Adverbial Morphemes in Tactile ASL - Gallaudet University

PDE – Steven D. Collins
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
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belief that this dialect of ASL, that Deaf-Blind people use naturally, will provide a far superior
means for interpreters and other sighted ASL signers to engage in conversations with Deaf-Blind
individuals rather than asking Deaf-Blind people to decode English influenced “word-for-word”
signing or fingerspelling of full English sentences as a means of tactile communication.
This paper strongly recommends that interpreters who work with deaf-blind consumers
must be aware of the linguistic forms described here. The process of interpreting should include
the use of prolonged holds, tension in the hands and additional lexical items in order to match the
language used by Deaf-Blind people. Additionally, professionals in the field, such as educators,
need to include training in the Tactile ASL dialect and interpreter training programs should be
enhanced to include this variation, as well.
Finally, based on the findings shown here, further study of Tactile ASL communication
should be conducted to gain insight into other linguistic adaptations used in Tactile ASL.
Incorporating the techniques demonstrated in the findings will contribute greatly to breaking
down the barriers to communication for Deaf-Blind persons.
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