Cover next page > title: Seeing Language in Sign : The Work of William C. Stokoe author
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| < previous page page_152 next page > If you like this book, buy it! < previous page page_153 next page > Page 153 derstanding of human language therefore it seems tome that it is timely for Gallaudet College also to acknowledge and support the Linguistics Research Laboratory, its important contributions, and its future studies" 45 François Grosjean, coauthor with Harlan Lane of Recent Perspectives on American Sign Language, wrote from Switzerland to report that he had heard some very distressing news. I cannot but address myself to you to give you my reaction and that of the sign language linguists herein Europe. Being acquainted with both the European and American academic worlds, I know how easy it is back in the States to take certain accomplishments for granted and to neglect their impact on the world community. Dr. Stokoe's accomplishments as well as those of his team have that world impact. Ina Europe that is finally awakening to the language and culture of its deaf communities, the research that is done in the Linguistics Research Laboratory is seen as an example to follow and a beacon of hope. Whenever I give a lecture on sign language research, I am asked questions about Gallaudet and its research on ASL . . . . The very reputation of Gallaudet as a college, herein Europe, is based in large part on Dr. Stokoe's laboratory, and that is why no one here can understand why there is talk of closing it down. I would like to end on a more personal note. My own work on the psycholinguistics of sign language has been greatly influenced by the research done in the Linguistics Research Laboratory. I admire the work of Dr. Stokoe, Charlotte Baker- Shenk, and Dennis Cokely and believe it is of great importance, both for our knowledge of sign language and for the deaf community. As a researcher in the field, I ask you therefore to do everything in your power to maintain the Linguistics Research Laboratory and to retain and promote the researchers that work in it.46 The anthropologist Gordon Hewes wrote from the University of Colorado that "researchers and investigators in several fields have come to depend on the steady flow of important papers from the Gallaudet LRL."47 Download 2.48 Mb. Share with your friends:
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