Monday, November 5, 2018

Our ASL story of the day

We watched it at quarter speed and it actually made sense to us after only 9 weeks of ASL class. Sure, much was missed, but I got a lot of it.



2 comments:

Chip Ahoy said...

I watched it once at regular speed. This is what I saw.

It looks like a scientist mixes a concoction that flares up in a fire then contracts to a ball then expands and contracts and goes flying exit left. It bounces scene after scene right to left.

The ball with extraordinary bouncing properties goes bouncing along and passes a guy who is curious. He hops on his bicycle and chases the ball. Thereafter the bicycle is shown as "vehicle" the thumb and two finger hand configuration (3).

The ball makes several passes. Each pass a new character accrues.

First the ball passes then the bicycle then a citizen shown as upright finger, then an old man with a bird on his shoulder, subsequent passes shown as crooked finger and bird as a flying dot.

Then last a big fat person described as having huge sagging tits, thereafter " fat."

The full train of ball and various characters are shown bouncing right to left, then left to right, then straight toward the viewer, then up a hill then down a hill then finally they all smash into a wall one after another and compress into an amalgamation that becomes a huge smile then flattens out.

The story is graphic with no fingerspelling and very few words and signs based on ASL systems,
thumbs making a mixture for "science" + torso parallel karate chops for "personification" meaning "scientist." A pinch at the neck means "curous." Peddling a "bicycle: thereafter 3 for "vehicle", description of an "old man" and a "bird," thereafter a bent finger and a flying dot, upright finger for a single person running, pantomimed description of an obese person with huge belly and huge tits, thereafter simply "fat." Over and over and over, rather tediously, we see the same train of people following the ball out of curiosity this way, further this way, that way, this way, that way, this way. then BLAM!

Graphic, like a movie. This is how deaf actually speak. They show you what happens, and they show it in chronologic order. If you ask, "what did you do this weekend?" Their answer will be shown like this; from beginning to end, with details zoomed in, then generalities abbreviated and panned out. Mostly acted out with very few words and scant fingerspelling while all that is used to paint their picture.

The Dude said...

You nailed it, Chiparoonie, and at quarter speed you see that it is a young boy on the bike who observes the scientist, a young girl who first joins the parade out of curiosity, then a dog, then an old man (signed "x", as in he is humped over") and the bird he was feeding his bird on his shoulder, then the fat woman, and they go along, then towards the viewer, then around a corner, then up a hill, then down a hill, fast, faster, then they head back to the lab where the door is open, the magic chemically enhanced ball goes in, the door shuts, the crowd can't stop, they crash into the door, the door is broken down then they all (10 fingers as eyes) watch as the ball pulsates and shrinks back down.

The end.

I got "curious", "vehicle", "ball", "hill", and probably a couple of others, but I like dude's story telling ability.