20
Keni
Anypoemis not just about themeaningof thewords, but alsoabout somemusical qualityof thelanguage. Inahearing poemthis musical qualityis perceivedbythe ear, ina Sign poemit is perceivedbytheeye. Signhas tempo, shape, space and movement (these qualities can be present in spoken language too but are not visible). Forminhearingpoems is dictatedbysound–itisheard, forexample, instresspatterns, inthe rhythmof the words, inrhyme. InSign, this formis showninthe‘assonance’ and‘dissonance’ of handshapes, the flowofmovementbetweenthetwohands,therelation between thehandsetc. InThe Signs of Language byKlimaandBellugi, theauthors statethat‘whatisspecialaboutverse isa heightenedawareness of linguisticphenomenaas linguisticphenomena’. This holds true for hearingandSignpoems. Inart Sign, the signs are describedas ‘morefastidious’ where‘thevisual motivationof eachsignisemphasised to createastrongerimagerybut also to drawattentiontotheformof thesignitself’. Inadditiontoallthis, thepoetwillselectsignsandperform them in such a way as to forma visual three-dimensional designinspace. Thisiscalled‘superstructure’ andmightmost usefullybecomparedtomelodyinasongassomethingdistinct fromthewordsbutaddinganextradimension. Thereis, therefore, achoreographytoSignpoetrywherethe naturalphysicalityof thelanguage is harnessedandaugmented toproduce‘forminmovement’. Thistakesthelanguageaway frombeingmerelya methodof communicationandtowards performanceart. Insummary, there is clearly a very different aesthetic in Signpoetrythaninhearingpoetrywhichreflects theunique wayinwhichthose whose primarylanguage is visuo-spatial perceive and‘process’ the world. The full appreciationof a ‘visual music’ isunlikelytobepossibleforahearingaudience orfornon-nativesigners. Though‘artSign’ differssomewhatfromeverydaySign, itis likely that it remains comprehensible to a deaf or native
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Barnes & Noble
Blackwell's
Find out more information on this title from the publisher.
Sign in with your Exact Editions account for full access.
Subscriptions are available for purchase in our shop.
Purchase multi-user, IP-authenticated access for your institution.
You have no current subscriptions in your account.
Would you like to explore the titles in our collection?
You have no collections in your account.
Would you like to view your available titles?