STEREOTYPE AS A KEY TO THE LINGUISTIC WORLDVIEW OF THE CZECH DEAF: PART 3
Let us now commence the last, third part,
which should be most closely related to sign languages.
From time to time, I will ask Marie
to show us some signs, so you will also see something from CzSL.
The third part will also show what motivated me to
to call my talk
"Stereotype as a Key to the Linguistic Worldview of the Czech Deaf".
Let me refer here to the well-known paper
by Phillis Wilcox from 2004,
whose title also features the "key".
You can see the bibliographic entry at the bottom.
Let me at least mention her in this way to make her somewhat present here.
I liked the fictionalized manner in which the treatise was written.
It features a Deaf man named Jose.
At the very beginning, Jose takes a key out of his trousers pocket.
He places the key to his forehead
and turns it in an unlocking motion.
The author then explains that this physical act
reveals the rich cognitive structure of
metaphors and metonymies in the American Sign Language,
which are, in a certain way, linked to thinking and cognitivity in general,
to memory, learning etc.
I googled up some pictures
which could give us an idea about it
and which could show us that this is possible in any...
Or better to say that it is also possible in the art code,
that this metaphor may be represented not only in spoken languages,
not only in sign languages but also e.g. in various kinds of art.
If Phyllis Wilcox was present here,
she would certainly speak about double mapping,
namely about iconic-metaphoric mapping and iconic-metonymic mapping.
This is a crucial topic in the cognitive linguistics of SL.
I'd also like to show the importance of the topic in relation to stereotypes
and that it is especially by means of the iconic-metonymic mapping
that stereotypes are formed.
As for metaphors, let us set them aside for today
because there are too many issues at once
and we should have some particular focus.
On the Internet I also found other pictures, showing that
the scenario of unlocking and the key may be
represented in different context.
I.e. that we can pretend unlocking our heads,
but also unlocking our hearts
or, in case of spoken language users, unlocking or locking our mouths.
This shows that all these are combinations
of iconically represented metaphors and metonymies.
"Unlocking", "opening" is a repository
which is important in connection with certain processes
in our minds, emotions,
in communication etc.
I.e. in domains so abstract that
they do not allow us to experience them in a concrete, sensory manner.
Consequently, we need other domains,
e.g. the unlocking, opening (in the direct sense of the word),
to be able to speak about the abstract ones.
I.e. the unlocking and opening in the sense of
engaging the cognitive structure, recalling something,
of having and idea, getting something going,
of a mind etc. is a metaphor.
Then there is the metonymic element,
i.e. that the unlocking, opening takes place in the head area.
Because as we know, our heads store our brains
and this is implied in a certain way even in a common, naive worldview.
And we link the cognitivity-related metaphors with the head,
be it in pictures,
i.e. that the lock or key is placed to the head,
or in the sign, the signs being shown at the head position.
Phyllis Wilcox shows many of these cognitivity-related metaphors in ASL.
The same applies for metonymies.
We have also Czech works at our disposal
dealing with the metaphors of thinking,
of cognitivity, memory, learning in CzSL.
So this works in spoken languages, too,
and is probably something shared, universal.
The possibility to "unlock" the heart refers to another metonymy,
one connected with feelings, emotions as this is what hearts are connected with.
Or, alternatively, with love.
This is clearly the case of partner love, erotic love.
Then there is the mouth, with the metonymical link to speaking.
The following reflections should thus relate to the methods of
how stereotypes are constructed in SL and language in general,
how meaning in SL and language in general is expanded, transferred.
The double-mapping in SL will then be covered
based on examples of
stereotypes of well-known personalities
and name signs in CzSL.
As I said, I would now ask Marie Basovníková to assist with demonstration
and this is the moment when she will demonstrate
the sign representing the "key" in CzSL.
This is what the sign "key" looks like.
We can also use the form which omits the passive hand,
a single-handed sign.
I will deal with the example of the key
in a completely different spirit than professor Wilcox did.
What caught my attention is the sign for "St. Peter".
-This is what Marie is showing us now. -This is what the sign looks like.
You can see that the sign for "key" is present there.
The next one is the name sign for "Peter".
This is the sign for everybody named "Peter".
Thank you for now.
As you can see,
"St. Peter" is a sign
employing iconic-metonymic mapping.
The metonymy lies in the fact
that St. Peter's attribute, i.e. the key,
represents the entire personality of St. Peter.
