lipreading

The problem with lipreading is so few sounds are visible on the lips. Only some 30% or so of English phonemes can be seen.  It actually involves noticing what the whole face is doing. Nevertheless, when deaf people speak to each other they concentrate on the face, specifically the lips, tongue and cheeks, and all that hand-waving sign and finger spelling is actually seen in periphery. Occasionally the viewer's eyes drop to a hand doing finger spelling for clarity of specific words. I do that all the time. Stop the action and concentrate on the hand. And of course at a distance lipreading is nearly impossible.

Thus the "bad lipreading" videos popular presently that parody context amusingly. I actually do not find those things all that funny because they comport too well with my own frustrating experience. They are just not that funny to me.

I notice the cartoons are becoming very good at showing character's tongue to coincide with the sound of "L", it is cute as can be, and shape the mouth for the sound of "O" and squeeze the lips for "E" and all the sounds that end with it. They purse the lips for "P" and "B" and sometimes show teeth for "V", the tongue showing between teeth for "TH".  The two cartoons that caught my attention with this are "Adventure Time" and "The Ordinary Show" It appears to me the cartoonists take great care in having mouth movement coincide with sound. Impressive, as the cartoons are made over a period of several months in Taiwan. In the case of Ordinary Show the main character's mouth is a bluebird's beak. They are very clever at matching mouth and beak to sounds. From my point of view it contributes tremendously to the humor and the enjoyment of watching.

Deafgeoff.com

I concentrate on people's lips while conversing to the point of becoming self-conscious of making the speaker self-concious about their own mouths. I have to tell myself to look at their eyes and knock it off with the concentrated lipreading all the time. It is a habit. Some people are very easy to lipread and others are not. The woman above appears to be exaggerating, at least she is extremely clear. Some people simply give no mouth movement at all, almost as if  they are being ventriloquist. It is frustrating.

Try it. This site is for teaching lipreading, and I have to wonder why they used this thin-lipped woman, she is maddeningly difficult to lipread. Similar to a previous girlfriend. Pleasantly attractive face, she shows no tongue at all for her "L" and "TH" sounds, and I rely on that to distinguish between similar words. She speaks demurely. It seems to me she is trying to confound lip readers and not assist newbies.

lipreading.org

I did okay on the game, but I did not score 100. After decades of concentrating on people's lips, and I mean concentrating, I still perform poorly for someone so practiced.

There is a lot of room for misunderstanding. More room for misunderstanding than there is room for understanding. Thus the signs to back all that up. The signs are merely enhanced situational gesticulation. As to sign language, coming from hearing, first you learn finger spelling so now you can say anything you want, then you learns signs so that you don't have to finger spell so much, as you concentrate on lipreading so all that drops to background. Try the test and see for yourself how well or how poorly you do. Experts do not do much better than you.

Now, with that out of the way, here is this video of Michelle Obama saying "All this for just a flag."

Others insist they see "All this for a fucking flag."
Others insist they see "All this for a damn flag."


I see, "All this for a flag." Then Barak, "Uh huh."

How hip.

That is what I see on my own without any help or suggestion, removed from context. It appears quite clear. And that is with realizing all the related phrases that are possible and knowing the phonemes are similar. Some people are easy, and some people are not, and Michelle Obama is easy. And I see that because I held the same sentiment myself, that is my context, not because I was told. Because I shared the same sentiment with Michelle Obama. When I was ten. I did ask what is all the fuss about folding and care for a flag? Why all the somber ritual of folding, the bagpipes, the marching, the taps? Come on, it's just a piece of cloth! I could not comprehend all the reverence centering on piece of fabric. I could not get off the idea of the flag being the focus and not all that is behind the solemnity of the event being closed. The whole representational show seemed overwrought, and tremendously boring besides. My parents were shocked by my childish uncomprehending attitude, they acted as if they were shocked. I saw my dad struggle to muster the patience to not hit me, to convey to his thick-headed lad the reverence is for what the flag symbolizes. But then I was stuck with pondering reverence for symbols. I just was not feeling it. It was a very long time, I can be quite thick about sensitive things, before I accepted the flag as symbol for all that goes into patriotic impulse and the action motivated by patriotic feelings, the bravery and suffering the flag represents, all the wars that get boiled down to "the flag was still there."

And now I'm a sobbing mess. All it takes is a good rendition of the National Anthem a picture of a flag and I am reduced to a contorted tear-streaked face unable to speak.

It is clear that Michelle Obama holds my ten-year old attitude. Even to the point of being wife to president of United States, and it is clear too her husband shares the same aloof sentiment. There is a huge gulf between us. I honestly believe the flag means to these two people their ticket to a luxurious life and that is all that it means to them. For the president of the United States to chew gum at 70th anniversary of D-Day shows that point again and proves it to the people there subjected to his prepubescent insouciance amid their solemnity and reverence. He, like me at ten, just flatly does not understand, does not feel it. He feels something else. Boredom most likely.  He and she have failed to internalize what all that means. It means nothing to them. Just boring ritual.

Washington Times

The video is a few years old. The 10th anniversary of 9-11. Time enough for these two to have grown up, even if it takes the office of Presidency for the growing to occur. I dare say this same or similar immature attitude is broadly shared by their supporters. They deny it, of course, they must. But here it is on her lips, go ahead and remove 70%, it is still right there to see, and on his arrogant gesticulated concurrence.