| The specific contribution of this study is an intensive look at one particular American Sign Language community and its use of language at ritual cultural performances.;Many videotapes were made of native Deaf Iowans performing stories, jokes, poems, and skits in their native environment. A notational system was used to transcribe the American Sign Language performances into a written medium for analysis and interpretation of their literary form and social function.;The kinds of signs and language used in Deaf people's formal literary creations and in their informal daily discourse are discussed. Literary Sign Language is distinguished from daily communication by its deliberate use of time and space to create metaphors, puns, alliteration, rhythm, repetitions of narrative units and phonemic units, and other traditional literary devices which are expressed in the visual-gestural modality of American Sign Language.;The result shows that Deaf Iowans have an organized language and an organized cultural system for transmitting their literary heritage from past to future generations. It is yet another example that no form of human language is intrinsically better or worse than any other. It also confirms that wherever we find people using language, we will find people telling stories; that is, using literature to express their views of the world.;A review of previous research reveals concentration on the literary creations of deaf people in English or Pidgin Sign English. Several scholars took categories and ideas that are not necessarily indigenous to American Sign Language and chose their poets and texts based on preconceived ideas. Their data and conclusions are called into question. This study was undertaken with the purpose of delving into the non-written traditions of Deaf people in American Sign Language. |
