SASL Newsletter - Spring 2020 Issue Issue 17 - Spring 2020 | Page 3

people mistakenly perceive them as interchangeable, however they are not. Crystal (1987) states
that similes involve “two unlike things being explicitly compared in order to point out a similarity,
while using a marker such as like or as” (as cited in Wilcox, 2000, p. 12). By contrast, a metaphor is
an implicit comparison without using “like” or “as” (Cuddon, 2013). The two statements “Tom is like a
shark” and “Tom is a shark” are good examples. The former is a simile because it uses the word
“like,” and the latter is a metaphor because it does not contain either “like” or “as.” In ASL, the signs
SAME-AS and LOOKS-LIKE can be used to show the similarity between two unlike things.
I will now discuss how Bahan utilizes similes in his narrative, “Bird of a Different Feather”.
Specifically located in the 55 th strophe of the 11 th topic unit entitled “The Hunting Lesson”, Bahan
assumes the role of the Eagle teacher who is charged with teaching baby Eagles how to dive
through the air properly and quickly, head first. The simile occurs when Bahan uses the ASL
rendition of 'same as a rocket' when referring to the high speed of diving from the sky to the ground.
The singing bird who is in the class with all other Eagles was clearly intimidated by the teacher's
expectation. As a storyteller, Bahan succeeds in creating a vivid mental image of the comparison
between the feeble and clumsy singing bird with the sleek and powerful rocket. Below is his video
that employs a simile.
(Click here)
“Reproduced with permission from DawnSignPress”
Source: Supalla, S., & Bahan, B. (1994). ASL literature series: Bird of a different feather & for a decent living: Teacher’s guide.
DawnSignPress.
Miller’s narrative, “Grandpa’s Radio”, serves as the second example of a simile in ASL
literature. She shares her recollection of her hearing grandfather who loved his radio so much that
he listened to it every night. The simile appears when Miller uses the sign LOOKS-LIKE when
comparing the shape of the radio to the exterior architecture of an old church. Like Bahan, Miller
succeeds in creating a vivid mental image of the comparison between her grandfather's radio and
the architecture of a church. Below is her video to give you an idea of how she uses the simile in
her narrative:
(Continue on the next page)
The Power of ASL
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Spring 2020 – Issue 17