St. Peter was the first Roman bishop.
A lot can be read about him in Gospels.
He occurs in Christ's numerous stories.
E.g. Christ tells him: "You are the rock upon which I will build the Church."
This is because the name Peter refers to the Greek word for "rock".
The Christ also tells Peter:
"You are a fisherman but you will be a fisherman of people."
I.e. another aspect in connection with Peter might be standing out:
His being a fisherman.
Another attribute which could be taken into account in the sign is a "cock".
You can see that it is portrayed in the third picture.
This is because, as per the Gospels, Peter betrayed Christ three times
before the crowing of a cock.
And this can occurs in certain representations.
But the CzSL opted for the attribute of key.
You can see that it is not only the CzSL but also iconography of the saints.
By looking into an encyclopedia at pictorial representations of st. Peter,
we would most probably see that they always feature the key.
I found three pictures and you can see the key in all of them.
Peter carries the key in his capacity of the celestial warden.
I.e. it is his attribute, it is iconic-metonymic mapping.
And there is also one more transfer:
Whoever bears this saint's name,
the sign for them is the "key".
This is another transfer, another case of mapping.
The sign for "Peter" in CzSL is a very old one.
There is a group of the so-called old Christian signs
to designate the saints.
These are signs from the period
in which the Deaf studied primarily religion.
And when their educators, in particular nuns,
narrated the stories to them,
the saints were given names on the basis of their most significant attributes.
We will come back to this later.
I decided to
demonstrate the method of how stereotypes are constructed
on signs for well-known, prominent personalities in CzSL.
I did a brief research on the given topic.
And let me show you an even smaller sample of the examples.
Not for you to learn certain CzSL signs
but rather for methodological reasons, i.e. to show you the method.
These are known matters, employed also in construction of name signs.
When we were introducing ourselves, many of you showed your name sign.
We know that they are also motivated by the bearer's marked physical attributes,
that it can be e.g. the following:
Would Marie be so kind and show us again?
That it can be e.g. a moustache, a beard.
Lenin...
Lenin... Stalin...
This is what the sign for Lenin looks like.
Stalin...
Here is another name sign, this time for Stalin, referring to the moustache.
And Hitler...
This is what the name sign for Hitler looks like.
It refers not only to the moustache but also to the fascist salute.
We can see here that this will fit into the second group that I drafted,
one related to the typical scenarios.
As you can see, this is again the case of iconic-metonymic mapping.
One noticeable part represents the entire person.
I'd also like to point out the name sign for John Amos Comenius: a beard.
This is what the name sign "Comenius" looks like.
There is also this sign, based on the hat.
We keep learning new things.
Just for our colleagues: The man in question is portrayed in the picture.
-John Amos Comenius. -The teacher of nations.
These are the two options of how to use his name sign.
The name sign for Albert Einstein will also have two variants.
Originally, I thought his name sign would reflect his voluptuous hair.
That is what I was told by some Deaf but Marie...
This is the first option.
And the second option...
And this is the second option.
This is based on his tongue. You surely know the famed "stuck-out tongue" photo.
Hence the sign.
This is very interesting because
the photo is perhaps better known than anything else about Einstein.
Possibly, I'm not sure.
But the hair is very striking and, when searching in Google Pics
for Albert Einstein, these three pictures will pop up.
The child with a mask of Albert Einstein also springs up.
And we are able to decipher that someone disguised it to look like Einstein.
I.e. the issue in question are generally perceived noticeable features.
The last name sign of this circle is one for
the Czech commander Jan Žižka.
Jan Žižka... Let me go back one step...
-Žižka was born in 1360... -Excuse me: This is his name sign.
This is what his name sign looks like.
I.e. the eye patch.
This commander lived at the turn of the 13th and 14th century.
He was a Hussite commander.
What is best known about him, even for small children, is his eye patch.
I'd also like to point out the visually accessible codes here.
Žižka's statue, or any picture of him,
must include this attribute.
The covered eye, the eye patch.
Excuse me, there is a request from among the audience.
Can we repeat his name or show it on the slide?
This is for our foreign audience.
-Thank you. -I am sorry, I have not taken this into account.
There is also an old Czech film dealing with the Hussite wars.
Here we can see the actor playing Žižka.
He must have the indispensable eye patch.
And this is also present in sign languages.
