Documentation:RelLex/Aboriginal Sign Languages of the Americas and Australia: Volumes I and II
Aboriginal Sign Languages of the Americas and Australia: Volumes I and II
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Language Name
General North American and Australian Sign Languages. The dictionary in Volume 1 appears to be specifically of Plains Sign Language.
Alternate Language Names
Alternatives names for Plains Sign Language include: Plains Indian Sign Language, Hand Talk, Plains Sign Talk, and First Nation Sign Language. It is also sometimes referred to by the acronyms PISL or PSL.
Region
North America (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Northwest Territories, Canada; Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana, United States; and Northern Mexico).
Who
D. Jean Umiker-Sebeok; Thomas A. Seboek (Editors).
Others Involved
Richard I. Dodge, Franz Boas, Juliet L. Axtell, William H. Wassell, John Maclean, H.L. Scott, J. Lee Humfreville, James A. Teit, Walter P. Webb, John P. Harrington, Robert Hofsinde, Carolyn Thomas Foreman, Jerell R. Walker, A.L. Kroeber, C. F. Voegelin, Magnus Ljung, and Allan Ross Taylor (Authors of North American sections). Colonel Garrick Mallery (author of historical work included in Volume 1)
Publishing Information
Published 1978. Originally published by Plenum Press, New York. Later published by Springer Science+Business Media, New York.
Separated into Volume 1 (North America–Classic Comparative Perspectives) and Volume 2 (The Americas and Australia).
How People are Cited
People are cited throughout the resource in the Introduction, and in the main body of the text. This resource–which comes from previously published and unpublished materials–cites the authors of included materials, but does not appear cite any language consultants.
How Information is Cited
References to previous sources are included in the Acknowledgments section, and in the References section.
Where is Information Coming from
This dictionary includes reprinted articles by Garrick Mallery, which are referenced in the Acknowledgments section and include: Introduction to the Study of Sign Language among the North American Indians as Illustrating the Gesture Speech of Mankind (1880), A Collection of Gesture-Signs and Signals of the North American Indians with Some Comparisons (1880), and The gesture speech of man (1881).
Many other published and unpublished papers have been included and cited, and are listed in the References section (immediately following the Introduction).
Tools and Framework used
This resource is available as a physical or a digital book.
Access
The physical and digital books are available through libraries. Volume 1 can be purchased as a softcover book from the publisher for $54.99 USD (as of May 2023).
Included Languages and Directionality
Multiple sign languages are included. The dictionary section by Colonel Garrick Mallery in Volume 1 is English to sign language (likely Plains Sign Language)
Dialects Included
Includes sign language from Ute, Ojibwa, Plains, Dakota, Omaha and others.
Type of Dictionary
This is a multilingual, mono-directional sign language dictionary.
How are Entries Organised
The dictionary portion of this resource is titled A Collection of Gesture-Signs of the North American Indians, and begins on page 79. The entries are organized alphabetically with English headwords, followed by a written description of the sign shape and gesture.
Other Features
| Feature | Included | More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Guide to use and understand | ✅ | |
| Audio | ❌ | |
| Images | ❌ | |
| Example phrases | ❌ | |
| Speakers marked | ❌ | |
| Dialects marked | ❌ |
Other Notes
This resource consists of many previously published and unpublished papers on sign languages. In the Organization of the Book section on page xxix it is noted that "papers were selected according to the additional criterion that they provide insight into the historical development and variety of approaches to many other aspects of aboriginal sign languages, from their geographical distribution to the scope of their expression in the everyday and ceremonial life of the societies in which they are practiced".
External Links
Reference on WorldCat: https://www.worldcat.org/title/3650174
Purchase Volume 1 from Springer: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-4684-2409-6