ASL: Holocaust
The concept of "Holocaust" can be signed using a combination of:
[context]+DESTROY+[optional but likely: mouth morpheme]
-- wherein the topic of Jews and/or Judaism has been introduced into the
conversation and the word "Holocaust" may or may not be partially
mouthed.
Notes:
Jonathan Deleon writes:
"Many of the Gallaudet students that I meet here in D.C. suggest I use the sign
for 'destroy.'" (Deleon, 2019)
Reference:
Deleon, Jonathan, (2019) "My Appreciation & Recommendation" Personal
correspondence to William G. Vicars, Ed.D., Received, Thu, Nov 14, 2019.
11/15/2019
Dear Dr. Vicars,
Thank you for the update and information, the webpage looks great.
Please know that your resources are regularly recommended in the D.C. ASL
student community. Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Deleon,
Visitor Services Engagement Representative
Museum Programs
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Holocaust can be signed by using the sign DESTROY. (Holocaust, 2013)
Reference:
Holocaust (Sep 12, 2013) JDMM, Youtube clip.
Retrieved, 11/14/2019 from https://youtu.be/qgWCxjqrncg (unlisted)
Protologism:
Below is a "protologism" for a specific sign for "Holocaust." A
progologism is not the same as an established sign. It is more of a
proposal or an idea for a sign. The goal of this progologism is NOT to make up a
sign for Holocaust but to consider how it is currently being signed (relying on a
combination of context and the sign for DESTROY) and project (forecast) the likely
evolution of the existing sign process (of discussing Jews then signing DESTROY)
if it were to used as often as more common compounds. (For example, consider the
evolution of the concepts: WHY-NOT and KNOW-THAT.)
Imagine if you had to sign Holocaust thousands of times by combining the sign
JEW and DESTROY? What would the sign look like after hundreds of repetitions?
What sort of movement and contact reduction would the signs undergo as they
morph into "one sign?" What if you were an interpreter at a Holocaust site and
had to do the sign frequently and at high speed to keep up with the spoken tour?
What would the be the resulting sign over time?
Protologism: Holocaust:
Also see: "Crying Hands: The Deaf Experience
Under Nazi Oppression"
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