So much for the first sphere, i.e. striking features of appearance
borne by the given personalities which we label with the name signs.
The second column or "drawer":
It contains the cases of signs motivated by an important event,
activity or behaviour of a certain personality.
A scenario of the personality's life story is evoked in it.
And a part of the scenario is something featuring in the sign.
As for the categorization,
it is not possible to say: This is one group, this is another one.
There is a large transition zone.
I.e. we wouldn't know how to classify many signs as they are borderline cases.
This might be the case of the sign for St. Peter.
Now I'd like to bring back the signs for the saints. They will be shown by Marie.
On the one hand, there are the "key" and "unlocking" signs for St. Peter.
-St. Peter is shown in this way. -He is unlocking.
-Here we can see the double-handed sign for Stephen. -Yes, St. Stephen.
St. Stephen was a saint who was stoned to death.
I.e. the sign represents the stones falling on his chest.
The next one is the Czech saint Ludmila.
She was St. Wenceslas' grandmother.
She was strangled to death.
And here is the sign for Ludmila.
The sign for Ludmila reflects a tying movement under the throat.
She was strangled with a headscarf.
So this is St. Ludmila.
And the last sign, stabbing with a lance, representing St. George.
This is what the sign for St. George looks like.
All this is iconic-metonymic mapping.
You can see that the signs are dynamic, forming a part or a given saint's story.
Naturally, this kind of motivation is not employed only in case of saints.
There is e.g. the sign for Václav Havel.
Marie will demonstrate it to us.
-Václav Havel. -This is the sign for Václav Havel.
It refers to his known gesture.
One which was very notable in November 1989 as well as later.
So much for the second type.
Let me ask Marie to stay here for now.
The third type are calques.
Here the motivation is,
one may say, arbitrary.
Or more precisely, the relationship of how the sign is shown and of its bearer
is arbitrary. The sign is motivated by the meaning of the appellative component
of the proper noun in Czech.
E.g. the sign for our famous composer Bedřich Smetana is one for "cream".
-Smetana, in English "cream". -This is what the sign looks like.
It stands for "cream", which is used e.g. with coffee.
The next one is Jan Hus, a historical Czech figure. His sign reflects...
Sorry, let us wait for translation for a while.
Thank you, we might continue now.
-And the sign for Hus corresponds to the one for "goose". -This is the sign.
It looks like the sign for the animal called "goose".
For us, for Czech speakers, it is something very peculiar,
funny as it has nothing in common with the given personality.
When defining a stereotype, we will consider these somewhat marginal, too.
You will see that similar conclusions were drawn by my colleagues,
especially Lucie Břinková for national stereotypes.
Her materials will be much more elaborated.
Let us thank Marie now.
What remains are only Conclusion and Food for Thought.
The question is: Which of the discussed issues are of rather general validity?
The construction of meaning in sign languages has been discussed here.
Perhaps in languages in general as the the process is similar in spoken ones.
Only the iconicity is not present so much.
And the question arose
whether it can say something
about how stereotypes in sign languages work.
As we saw, the stereotypes are mainly constructed in the metonymical manner.
A part or an aspect represents the whole
of what is being expressed, of the personality,
i.e. one of his or her features or a part of his or her life story.
And the metaphor is employed far less frequently.
Why this is the case is a debatable issue.
Let me remind you of what can be considered a metaphor:
As mentioned, there are e.g. synonymous expressive designations for "gypsies":
Kofola (dark beverage), briketa (literally: "briquette"),
i.e. it is a black object based on similarity.
A briquette, the object, is black.
The meaning is figurative, it is a metaphor.
This is perhaps less common in sign languages
but I believe it could also be discovered in them.
We have almost come to a close now but this only refers to the morning block
as our theme of stereotypes continues.
There will be 3 special presentations on stereotypes and their construction:
On national stereotypes in sign languages,
on stereotypes connected with the hearing-Deaf opposition,
on the stereotype of a hearing person in CzSL and various other sign languages.
And, lastly, on stereotypes, or prototypes, connected with colours,
in order to variegate our research.
So I believe we will learn a lot of interesting information here.
I am looking forward to the presentations very much.
I've already seen them and find them entertaining.
I am also looking forward to meeting with the workshops participants here
after the workshops take place because they should produce outputs interesting
from the comparative perspective.
I will be looking forward to your comparative research findings.
This is where today's morning programme and my talk come to an end.
Thank you for your attention.