Bridging the Gap: Enriching Nigerian Sign Language for Emerging STEM Concepts Through Cultural Imagery
Streaming Media
Location
Gallaudet University - JSAC Multipurpose Room
Start Date
2-3-2024 2:00 PM
End Date
2-3-2024 2:30 PM
Description
Communicating complex scientific ideas effectively in sign language relies on descriptive vocabularies that provide precision while resonating with audiences’ cultural grounding. As STEM fields rapidly advance, signed lexicons often lag behind and technical sign language struggles to relay unfamiliar concepts clearly. This poses barriers to Deaf Nigerian students accessing the latest STEM education. Drawing from interpreter best practices, this presentation demonstrates how incorporating visual imagery from indigenous cultures can expand Nigerian Sign Language interpretations to better contextualize emerging STEM topics. Strategies include: handshapes and gestures depicting cultural metaphors; name-signs rhyming English terms via iconic links; framing processes through chronological storyscapes. To maximize perceptual meaning-making, examples will localize biological, physicochemical and technological phenomena through visual embeddings within contexts like maps, transactions, activities sourced from Nigerian ecological and architectural settings.
Recommended Citation
Uwajeh, Veronica, "Bridging the Gap: Enriching Nigerian Sign Language for Emerging STEM Concepts Through Cultural Imagery" (2024). Global Year of STEM Sign Language. 10.
https://ida.gallaudet.edu/global_STEM_signlanguage/STEM_signlanguagesummit/day_1/10
Bridging the Gap: Enriching Nigerian Sign Language for Emerging STEM Concepts Through Cultural Imagery
Gallaudet University - JSAC Multipurpose Room
Communicating complex scientific ideas effectively in sign language relies on descriptive vocabularies that provide precision while resonating with audiences’ cultural grounding. As STEM fields rapidly advance, signed lexicons often lag behind and technical sign language struggles to relay unfamiliar concepts clearly. This poses barriers to Deaf Nigerian students accessing the latest STEM education. Drawing from interpreter best practices, this presentation demonstrates how incorporating visual imagery from indigenous cultures can expand Nigerian Sign Language interpretations to better contextualize emerging STEM topics. Strategies include: handshapes and gestures depicting cultural metaphors; name-signs rhyming English terms via iconic links; framing processes through chronological storyscapes. To maximize perceptual meaning-making, examples will localize biological, physicochemical and technological phenomena through visual embeddings within contexts like maps, transactions, activities sourced from Nigerian ecological and architectural settings.
