6. Conclusions

The main conclusions of the work that was undertaken in this workpackage are:

• There are substantial differences between countries in the numbers of signing books that are available; in some countries, our contacts reported that there are no signing books available, in other countries, users can choose from several hundred titles.
• Collecting complete data was far more difficult than had originally been envisaged. Organisations of and for the deaf are often unaware of what is available; many publishers do not market their products internationally or even nationally; often there is no catalogue or other product information, and if a catalogue is available, the information may be limited to the title and the price.
• The largest number of signing books are produced for deaf adults, with the second most common target group being deaf children. Signing books for students - educational materials, instruction tapes, text books - are practically non-existent.
• Most signing books for adults are informative; those for children are mostly for entertainment (stories), for language learning, and/or to encourage children to read printed books. Most signing books for children are based on printed books and often include illustrations from the book. Copyright negotiations can be time consuming, but several publishers waive copyrights for signing books - as is customary for talking books.
• There are no major differences in the format of signing books that are produced in various countries. Most include a presenter who presents information in the national sign language, usually a voice-over, and rarely: subtitles or captions. Visuals vary from simple graphics to drama or film. Navigation is usually limited, even in CD-ROMs.
• No market research has been undertaken on the demand for signing books. In most countries usability studies are rarely undertaken. Production teams report that they often learn through trial and error what is effective.
• The needs of low vision signers are rarely if ever taken into account.
• There are major differences between countries in the production and distribution processes. In some countries there are specialised production teams that can take care of all aspects of the production of a signing book - including translation of texts into sign language, presentation in sign language, recording, editing, and even marketing. In other countries, all expertise is engaged separately.
• There is little continuity in the production of signing books: many companies produce only a few, or stop production after a short time.

In the appendix, the signing books on which we received information are included, as is a list of the publishers. The work undertaken in this workpackage will be continued during the project and updated results will be published in the final report, and regularly on the website.

On the basis of this document several 'unresolved' issues will be selected by the consortium, and prototypes developed for further research (workpackage 5). In workpackage 6 the effectiveness and attractiveness of various production methods and formats will be compared through research with users. In workpackage 7, guidelines will be produced for the production and distribution of signing books.

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Part IV

1. Bibliography
2. Glossary

1. Bibliography

• Ahlgren, I., B. Bergman, 1990
  Preliminaries on Narrative Discourse in Swedish Sign Language. In: S. Prillwitz, T. Vollhaber (eds.): Current Trends in European Sign Language Research. Hamburg, Signum-Press, pp 257-263
• Allsop, L., B. Woll, R. Spence, 1990
  Sign Language Varieties on British Television. In: S. Prillwitz, T. Vollhaber (eds.): Current Trends in European Sign Language Research. Hamburg, Signum-Press, pp. 61-72
• Bamberg, M.G.W., 1987
  The Acquisition of Narratives. Amsterdam, Mouton de Gruyter
• Bragg, B., 1989
  Lessons in Laughter, the Autobiography of a Deaf Actor. Washington, Gallaudet University Press.
• Branson, J, D. Miller, I. Gede Marsaja, 1996
  Everyone here speaks sign language, too: a deaf village in Bali, Indonesia. In: C. Lucas (ed.): Multicultural aspects of sociolinguistics in deaf communities. Washington, Gallaudet University Press, pp. 39-57
• Britton, B.K., A.D. Pellegrini, 1990
  Narrative Thought and Narrative Language. Hillsdale NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
• Bushby, A., 1994
  A-Z of Film, Television and Video Terms. London, Blueprint
• Cohn, J., 1986
  The New Deaf Poetics: Visible Poetry. In: Sign Language Studies 52, page 263-277
• Cristie, K., D.M. Wilkins, 1997
  A Feast for the Eyes: ASL Literacy and ASL Literature. In: Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 2.1 pp 57-59
• Frishberg, N., 1992
  Signers of Tales: The Case for Literary Status of an Unwritten Language. In: S. Wilcox (ed.): Academic Acceptance of American Sign Language, Silver Spring MD, Linstok Press
• Gallaway, C., 1996
  Using Videos with Deaf Children. University of Manchester
• Kyle, J., L. Allsop, 1998
  Sign on Europe; a Research Project on the Status of Sign Language in Europe. . Bristol, Centre for Deaf Studies
• McIntire, M.L., 1986
  Interpreting: The Art of Cross Cultural Mediation. Proceedings of the Ninth National Convention of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Silver Spring MD, RID Publications
• McLean, D., 1997
  BSL on screen: an overview. In: Deafness and Education, 21/3, pp 7-49
• Meulenberg, M., 1994
  Begeleiding van audiovisuele produkties. Alphen a.d. Rijn, Samson
• NDCS, 1994
  Children's Choice: a survey of TV programme choices and subtitling. London, National Deaf Children's Society
• Parasnis, I. (ed.), 1996
  Cultural and Language Diversity and the Deaf Experience. Cambridge University Press
• Rutherford, S., 1985
  The Traditional Group Narrative of Deaf Children. Sign Language Studies 47, pp. 141-156
• Rutherford, S., 1992
  The Culture of American Deaf People. In: S. Wilcox (ed.): Academic Acceptance of American Sign Language, Silver Spring MD, Linstok Press
• SIGNBASE TIDE project 1282, 1996
  CD-ROM Movies: user evaluation. Brussels, European Commission DG XIII
• St Maur, S., 1991
  Writing your own Scripts and Speeches for Corporate Television, Audio-Visual and Live Presentations. Maidenhead, McGraw-Hill Book Company
• Timmerman, D., 1990
  Voorlezen aan jonge dove kinderen. Doctoraal scriptie ATW, UvA Amsterdam
• Van Son, N., M. Verboom, H. van Balkom, 1998
  Toegankelijkheid van tv-programma's; eindrapport van een bronnenonderzoek. Sint Michielsgestel, Instituut voor Doven
• Video for Visually Impaired Learners, 1998
  Edinburgh, Scottish Sensory Centre, Moray House Institute
• Volterra, V., C. Pace, B. Pennacchi, S. Corazza, 1995
  Advanced learning technology for bilingual education of deaf children. American Annals of the Deaf, 140/4, pp. 402-409
• Weisel, A. (Ed.) , 1998
  Proceedings of the 18th International Congress on Education of the Deaf. University of Tel Aviv
• Westera, W., 1995
  Audiovisueel Ontwerpen, Theorie en praktijk. Abcoude, Uitgeverij Uniepers
• Woll, B., 1991
  Sign Language on Television. London: Channel 4
• Report on the Status of Sign Languages. (1993)
  Helsinki, World Federation of the Deaf
• Wylie, D., 1995
  Video is Easy - An Introduction for Teachers. London, Museum of the Moving Image

