Sharing Interesting Facts - ComparisonsUnit 19ASL III

Sharing Interesting Facts

People find themselves wanting to relay in their daily conversations interesting or amusing information they have heard about or read. Interesting facts is the topic of this unit because these facts can be surprising, unbelievable, educational, and fun - the makings of an interesting conversation.

Sharing Interesting Facts

This unit is designed to help you develop good interpretations of written information. Specific grammar structures are introduced to help you organize the essential information to show the relevance of the information presented. Because of the concise nature of each fact, you need to learn how to analyze the fact to understand what it means. When presenting the fact, you may have to explain, rephrase, demonstrate, or draw conclusions to convey the fact accurately. This lesson will help you be better able to interpret written information into ASL without the interpretation being unduly influenced by English structure. We selected facts that fit into four categories: whole-part, listing, comparisons, and illustrating a fact.

Translating Facts

The facts we will learn about are organized into four categories:

● Whole-Part● Listing● Comparisons● Illustrating a Fact

Each category has a particular grammatical structure. Later, you will use these structures when preparing your own facts to share.

Comparisons▪ When the fact is about comparing two

things (topics), use contrastive structure. ▪ Contrastive structure requires that you

establish one topic in the space to your left and the other in the space to your right.

▪ When signing information about the topic on the left, all signed information about the topic must be signed in the space to the left as well. The same is true about the topic on the right - all information about that topic must be signed in the space to the right.

ComparisonsTo translate a fact that compares two things, you can:

▪name the topics and then pose a rhetorical question

or

▪pose a rhetorical question and then name the topics

Name Topics, Pose Question

Translation Guide1.Name the topics being compared

(use contrastive structure). 2.Pose the question (use rhetorical

question).3.Supply the answer.4.Give an interpretation.

Fact 6: Name Topics, Pose Question

Video notes:

Stefanie begins by naming the two topics “babies of deaf parents” (on her right side) and “babies of hearing parents” (on her left side), then asks the rhetorical question “which learns to speak first?” After she gives the answer by pointing to her right side, she repeats the topic and contrasts it with the other topic. She ends with an interpretation.

Stefanie states that “Babies of deaf parents learn to use sign language about three months earlier than babies of hearing parents learn to speak.”

Pose Question, Name Topics

Translation Guide1.Pose the question (use rhetorical

question).2.Name the topics being compared

(use contrastive structure). 3.Supply the answer.4.Give an interpretation.

Fact 6: Pose Question, Name Topics

Video notes:

When John begins with a question followed by naming the topics, he repeats the rhetorical question before supplying the answer and ends with an interpretation.

Observe how John interprets the same fact, that “Babies of deaf parents learn to use sign language about three months earlier than babies of hearing parents learn to speak,” this time beginning with a rhetorical question.

Supply the AnswerIn supplying the answer to facts in this category, use a comparative phrase to indicate how one is different from the other.

The following examples are shown in the video:

“more than…”“less than.../fewer than…” (as

if the scales have been tipped)

“longer than…”“one occurring before the

other”“two times as much as…”

(You can indicate “three-five times more than…” by using the appropriate number with the sign.)

“six times more than…” (For numbers 6 or higher, use this phrase.)

Give an Interpretation

Sometimes it helps to bring home the point of the fact, by giving your own interpretation of why the fact may be true or what the fact seems to imply. Replay both versions of Fact 6 again and see what interpretations Stefanie and John give.

Fact 6: Give an Interpretation

Video notes:

Stefanie concludes Fact 6 by offering an explanation for why babies of deaf parents are able to communicate earlier. She suggests that using the hands is easier than using voice muscles at a very early age. Stefanie uses the “WHY?” sign to transition into giving her interpretation. This sign is used when the interpretation is an attempt to give an explanation or offer a reason for the fact.

Observe Stefanie’s interpretation at the end, and rehearse this version.

Fact 6: Give an Interpretation

Video notes:

John concludes Fact 6 by commenting on the implications of the fact by saying that we should teach all babies Sign Language if we want them to develop communication earlier. John uses the “MEANS” sign to transition into his interpretation. This sign is used when bringing out the significance or the implication of a fact. The interpretations are often posed as suggestions and sometimes as warnings.

Observe John’s interpretation at the end, and rehearse this version.

Fact 7: Three Times MoreVideo notes:

Stefanie establishes the topics, Burma on her left, Las Vegas on her right, to compare/contrast them. She asks a rhetorical question and then gives the answer by pointing to the space representing the Las Vegas Hilton. She then uses a comparative phrase that further explains how many more rooms the Hilton has than the country of Burma.

Stefanie states “The Las Vegas Hilton has three times as many hotel rooms as the whole country of Burma.”

Rehearse this segment. Remember to use the comparative phrase when explaining the answer.

ReviewThroughout this presentation, you have learned the following:

Translation Guide for Comparisons:1a. Name the topics being compared (use contrastive structure). 2a. Pose a question (use rhetorical question). or1b. Pose a question (use rhetorical question). 2b. Name the topics being compared (use contrastive structure).

3. Supply an answer.

4. Give interpretation by addressing either▪why it is true▪what should be done.