MANSIL (MUseum Access network for sensory impairments)

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MANSIL (MUseum Access network for sensory impairments)

MANSIL (MUseum Access network for sensory impairments)MANSIL (MUseum Access network for sensory impairments)MANSIL (MUseum Access network for sensory impairments)
  • Home
  • News
  • Research project
  • British Sign Language
  • Audio Description
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Language and Landscape in Holyrood Park

In  collaboration with Sally Gall and others at HES, Trudi Collier (Deaf art guide), and Robert Adam (Herriot Watt University), I developed four videos with Trudi signing key stories based on  the history, archaeology, and geology of Holyrood Park.  These were filmed in the Park itself in 2023, and are now hosted on the HES website, and accessed via QR codes displayed on notices in the Park itself.  Deaf Action uploaded the trail to their website for the Deaf Edinburgh Festival in August 2024: Language and Landscape in Holyrood Park - Edinburgh Deaf Festival. 


There are three short clips for each of the four videos, with Ellen Adams interviewing Robert Adam, an expert in BSL linguistics, about how the language worked in these stories.  We believe this is the first time that BSL videos on cultural topics have been used to promote an understanding of BSL and how the language works. 


Scotland has had a BSL Act since 2015, and Westminster passed a similar BSL Act in 2023. This places a duty on public bodies to 'promote' BSL.   This project demonstrates how  cultural and heritage institutions can meet this obligation, in a stimulating and constructive way. 

Visit the HES project webpages

Link to HES project webpages

What do people think?

Link to blog about focus groups on project

Summary of language notes on videos, given by Dr Robert Adam

St Antony's Chapel

St Antony's Chapel

St Antony's Chapel

1.  ‘Directional verbs in BSL’, for example, the verb sign references the subject, object and action, so the space is used grammatically. 

2.  ‘Placement in BSL’, so how people, animals, things, concepts etc can be ‘placed’ in space and then referenced in the on-going narrative. 

3.  ‘Enumeration in BSL’ – a common feature of BSL shows how sign languages are direct and clear, this tool setting out points as lists that are easy to follow. 

Holyrood Coffins

St Antony's Chapel

St Antony's Chapel

1.  ‘Taking on characters in BSL’, show  examples of this important theme, with the point that signers can become animals and things as well as people. 

2.  Using classifiers’, this is a difficult theme, as there is no clear comparison in spoken language, as handshapes come to represent entities (almost metaphorically). 

3.  ‘Role shift’, this theme elaborates on how the signer can embody not just one character but many, shifting between them.  

Geology

David and the Stag

David and the Stag

1.   ‘Fingerspelling and creating signs’, used when there is an unusual name or jargon word that needs to be clarified from the English word, and usually given a sign based on visual features. 

2.  ‘Using timelines in BSL’, shows how space can be used as a metaphor for different types of time spans.

3.  ‘Qualifying verbs and adverbs in BSL’, which indicates how adverbs can be incorporated into the verb sign.  

David and the Stag

David and the Stag

David and the Stag

1.  ‘Using signing space’, including information on how the viewer translates the visual information given, while focusing on the signer’s face, and the use of placement in the canvas of the signing space. 

2.  ‘Creating atmosphere and drama’, emphasises the acting aspect of BSL, and the importance of facial expression.  

3.  ‘Embodied language in BSL’, develops the way in which signers become the characters of their narratives.  

Map for BSL trail in Park (qR codes)

holyrood park BSL MAP (jpg)

Download

IMage gallery

    Copyright © 2024 Ellen Adams (MANSIL) - All Rights Reserved.

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