald

Contact the Society Sign Herald Deputy about starting a Sign Heraldry Program in your kingdom!

Quotes for illustration purposes only