Introducing Sign Language Literature: Folklore and Creativity, by Rachel Sutton-Spence and Michiko Kaneko (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016, paperback, 280 pages, $45, ISBN: 9781137363817)WHEN PEOPLE talk of literature, they typically mean printed literature. Literary critics typically do not analyze oral literature and sign language literature. That is their loss. This book, Introducing Sign Language Literature: Folklore and Creativity, presents background information, examples, and analysis that illustrate the richness of sign language literature. Studying it can teach us much about cultures, linguistics, and the nature of literature itself.The chapters suggest further readings and class and individual activities, making the book a perfect vehicle around which to build a course. A YouTube channel goes with the book, as does an extensive list of sign poems, stories, and interviews from Brazil, Britain, South Africa, and the United States, along with information on how to access these materials.The book outlines the following sociolinguistic facts and discusses their repercussions. Sign language literature historically includes faceto- face performances in places such as deaf clubs and events such as weddings and funerals. However, it now also includes videos; thus individuals and small groups can experience these performances without living in or having access to a deaf community. Sign language literature includes folklore (which reflects the culture of a community), fiction, and poetry, as well as oratory, autobiographies, chronicles, and religious literature. In some regions (e.g., Brazil and Britain) it puts a high priority on deafness, but in other locales (e.g., South Africa) it prioritizes matters of pressing interest to the larger community (e.g., racial and political issues). The fact that sign language literature is signed is as important as its content, or perhaps even more so; that is, the act of creating and performing sign language literature is political inasmuch as it supports community identity.Given these facts, the context for sign language literature is crucial: when and where it occurs, who the performer is, who the audience is, why the event is occurring, and whether the material reflects cultural heritage or is created solely by the performer. Importantly, sign language literature belongs to everyone. Indeed, signing a joke or a story can be an act of declaring membership in the deaf community. Hearing people who grew up in a family with deaf members can also perform sign language literature for deaf audiences. Still, there are recognized masters-and many of the greats are introduced in this book.Many functions of sign language literature are common to all literature, particularly that found in oppressed communities. Thus it teaches people about the world and their culture; it helps them make sense of the world; it creates and maintains community identity; and it allows performers to demonstrate their skills and artistry. It can put deaf characters in a position of privilege. In all of this, it is particularly helpful to deaf children, the great majority of whom are born into hearing families and may feel that the complications they experience are unique to them. They are in need of being welcomed into deaf culture and experiencing a community in which they are ordinary and normal.But one function of sign language literature is particular to deafness: the linguistic function. For the vast majority of hearing people, access to language is a given. …

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手语文学介绍：民俗与创意作者：Rachel Sutton-Spence, Michiko Kaneko

手语文学介绍：民俗与创造力，Rachel Sutton-Spence 和 Michiko Kaneko（伦敦：Palgrave Macmillan，2016 年，平装本，280 页，45 美元，ISBN：9781137363817）当人们谈论文学时，他们通常指的是印刷文学。文学评论家通常不分析口头文学和手语文学。那是他们的损失。这本书，介绍手语文学：民俗和创造力，提供了说明手语文学丰富性的背景信息、例子和分析。研究它可以教会我们很多关于文化、语言学和文学本身性质的知识。这些章节建议进一步阅读、课堂和个人活动，使这本书成为构建课程的完美工具。这本书附带了一个 YouTube 频道，以及来自巴西、英国、南非和美国的大量手语、故事和采访，以及有关如何获取这些材料的信息。本书概述了以下社会语言学事实并讨论了它们的影响。历史上，手语文学包括在聋人俱乐部等场所的面对面表演以及婚礼和葬礼等活动。但是，它现在还包括视频；因此，个人和小团体无需住在或无法进入聋人社区即可体验这些表演。手语文学包括民俗（反映社区文化）、小说和诗歌，以及演说、自传、编年史和宗教文学。在某些地区（例如巴西和英国），它高度重视耳聋，但在其他地区（例如南非），它优先考虑更大社区的紧迫问题（例如种族和政治问题）。手语文学有签名这一事实与其内容一样重要，或者甚至更重要；也就是说，创造和表演手语文学的行为是政治性的，因为它支持社区认同。鉴于这些事实，手语文学的背景至关重要：它何时何地发生，表演者是谁，观众是谁，事件发生的原因，以及材料是反映文化遗产还是仅由表演者创作。重要的是，手语文学属于每个人。事实上，签署一个笑话或一个故事可以是宣布加入聋人社区的一种行为。在聋哑家庭长大的听力正常的人也可以为聋哑观众表演手语文学。尽管如此，还是有公认的大师——本书介绍了许多伟大的大师。手语文学的许多功能是所有文学共有的，尤其是在受压迫社区中发现的。因此，它教人们了解世界和他们的文化；它帮助他们理解世界；它创建和维护社区身份；它允许表演者展示他们的技能和艺术性。它可以将聋哑人置于特权地位。在所有这些方面，它对聋儿童特别有帮助，他们中的绝大多数出生在听力家庭，可能会觉得他们所经历的并发症是他们独有的。他们需要被接纳进入聋人文化，体验一个他们平凡而正常的社区。但手语文学的一个功能是耳聋所特有的：语言功能。对于绝大多数听力正常的人来说，使用语言是理所当然的。…