ASL Literature
Byrne
Decent Living . Each narrative has been divided into structural units and analyzed to show how both narratives conform to the tradition of oral literature . ( p . 155 )
Thanks to video technology , the narratives included in the ASL Literature Series were broken down into lines , stanzas , and other parts so that they could be better studied in a classroom where ASL is taught as a foreign language . Students are now able to locate a particular part of the narrative based on the use of stanza numbers and view it again for comprehension or where a particular event occurs that is critical to answering a literary question ( S . Supalla & Bahan , 1994a ; 1994b ). Both videotaped narratives Bird of a Different Feather and For a Decent Living allow students to view them at their convenience without having to see the performers in a live performance , for example .
The narratives for the ASL Literature Series are single-authored works ( see Rose , 1994 for further discussion on the emergence of the authorship concept for ASL as a non-written language ). Bahan created the first narrative while Sam Supalla authored the second narrative . Since its release in 1994 , the ASL Literature Series enjoys widespread circulation among the ASL and Deaf Studies programs that purchase it for use in the classroom . The description of these narratives in The Super Store of Books , Media and Equipment for the Deaf ( 2016-2017 ) is as follows :
“ Bird of a Different Feather is about a bird born into a family of eagles . The response to this family member parallels the experiences of many deaf children born into hearing families ” ( p . 36 ).
“ For a Decent Living relates the challenges and adventures of a deaf boy who leaves his hearing family in search of his own identity as a deaf person ” ( p . 36 ).
Based on the wording above , Bahan ’ s narrative as an allegorical fable would be correct in describing such work . S . Supalla ’ s work is best characterized as a novella . Deaf identity is one theme among many in ASL literature . Bahan and S . Supalla ’ s narratives incorporate the fact that a vast majority of deaf children are born to hearing parents who do not know signed language ( at least initially ; e . g ., Lederberg , Schick , & Spencer , 2013 ). While some deaf children are born to deaf parents who use ASL and are raised in the deaf community , they are few in proportion . The majority of deaf children have to find their own ways of assimilating into the deaf community ( Erting & Kuntze , 2008 ). Understandably , the unique and complicated identity development experiences so prevalent for deaf people can make a good story .
At the same time , not all single-authored works are tied to ASL literature . There are works that are folkloristic or community-owned with no known source of their origins ( Bahan , 1992 , 2006 ; Krentz , 2006 ; Rose , 1994 ). Frequently , these works were created and shared at the schools for the deaf , at banquets and other organized events that the deaf community hosted , and in homes ( Peters , 2000 ). These works were narrated to entertain and instruct the young generation and to pass on the values and perspectives that deaf people possess . The enduring power of folklore centers on its amusement and educative function for the deaf community , and it can be seen as a mirror of deaf culture ( Rutherford , 1993 ). A well-known example is the story of The Hitchhiker , which involves a driver who was deaf and picked up a hearing hitchhiker . The hearing hitchhiker was not only dumbfounded at the fact that a deaf person could drive , but also tried to trick him with something , but was outsmarted at the end . The noted discrimination associated with how deaf people should not drive was effectively addressed in the folklore , and deaf individuals have come
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