2. Glossary

Captions
All printed texts that are visible on a screen.

ChromaKey
A method of representing two separate video signals simultaneously on a screen, with complete, partial, or no overlap between the two signals. When used for sign language videos, it is as if the sign language presenter stands in front of a movie-screen on which the other video signal is projected.

Deaf
Deaf - with capital D - is a social description, generally used to refer to those persons who use sign language and identify themselves with the deaf community. Deaf - with a lowercase d - is an audiological description, generally used to refer to all persons who are severely hearing impaired and unable to hear speech - even with hearing aids. In this document, deaf with a lowercase d is used throughout; no distinction is made between deaf and Deaf, because many of the sources that were used for this document do not make that distinction.

Finger-spelling
Finger-spelling is a system in which each letter of the alphabet is represented by a manual configuration. Words can then be spelled out in the air, using the letter configurations. Fingerspelling is most frequently used within sign language to represent proper names and place names.

Gloss
A gloss is a printed word used as a graphic representation of a sign. Glosses are not exact translations of signs. A text printed in glosses is not a complete representation of that text in sign language. Glosses are usually written in capital letters.

International Sign
For international meetings, sign language users may use International Sign. This is not a sign language but a limited communication code that uses a small number of basic iconic, signs and gestures, combined with facial expression..

Picture-in-picture
A method of representing two separate video signals simultaneously on a screen, with no overlap between the two signals. The second signal is shown in a box somewhere on the screen. The box can have any shape (bubble, square, oval) and size, and can be placed anywhere on the screen. The edges of the box can be clearly demarcated or can blend in with the background.

Sign language
The language of Deaf people; one of a number of complete natural languages using movements of hands, body, face and head in space to produce infinite numbers of varied utterances about the here and now, as well as about events distant in space or time. Sign languages are not universal; every country has its own national sign language.

Sign supported speech
In communication with deaf people, signs can be used to support the spoken language. When using sign supported speech, a person communicates through speech using the vocabulary, syntax and pragmatics of the spoken language. Signs - natural signs from the national sign language, and/or artificial signs invented by educators of the deaf - are used simultaneously, following the spoken language word order, to support the reception of the speech. Sign supported speech is not sign language

Subtitle
Lines of printed text on the screen that are direct representations of spoken or signed text in a programme.

Voice-over
Spoken language that is recorded later and added to a production, e.g. a translation of sign language texts that are presented on the screen.