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From: richard@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Richard Dallaway)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Sign films
Summary: do hearing people echo back Signs they see?
Keywords: lassie and sign langauge
Message-ID: <15279@handicap.news>
Date: 2 May 91 17:22:56 GMT
References: <19048@bunker.isc-br.com>
Sender: wtm@bunker.isc-br.com
Reply-To: richard@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Richard Dallaway)
Organization: Univ. of Sussex, Brighton, UK
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Fidonet: Silent Talk Conference

Index Number: 15279

Fran.O'gorman@f94.n272.z1.fidonet.org (Fran O'gorman) writes:
> Actually the way William Hurt did it, it was almost like he was
> thinking out loud, kind of mentally registering it, and his
> affection and esteem for her was so obvious, I really didn't think
> he was treating her as at all inferior, but from what they were
> saying (Richard, et al) was that it came across that way.

OK, for one film I might just buy Fran's "inner voice" interpretation
of the Lassie factor, but not for other films (like "Love is never
Silent", which was the film I was talking about. I haven't seen COALG
for years).

Anyway, what I guess I really want to know is this: is it common for a
hearing person to echo back (talk) what a Deaf person has just signed
to them?  (As happens in films like LINS and COALG). It seems unlikely
to me, and that's why I'm complaining about it.  My theory is (see the
previous messages) that film producers haven't quite grasped the fact
that Sign is a foreign language---so they don't subtitle, but use a
naff communication mechanism that I've been calling the Lassie factor.
But maybe I'm wrong...

Richard