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Article published In: Macro and micro-social variation in Asia-Pacific sign languages
Edited by Nick Palfreyman
[Asia-Pacific Language Variation 6:1] 2020
► pp. 13–52

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“Switching caps”

Two ways of communicating in sign in the Port Moresby deaf community, Papua New Guinea

 | Australian National University
Published online: 29 July 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aplv.19010.ree
Abstract
Most bilingualism and translanguaging studies focus on spoken language; less is known about how people use two or more ways of signing. Here, I take steps towards redressing this imbalance, presenting a case study of signed language in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The study’s methodology is participant observation and analysis of conversational recordings between deaf signers. The Port Moresby deaf community uses two ways of signing: sign language and culture. sign language is around 30 years old, and its lexicon is drawn largely from Australasian Signed English. In contrast, culture – which is as old as each individual user – is characterised by signs of local origin, abundant depiction, and considerable individual variation. Despite sign language’s young age, its users have innovated a metalinguistic sign (switch-caps) to describe switching between ways of communicating. To conclude, I discuss how the Port Moresby situation challenges both the bilingualism and translanguaging approaches.
Abstract (Australian Sign Language)
Abstract (Tok Pisin)
Planti ol stadi bilong ol manmeri husat i save long tupela tokples, wantaim ol stadi bilong pasin bilong miksim tupela o tripela we bilong toktok, ol i wok long skelim hau ol dispela lain i save toktok long maus. Tasol yumi nogat gutpela save long pasin bilong ol manmeri i save toktok long eksen – hau ol i save wokim eksen long tupela o tripela kain tok-eksen? Em i dispela samting mi laik rait long en. Mi bai givim wanpela stori bilong wanpela eksen-tok ples (tok-eksen) long Port Moresby. Taim mi bin wok long stadi long dispela tok-eksen, mi bin stap na eksenim wantaim ol yaupas lain. Mi bin kisim eksen bilong ol long kemera, na bihain mi lukluk long dispela piksa na stadi long eksen bilong ol taim ol i bin stori wantaim narapela.
Ol yaupas lain bilong Port Moresby ol i save long tupela we bilong eksenim. Nem bilong dispela tupela we em i sign language (tok-eksen bilong PNG) wantaim culture (tok-eksen bilong ples). Tok-eksen bilong PNG em i gat 30 krismas, na em i bihainim planti eksen bilong Australasian Signed English. Tok-eksen bilong ples em i narapela kain tok-eksen: wanwan yaupas man o meri i bin mekim, na em i kamap. Na olsem na bai yu lukim, planti eksen bilong dispela tok i bin kirap long kainkain ples (wankain olsem ol tokples), planti taim ol bai wokim liklik drama, na tu, wanwan manmeri husat i save long dispela tok-eksen em bai tanim liklik eksen bilong ol. Maski Tok-eksen bilong PNG em i wanpela yangpela tok-eksen, ol yaupas lain husat i save long en, ol i kamapim wanpela kain eksen (senis-kep) long makim wanem taim ol i laik kalap long narapela tok-eksen. Mi stori long hau dispela kain pasin bilong toktok long eksen long Port Moresby i wok long salensim tupela we bilong stadi toktok: stadi bilong ol lain i save long tupela tokples, wantaim stadi bilong pasin bilong miksim tupela o tripela we bilong toktok.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Two ways of communicating
  • 3.Studies of how signers use different ways of communicating
  • 4.The Port Moresby deaf community
  • 5.Methodology
  • 6.sign language and culture: Emic perspectives, acquisition pathways and social circumstances of use
  • 7.sign language and culture: Lexica and structure
  • 8.‘Switching caps’: A metalinguistic sign
  • 9.‘Switching caps’ in practice
  • 10.The Moresby situation compared to other bilingual sign situations
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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