The Estonian Deaf Community
Interest in research on Estonian Sign Language, or eesti viipekeel (EVK), has
been increasing. Studies have been conducted on different aspects of EVK, such
as ways of expressing time (Tr�kmann 2006) and color terms (Hollman and Sutrop
2007, Hollman 2008). Moreover, EVK has lately received more attention in
legislation. The language obtained an official status in 2007, which the Deaf
community greatly appreciated. Therefore, an overview of the Estonian Deaf
community and EVK should be given in order to identify the areas that have been
studied and those that have not received much attention. The main aspects of the
Deaf community covered in this article are as follows: history, members, and
Deaf associations. The distinguishing features of the language used by the Deaf
community are also described, and Deaf children�s educational options in Estonia
are explained.
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On the System of Person-Denoting Signs
in the Estonian Sign LanguageThis article discusses Estonian personal
name signs. According to study there are four personal name sign categories in
Estonian Sign Language: (1) arbitrary name signs; (2) descriptive name signs;
(3) initialized-descriptive name signs; (4) loan/borrowed name signs. Mostly
there are represented descriptive and borrowed personal name signs among the
Estonian Deaf people.
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Biopower, Biosociality, and Community
Formation: How Biopower is Constitutive of the Deaf Community
Key thinkers within Deaf Studies (e.g., Lane 1992 and Ladd 2003) have utilized
the work of Michel Foucault on biopower in order to critically examine the ways
in which the Hearing community oppresses the Deaf community through medical,
audiological, social service, and educational institutions. In this article I
argue that biopower is not just oppressive but that it is actually productive as
well and creates the conditions of possibility for the formation of the Deaf
community. I use recent anthropological works on biopower and community
formation in order to make this argument and I situate the emergence of the Deaf
community within the current neo-liberal political, economic, and social
moment.
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American Sign Language Curricula: A
Review
There is an exponential growth in the number of schools that offer American Sign
Language (ASL) for foreign language credit and the different ASL curricula that
were published. This study analyzes different curricula in its assumptions
regarding language, learning, and teaching of second languages. It is found that
curricula vary in their assumptions, and can be classified along the three main
theoretical frameworks: behaviorism, linguisticism, and communication. Strengths
and weaknesses of each theoretical framework are identified in second language
acquisition research. Current second language theories of language, learning,
and teaching are described, and suggestions are offered for future curriculum in
ASL.
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