William Stokoe
Encyclopedia
William C. Stokoe, Jr. was a scholar who researched American Sign Language
(ASL) extensively while he worked at Gallaudet University
. He coined the term cherology
, the equivalent of phonology
for sign language (but sign language linguists, of which he may have been the first, now generally use the term "phonology").
Stokoe graduated from Cornell University
in Ithaca, NY in 1941, and in 1946 received his Ph.D. in English, also from Cornell. From there, he became an instructor of English at Wells College
in Aurora, NY.
From 1955 to 1970 he served as a professor and chairman of the English department at Gallaudet University
. He published Sign Language Structure and co-authored A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles (1965).
Through the publication of his work, he was instrumental in changing the perception of ASL from that of a broken or simplified version of English to that of a complex and thriving natural language in its own right with an independent syntax and grammar as functional and powerful as any found in the spoken languages of the world. Because he raised the prestige of ASL in academic and educational circles, he is considered a hero in the Deaf community
.
) as ASL had no written form at the time. Unlike SignWriting
, which was developed later, it is not pictographic, but drew heavily on the Latin alphabet.
Thus the written form of the sign for 'mother' looks like
The ' ͜ ' indicates that it is signed at the chin, the '5' that is uses a spread hand (the '5' of ASL), and the 'x' that the thumb touches the chin. Stokoe coined the terms tab, dez, and sig, meaning sign location, handshape and motion, to indicate different categories of phoneme
s in ASL. The Stokoe notation system has been used for other sign languages, but is mostly restricted to linguists and academics.
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
(ASL) extensively while he worked at Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...
. He coined the term cherology
Cherology
Cherology and chereme, sometimes chireme, are synonyms of phonology and phoneme previously used in the study of sign languages....
, the equivalent of phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
for sign language (but sign language linguists, of which he may have been the first, now generally use the term "phonology").
Stokoe graduated from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in Ithaca, NY in 1941, and in 1946 received his Ph.D. in English, also from Cornell. From there, he became an instructor of English at Wells College
Wells College
Wells College is a private coeducational liberal arts college located in Aurora, Cayuga County, New York, on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. Initially an all-women's institution, Wells became a co-ed college in Fall 2005....
in Aurora, NY.
From 1955 to 1970 he served as a professor and chairman of the English department at Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...
. He published Sign Language Structure and co-authored A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles (1965).
Through the publication of his work, he was instrumental in changing the perception of ASL from that of a broken or simplified version of English to that of a complex and thriving natural language in its own right with an independent syntax and grammar as functional and powerful as any found in the spoken languages of the world. Because he raised the prestige of ASL in academic and educational circles, he is considered a hero in the Deaf community
Deaf culture
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...
.
Writing system for American Sign Language
Stokoe invented a written notation for sign language (now called Stokoe notationStokoe notation
Stokoe notation is the first phonemic script used for sign languages. It was created by William Stokoe for American Sign Language , with Latin letters and numerals used for the shapes they have in fingerspelling, and iconic glyphs to transcribe the position, movement, and orientation of the hands...
) as ASL had no written form at the time. Unlike SignWriting
SignWriting
SignWriting is a system of writing sign languages. It is highly featural and visually iconic, both in the shapes of the characters, which are abstract pictures of the hands, face, and body, and in their spatial arrangement on the page, which does not follow a sequential order like the letters that...
, which was developed later, it is not pictographic, but drew heavily on the Latin alphabet.
Thus the written form of the sign for 'mother' looks like
- ͜ 5x
The ' ͜ ' indicates that it is signed at the chin, the '5' that is uses a spread hand (the '5' of ASL), and the 'x' that the thumb touches the chin. Stokoe coined the terms tab, dez, and sig, meaning sign location, handshape and motion, to indicate different categories of phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
s in ASL. The Stokoe notation system has been used for other sign languages, but is mostly restricted to linguists and academics.
External links
- http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Stokoecompliments.html
- http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/Stokoeletter.html