SASL Executive Council
2015 – 2017
President
Samuel J. Supalla
University of Arizona
[email protected]
Vice President
Deirdre Schlehofer
Rochester Institute of Technology
[email protected]
Recording Secretary /
Newsletter Editor
Andrew P. J. Byrne
Framingham State University
[email protected]
Treasurer
Harvey Nathanson
Austin Community College
[email protected]
SASL Journal
Editor-in-Chief
Jody H. Cripps
Towson University
[email protected]
Members-at-Large
Russell Rosen
CUNY – Staten Island
[email protected]
Gabriel Arellano
Georgetown University
[email protected]
Ron Fenicle
Montgomery College
[email protected]
By Andrew P. J. Byrne
American Sign Language Literature
Now Has a Home!
I am pleased to announce that, on December 10, 2017,
the SASL Board of Directors voted favoring the inclusion of the
American Sign Language Literature Database (ASLLD) in its
bylaws along with the SASL Journal and the Power of ASL
newsletter. I have gladly accepted the responsibility of a
complier for the ASLLD. I anticipate that the ASLLD will be
posted on the SASL website in the spring. To better
understand the significance of this, I encourage you to read
the paper entitled American Sign Language Literature: Some
Considerations for Legitimacy and Quality Issues (Byrne,
2017), which was published in the first issue of SASL's journal.
One of the topics discussed was the creation of a taxonomy of
original works of ASL literature. I briefly described what was
called A Database of ASL Literature for Use in the United
States and Canada, (now known as The American Sign
Language Literature Database), which serves as a resource
for scholars, educators, performers, and all other interested
parties and individuals to have quick and convenient access to
the literary works for recreational, pedagogical, and scholarly
purposes. Here, I would like to take an opportunity to elaborate
on the database.
Currently, the database has 497 original works captured
in VHS, DVD, and online publications. It is divided into two
main categories: folkloristic and single-authored. The former
has four sub-genres: legends, tall tales, riddles, and humor.
The total number of traditional works is 49. What is interesting
about this category is that there are several works that have
several versions signed by different storytellers over the years.
For instance, a well-known humorous story entitled The
Hitchhiker has eight versions produced from 1981 to 2017.
Another well-known instance is the four versions of Timber
produced from 1981 to 2015. Another interesting fact about
this category is that a humorous story entitled Don’t Sign With
Your Hands Full signed by Martina Jo (MJ) Bienvenu in 1980
may be the earliest published recording of folklore in ASL. This
story involves a giant in human form scooping a beautiful
blonde-haired lady up in his hands. He starts to sign, “You are
very beautiful! I am falling in love with you! Can we marry?”
But, in the process of signing MARRY, he smashes the lady into pieces.
(Continue on the next page)
The Power of ASL
2
Winter 2017 – Issue 8