The Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre, which is based in London, has cast doubt on the Mandela memorial signer’s claim of schizophrenic signing at the service.
Dr Jo Atkinson, who is a clinical psychologist and researcher at the centre, and is a Deaf sign language user herself, said in this media release:
The disruption of sign language in people with schizophrenia takes many forms but this does not look like anything I have seen in signers with psychosis.
It is not possible to make a judgement about whether or not someone has schizophrenia if they do not share your own language or based on film-clips, so this is not a comment on Mr Jantjie’s mental state.
There are features of signed languages, such as rhythm in the movement of the hands, the use of facial action and eyegaze, which are remarkably similar across the world’s signed languages.
Therefore, it is possible for a deaf person to deduce that signing is odd, even when they don’t use that particular sign language.
There were many features of Mr Jantjie’s signing that do not chime with the typical presentation of disordered signing caused by a psychotic episode.
Atkinson also said that signers with schizophrenia usually have “larger, more expansive, use of facial expression and signing space,” while the Mandela signer signed “without facial expression and in a regimented and contained way.”
She concluded:
It did not look like disordered signing, it looked more like someone who is not a fluent signer making it up as they went along.
Whether or not he was faking or is simply delusional about his interpreting ability, the ANC should have picked up on his poor quality signing earlier.
This highlights the importance of monitoring of the sign language profession around the world.
Read the whole media release here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dcal/dcal-news/Mandela_Interpreter
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Andy. Not him, me.
December 13, 2013
Look at it this way… he is either nutty as a fruitcake or stupendously brave. He has defied the world’s tightest security system to stand side by side with world leaders in front of the entire planet.
Ask yourself… even if you plotted and schemed your way in … could you do it?
He said himself that he was aware of all the armed guards around. If things had gone badly he could have been beaten up or even killed by panic prone security men. I don’t know about you lot but my hands would have been shaking!
This has to be the PR opportunity of the century and if we can’t make use of it to improve the situation of deaf people worldwide then I’m never going to bother as a volunteer again!
I agree with Ramon when he says we should concentrate on righting the wrongs in our own country. The NHS in the UK is in total turmoil and will be rebuilt. This is our chance to get in there and have a say in >how< it is rebuilt. Let's avoid any more tragic stories.
At the same time we can still co-operate with deaf people in other countries and work on an international basis too. It is about the general right of deaf people everywhere to have proper services provided and not some second-rate attempt at appeasement.
This incident has highlighted the deaf situation for the entire world to see and I hope that together we can make something constructive out of it.
Monkey Magic
December 13, 2013
It is a great PR opportunity and it demonstrates why Interpreting should have protected status as a profession …. if only….. it would help with so many interpreter provision issues, Access To Work being the first on the list!