YouTube Videos... "Signalongs" ?
There are many videos on YouTube that as an interpreting student, leave me less than satisfied to say the least and I will tell you why. First of all, the types of videos I am speaking to include those of hearing people producing "interpretation" of songs and those where a non Deaf person is "teaching" ASL. Excellent, song interpretations are beautiful, and they allow Deaf individuals to enjoy music and art. The issue at hand lies in who, why and how these videos are being produced. Before I name names I want to make it clear that I personally think that interpreting videos for music are wonderful. However, there are some requirements I believe should be met.
First, in my opinion and experience in the Deaf community the person conducting the interpretation should have professional training in an Interpreting Training Program. For an example of a true ASL interpreted song check this out: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAg6N0lO0_4gtU-v5U8_vfw. Actual training provided by a Deaf Professional. Second, the person should be using true ASL (or other visual language, ex: British Sign Language.) Often in these videos you will see what looks to be a professional, however when you are a Deaf native user of the language, student or trained professional of the language it is easy to see the mistakes, additions (adding information) and omissions (dropping information) and often just blatantly made up signs. Thirdly, under no circumstances should the individual be making profit from these videos. Yes, there are a few who collect money for making these song interpretation videos. Finally, the person conducting this video should have a clear understanding of who the target audience is and give recognition to their teachers or professors. An example of a couple who are popular in the Deaf community but for somewhat negative reasons are Tina & Paul: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2tp97rqzFs An issue raised by some Deaf individuals is that non Deaf singers are creating these videos for the entertainment of other non deaf individuals. Not to say that non deaf people are not allowed to be interested in ASL, but sometimes when one is uneducated about ASL they assume what they are seeing is proper ASL or simply are entertained. ASL is always in a fragile state as it's native users have fought for the rights to their language since its invention.
Interpreters work with Deaf people to provide communication and an equal ground to said communication. Most of the videos about songs are geared towards the hearing for their visual and auditory pleasure. They are in my opinion "watered down," so to speak, and that is absolutely damaging to the language, and culture. On the one hand, yes these individuals are bringing attention to the language, but is usually ends there. Non Deaf folks will watch these videos and comment on how beautiful the language is to watch and how entertaining it is but then leave it alone and not even recognize the greater issues.
Additionally to these signed song videos, there is a whole other issue. There are far too many videos of non Deaf people "teaching" American Sing Language. This raises an issue because Language is precious and even more so to the Deaf. Deaf people and non Deaf ally's have fought many years for the rights of ASL and its actuality. It is an important part of Deaf culture as well. The Guidelines for Hiring ASL Instructors expects professional training and education to teach ASL. They provide a basic checklist on their website that looks something like this :
- Does the potential teacher hold a degree in American Sign Language or Deaf Studies from a college or university?
- Does the potential teacher hold a certification from the ASLTA?
- Is the potential teacher a member of a local, state, regional or national chapter of ASLTA?
- Does the potential instructor have evidence of fluency in ASL?
- Has the potential instructor known and used ASL for a minimum of 5 years?
- Does the potential instructor have a college degree?
You can view the full descriptions here: http://www.aslta.org/resources/guidelines-for-hiring-asl-teachers/
For a non Deaf professionals view: See below!