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Sign language reflects dialect : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
In an attempt to preserve their local heritage, two groups of hearing impaired people have published a booklet that explains sign language particular to Kagawa Prefecture.
"Like spoken words, sign language has dialects," a spokesman for the Kagawa Association of the Deaf said. "Our version represents the efforts of people before us who communicated by using hand movements."
The 48-page booklet, "Kagawa Version of Sign Language," is a collaborative project of the association and the prefectural chapter of the National Research Association for Sign Language Interpretation.
The project was launched in August 2005, when 16 hearing impaired people set up a working group, assisted by the Kagawa association. The group has focused on hand movements that are rarely understood by young people or those outside the prefecture.
The book is divided into sections based on geographic names, food and daily life, and offers explanations for 120 sets of hand movements through text and photographs.
The explanations include background details. For example, Ritsurin Park, a popular sightseeing spot in Takamatsu, is described by hand movements corresponding to "red," "fish" and "to view" because the park has red carp in its pond.
Yashima in the Seto Inland Sea is depicted by one hand that makes a trapezoid, a four-sided figure similar to the shape of the island. Kotohiki Park in Kannonji is expressed by forming the shape of a coin with two fingers and the shape of a circle with both hands.
While an increasing number of young people with hearing difficulties are learning to use nondialect sign language due to the omnipresence of the Internet, an association spokesman said, "The local version expresses many elements that can't be captured by the standard version."
The publication sells for 800 yen. For inquiries, call (087) 868-9200 or fax (087) 867-2166.
In an attempt to preserve their local heritage, two groups of hearing impaired people have published a booklet that explains sign language particular to Kagawa Prefecture.
"Like spoken words, sign language has dialects," a spokesman for the Kagawa Association of the Deaf said. "Our version represents the efforts of people before us who communicated by using hand movements."
The 48-page booklet, "Kagawa Version of Sign Language," is a collaborative project of the association and the prefectural chapter of the National Research Association for Sign Language Interpretation.
The project was launched in August 2005, when 16 hearing impaired people set up a working group, assisted by the Kagawa association. The group has focused on hand movements that are rarely understood by young people or those outside the prefecture.
The book is divided into sections based on geographic names, food and daily life, and offers explanations for 120 sets of hand movements through text and photographs.
The explanations include background details. For example, Ritsurin Park, a popular sightseeing spot in Takamatsu, is described by hand movements corresponding to "red," "fish" and "to view" because the park has red carp in its pond.
Yashima in the Seto Inland Sea is depicted by one hand that makes a trapezoid, a four-sided figure similar to the shape of the island. Kotohiki Park in Kannonji is expressed by forming the shape of a coin with two fingers and the shape of a circle with both hands.
While an increasing number of young people with hearing difficulties are learning to use nondialect sign language due to the omnipresence of the Internet, an association spokesman said, "The local version expresses many elements that can't be captured by the standard version."
The publication sells for 800 yen. For inquiries, call (087) 868-9200 or fax (087) 867-2166.