Tag Archives: ASL

Sia signs!

Posted on Sunday, 4th September, 2016 by Ken Kwame

My housemate is a Sia fan. We were watching Sia videos one night, and a video popped up. One that I didn’t know. I was wondering why this person in the video dipped her hands in some white liquid, and … Continue reading →

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Alexander Graham Bell, Audism, and Associations for the Deaf

Posted on Sunday, 10th April, 2016 by Ken Kwame

I am not big on reality TV. So if it wasn’t for social media and one of my good friends, I probably wouldn’t even know about Nyle DiMarco. In just about every other sentence as she tells me about Nyle, … Continue reading →

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Why a NATURAL language is important for the Deaf

Posted on Sunday, 20th March, 2016 by Ken Kwame

In Jamaica, there are three major sign systems: Jamaican Sign Language Country Sign Signing Exact English/Manually Coded English The first two are what are called natural languages: They developed from previous incarnations (JSL has been influenced by American Sign Language, British Sign Language, … Continue reading →

Posted in JCS, JSL, Linguistics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

And I saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Posted on Sunday, 26th July, 2015 by Ken Kwame

Ever since I first heard that Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) had signing apes, I wanted to watch it. With sweet stories like this heart-rending one of a signing chimp who’d lost her babies, the idea of apes using … Continue reading →

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Talking Hands

Posted on Sunday, 22nd March, 2015 by Ken Kwame

Originally posted on Linesiya's Weblog:
“I wish you knew sign language,” she added rather wistfully. “Barriers fall right away in sign.” (Story of B – Daniel Quinn) I’m not sure if I can describe what happens in my mind…

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Guess who’s a storyteller now!

Posted on Sunday, 2nd November, 2014 by Ken Kwame

A couple month ago, I discovered a trend in Deaf social media: the ASL 1 to 10 challenge. A 1 to 10 story is a specific kind of story in ASL (and JSL) in which the handshapes used in signing the … Continue reading →

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Languages of the Final Frontier

Posted on Saturday, 18th January, 2014 by Ken Kwame

I have a confession to make. I just need to get myself ready… Here I go… I’ll just come out and say it: I’m a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Whew, there, I said it. Wasn’t so bad, … Continue reading →

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What CAN we do with JSL?

Posted on Thursday, 16th May, 2013 by Ken Kwame

This weekend, I happened upon a video that thoroughly entertained me: Amidst the nostalgia that the video evoked, and the outbursts of laughter from watching a grown man shimmy (okay, not really shimmy…), the old question popped into my head … Continue reading →

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A Taste of Gallaudet U

Posted on Monday, 31st December, 2012 by Ken Kwame

I recently got the (possibly once-in-a-lifetime) chance to visit Gallaudet University, the world’s only Deaf university. It is physically quite small when you consider the cities that they call universities in other places in the US, and even if you … Continue reading →

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Language arts

Posted on Wednesday, 24th October, 2012 by Ken Kwame

I am an artist. I love languages. These two truths often combine to give birth to new things:   　 Most of these, though, take the form of visual art. Literary pieces, however, tend to be limited to English (not … Continue reading →

Posted in JSL, 日本語, עברית | Tagged , | 1 Comment