Ruth Morgan

Classifier Predicates and the Creation of Multiple Perspectives in South African Sign Language

This article examines some of the options that South African Sign Language offers for the representation of multiple perspectives on an event. The authors focus on picture descriptions that use classifier predicates. They show that signers use constructed action in conjunction with classifier predicates to create simultaneous multiple perspectives on an event. Signers also use classifier predicates and constructed action sequentially to shift perspectives back and forth within an utterance. The authors conclude that the modality of space allows users of a sign language to apply several active articulators simultaneously to communicate multiple perspectives on an event; the differences in the representational repertoire of the articulators allow perspective changes to follow one another rapidly.

`I¿ve got two men and one woman¿: ancestors, sexuality and identity among same-sex identified women traditional healers in South Africa

This paper presents preliminary insights into the complex nature of the same‐sex orientation of seven women who are sangomas (traditional healers) in Soweto. Data was derived from an ethnographic study, used as the appropriate methodology because of the veiled and secret nature of same‐sexuality amongst traditional healers. In‐depth semi‐structured interviews were taped in audio or video format, transcribed and translated into English. A close reading of the transcripts in relation to notions of gender, agency, kinship, community and power revealed that the belief system of the sangomas provides a window into different categories of sexuality in an African framework through which the interaction and intersection of their personal same‐sex desire, and that of their male ancestors, can be viewed. Sangomas construction of identity and desire shifted between that of personal agency and that of a dominant male ancestor. This required constant negotiation and encompassed elements of both the ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’. In the case of these sangomas, same‐sexuality the basis of marginality assumes a social status and becomes a source of power.

A narrative analysis of Deafhood in South Africa

Abstract This article uses narrative analysis to explore the narrative construction of Deafhood (Ladd, 2003) in the South African post-apartheid context. The data comprise five life stories of Deaf South Africans. The theoretical framework includes Ladds notion of Deafhood as belonging and becoming and De Certeaus (1984) notions of space and place. The specific questions addressed in the analysis are: (i) How do the narrators transform school as a place into a space of enacting Deafhood in terms of belonging and becoming? (ii) How do the narrators enact Deafhood as adults in relation to spaces in terms of their process of belonging, becoming and maintaining ‘Deaf? The analysis details how the narrators construct Deafhood in boarding schools for d/Deaf learners and/ or in adulthood. The findings suggest that, although the narrators are of different ages and ethnicities, there is a focus on Deafhood as a belonging and becoming that suggests a core cultural self-identification as in other minority cultures that require an essentialised identity for political purposes. All the narrators use their agency in order to create spaces in which to belong and become. Through belonging and becoming, they gain a communal sense of Deafhood.

Constructing and rolling out the new South African Sign Language (SASL) curriculum – Reflexive critique

South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world protecting the linguistic and cultural rights of Deaf people. However, there is a huge gap between policies and reality in schools for Deaf learners in South Africa. In this paper we critically unpack and reflexively explore the linguistic and cultural issues that emerged during the process of creating and implementing the new South African Sign Language (SASL) curriculum. This curriculum was produced as a result of a landmark court case. We use an ethnographic framework based on our own reflections, discussions with Deaf people, notes from meetings, and discussions with the other team members. Why and how did the process that started off with so much energy, excitement and goodwill break down? We argue that a key reason for this breakdown is inadequate linguistic knowledge and cultural sensitivity in relation to SASL and Deaf cultural identity. The paper concludes with an outline of lessons learnt.

Rainbow: Constructing a gay Deaf black South African identity in a SASL poem

ABSTRACT Issues around Deaf identity construction have been analysed in sign language literature in terms of a strategically essentialised Deaf identity. The idea of more fluid and shifting multiple identities has informed Rachel Sutton-Spence’s 2010 analysis of four BSL (British Sign Language) poems. A theme that cuts across these poems is that being gay or lesbian in the UK is unproblematic and therefore not prioritised. There is at least as much emphasis on being Deaf and a sign language user. Other facets of identity such as race and personal interests also emerge in these poems.

Being and belonging as Deaf South Africans: Multiple identities in SASL poetry

ABSTRACT This article explores the theme of identity in terms of ‘being and belonging’ in South African Sign Language (SASL) poetry through the close reading of five SASL poems. Previous studies on the literature of other sign languages almost exclusively focus on the construction of an essentialised Deaf identity and the discovery of ‘Deafhood’. The notion of a transnational Deaf identity based on the shared experience of oppression in the hearing-dominant society has been prioritised in the discussion of sign language poetry. However, we claim that, due to the impact of apartheid, Deaf South African poets tend to identify themselves as belonging to both their Deaf and their local hearing communities. Being Deaf is not necessarily their primary concern, and Deaf poets actively seek allies with hearing people in difficult situations resulting from apartheid such as forced removals and living in segregated townships. We also highlight the importance of a physical, geographical sense of ‘home’ in SASL poetry. While the majority of the signed poems studied abroad revolve around the search for an imaginary Deaf land, South African Deaf poets show a strong sense of attachment to the immediate surroundings. We conclude that the identities that emerge in sign language poetry can be constructed not only in terms of a global Deaf identity, but also in terms of the history and politics specific to each country.