Signing in Fourteen Languages [Hardcover]

Claude O. Proctor Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1579120997 | ISBN-13: 978-1579120993 | Publication Date: March 1, 2000 | Edition: 1

Signing in Fourteen Languages is an invaluable guide to mastering and communicating in American Sign Language around the globe.

A detailed line drawing clearly indicates how to sign each word and is accompanied by the same word translated into the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. A convenient cross-indexing feature makes it easy to find the appropriate sign language gesture using any of the languages without having to translate the word. Finger-spelling charts for both American Sign Language and International Sign Language enable readers to spell out uncommon words and names.

With the rapid advances in communication and transportation technology the world is becoming smaller and more interconnected, and Signing in Fourteen Languages advances the cause allowing people from around the world to communicate with the hearing impaired. It is an easy-to-use and indispensable reference work--unique in its breadth of world languages--for businesses, libraries, international organizations, language training centers, government agencies and anyone who is hearing impaired or who interacts with the hearing impaired.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Signing in Fourteen Languages is an invaluable guide to mastering and communicating in American Sign Language around the globe.

A detailed line drawing clearly indicates how to sign each word and is accompanied by the same word translated into the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. A convenient cross-indexing feature makes it easy to find the appropriate sign language gesture using any of the languages without having to translate the word. Finger-spelling charts for both American Sign Language and International Sign Language enable readers to spell out uncommon words and names.

With the rapid advances in communication and transportation technology the world is becoming smaller and more interconnected, and Signing in Fourteen Languages advances the cause allowing people from around the world to communicate with the hearing impaired. It is an easy-to-use and indispensable reference work--unique in its breadth of world languages--for businesses, libraries, international organizations, language training centers, government agencies and anyone who is hearing impaired or who interacts with the hearing impaired.

From the Back Cover

Signing in Fourteen Languages is an invaluable guide to communicating around the world with American Sign Language. Organized in a straightforward, easy-to-use dictionary format, this resource is one of the most comprehensive American Sign Language dictionaries available.

Signing in Fourteen Languages contains 2,500 words organized in alphabetical order

Every word appears in American Sign Language as well as Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Swedish

Finger-spelling charts for both American Sign Language and International Sign Language are included

Romanized spellings are given for the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian words in each entry, along with the traditional non-Roman writing systems of these languages

Contains a convenient cross-indexing feature for each dictionary entry so you can find the sign you need using any of the languages

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 767 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; 1 edition (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579120997
• ISBN-13: 978-1579120993
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,171,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is helpful in the classroom., September 13, 2003

By 

C. Ring (Iowa, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Signing in Fourteen Languages (Hardcover)

This book has helped my Mexican hard of hearing student. She can look up the spanish word in the back of the book, and get the English word and sign at the same time. It is a wonderful reference to have.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Totally useless in other countrries other than America or maybe France, November 23, 2005

By 

Cat "Cat" (Palm City, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Signing in Fourteen Languages (Hardcover)

The only place that this book might help is in America or maybe France. Each country has it's own sign language. Did you know that England has a totally different sign language and American Sign Language did not come from there?. American Sign Language actually originated in France. You need to do more research when you decide to publish a book that is absolutely useless and, is an affront to the Deaf(Not! hearing impaired). This comment comes from a hearing person that works with the Deaf. I was all excited when I saw the title I mistakenly thought this book was going to contain signs from fourteen countries. Now that would have been an accurate book that I would have been happy to have purchased.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this book deserves respect, January 17, 2009

By 

I. Wood (Fairbanks, AK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Signing in Fourteen Languages (Hardcover)

I am sorry to see that this volume has gotten such poor reviews. Yes, the title may be misleading and that should be corrected. However if you read the product description you realize that it is not a book of fourteen sign languages (reason dictates that such a volume would be impossibly unwieldy). It is a book of fourteen spoken languages, all keyed to the American Sign Language sign for that word. I am a language student and find it MUCH easier to learn vocabulary in different languages if I have a common sign to identify the spoken words with -- a metasymbol, so to speak. It is quite liberating to see all of the mutually incomprehensible spoken words listed underneath what could be a common sign for them.
Yes, the sign language chosen is American Sign Language. I fail to see how that is somehow dismissive of other sign languages. What was the author supposed to do ? I share the author's vision of an International Sign Language which would allow people to communicate clearly without a common spoken language. To do so, you have to start somewhere and American Sign Language seems like a logical place.

The naysayers should maybe start thinking about developing an intuitive International Sign Language (the hardest part would be making sure signs which are offensive in this or that culture were properly identified),
rather than simply slam this encyclopedia for not being what they thought it was. The book is well crafted and thoughtfully laid out and I was very happy to find it available here so that I can buy another copy !