In the Spotlight: Dr. Joseph Hill Dr. Hill will be joining us at the 2026 LSA Annual Meeting for the Plenary Address! Dr. Hill is Professor of Deaf Studies and Linguistics and Director of the Center for Black Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University. Don’t miss this session! cvent.me/9Mdr3G

This does look intriguing - I can't wait to read it!

Get the most up-to-date list of BEI trilingual certificate holders. LINK: bit.ly/3VkL6q6 NOTE: The trilingual certification BEI offers is unparalleled, as it validates interpreters’ abilities in Spanish, ASL, and English - something no other professional organization does.

Can we just acknowledge that the fall semester started, and we survived it? Hooray for us! Because the stress I put on myself to answer emails, attend meetings, create syllabi, develop the courses on Canvas, AND get all my clothes washed or in the cleaners was overwhelming.

If you'd like to attend the Sign Language Contact Variation and Change conference on Thursday 21 and Friday 22 August (this week!) make sure you have registered here! The Zoom link (including interpretation into English) will be sent to those who have registered. sites.google.com/view/slcvc-w...

Registered!

Sharing my article regarding my use of AI: "To be or NOT to be dependent on interpreters?" - available in ASL & written English. Inspired by my experience at TISLR15, surrounded by the scholars I respect so much - had to tag @linasigns.bsky.social @jaceyhill.bsky.social and @d7play.bsky.social

A new book has been released. Book cover with my painting “Like a River.” More info at: brill.com and books.google.com/books?id=gKF... #nancyrourke

International Summer School of Sign Language Studies 21-25. July 2025 - Berlin 📌 Topics 📝 Program 👤 Presenters 📥 Call of Papers 👩‍💻 Registration Everything here! www.tlu.ee/en/summer-sc... Feel free to share and comeeeeee! 🏃‍♂️ 💨

Thanks TISLR15 for sending us pictures today! Downloaded a few that I didn't have. Gotta love these facial expressions!

The winter 2025 issue of Sign Language Studies is now available! The table of contents is below. Check it out on @projectmuse.bsky.social or subscribe here: gupress.gallaudet.edu/Journals/Sig...

My first US dissertation defense as a committee member is today. Oh my! I remember how much my US Southern culture impacted my own viva. I was just the most respectful little thing. Had no idea until the END that they wanted me to stand in what I believe. Little did they know, ha!

Deadlines for abstracts for the first ever Sign Language Contact, Variation and Change conference at @unibirmingham.bsky.social is 30 March! sites.google.com/view/slcvc-w...

This is exciting, for sure!

Pleased to share that the 2nd, revised edition of Sign Languages: Structures and Contexts will be available April 30, 2025! Lovely working with @jaceyhill.bsky.social and Sandra Wood on the revised version. www.routledge.com/Sign-Languag...

If I might add to this statement, the concept of "speaking English" is not an option for deaf Americans. Including signed languages as part of the multilingualism of the country and the world should be part of the conversation also.

If you are working in Deaf Studies and want a fully funded paid year as a researcher at Gallaudet University, this Deaf Studies incubator fellowship is open for applications deafincubator.com/apply/?fbcli...

I reference this in my dissertation. From 1918. Ain't nothing new under the sun.

New publication with @robertskinner.bsky.social from previous Justisigns project on investigative interviews with deaf suspects - analysing a case study with authentic data trans-int.org/index.php/tr...

I'm confused, DOE. I read the letter. So America wasn't built on systemic racism? Or, to be or more specific, on the backs of and from the blood of American Indians and enslaved Africans (and subsequent generations of their offspring)?

For so many reasons, this post really hit home for me today in my journey. Thank you @jessgrieser.bsky.social for being so transparently honest about the academic experience. Appreciate ya!

Did you know there are over 20 Black deaf scholars with PhDs in the U.S.? Want to know who they are? Check them out at blackdeafphd.com!

Sharing!

Congratulations!!

Staying grounded by attending events like this - Maryville College hosted a Panel of deaf community leaders to discuss their experiences with obtaining and working with interpreters. They were honest and engaging, providing valuable lessons to all. Among them, the famous storyteller Peter Cook!!

Thank you Rooted East Knoxville Collective for educating me last Sunday. The movie premiere taught me about the impact of "urban renewal" on Black Knoxvillians living in the East side. It has led to food apartheid in the area. To learn more, visit knoxgardenalliance.org/member/roote...

H-town! Countdown begins.

I cannot be tethered to the news. The news doesn't shape my focus or deter me from my path. I'm not choosing to be oblivious; I'm choosing to be singularly focused. I need my mental & emotional state to stay balanced so that I can stay on my path. I hope you can find ways to stay on yours.

I love this, Marta! Thank you for sharing. My first TISLR was in Hamburg and I too pondered over the differences.

THX to the deaf research faculty that were brave enough to stand up & share their struggles & triumphs in academia at ##TISLR15. They were honest & unapologetic in explaining the inequities they face in academia & by interpreters. Wish there could be an entire Symposium dedicated to this topic.

I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's #TISLR15 panel discussion - Sign Language Research for legal recognition: A Call to Action. I learned so much from the panelists. Kudos to my friends Margaret Odhiambo and Simphiwe Mkhize!

Thank you to all who stayed until my presentation on day 4 at #TISLR15. I was so excited to share my ground-breaking research regarding African American English and the findings of the deaf participants who provided distinct linguistic guidance on how to convey AAE when using ASL It was an honor.

Sorry, not in agenda order, but I'm STILL behind in trying to share postings from #TISLR15. Allow me to introduce Sovoya Davis who presented on Black women gestures, comparing the gestures used by hearing and deaf women. Yessssss!

The life of a conference presenter can be summed up in one picture. Special thanks to my hubby for looking all over Addis Ababa this AM to find me a USB.

Congratulations to the #tislr15 ECR winners Shane Blau and Justine Merzt 🏆🥇

Yayyyyy to you all!

It still surprises me to see spoken language being used to present research on sign language at a sign language conference. I can’t help but feel like there is a major disconnect there 🥴🫠 #TISLR15

Day 2 at TISLR15 began with Ceil Lucas & Joseph Hill presenting on Black ASL: Foundations and Future Directions. It included a 20-min screening of "Signing Black in America" - if you haven't watched it yet, you MUST!

I too enjoyed this presentation by @fbisnath.bsky.social Profound statement on her slide - "by prioritizing nativeness we are not describing the majority of DHH sign language use". Check out the picture!

The lively delivery yesterdsy by Tory Sampson at #TISLR15 just had to be shared! The photos cannot fully capture her energy and vitality. The topic "Mapping the distribution of Noun/Verb pairs in ASL" was insightful.

Wifi issues - still playing catch up from Day 1 #TISLR15. Enjoy the pics from the interesting research presented by Kaj Kraus. His team researched the effects of teaching ASL lexical items to L2 learners using iconic vs arbitrary approaches. All ASL teachers should check out this research!

Of course I had to post my Bham family - @adamcschembri.bsky.social & Kiersy Cormier. Good job on the presentation delivered simultaneously in BSL & spoken English. This was done because BSL is not a SL that presenters can use at #TISLR15. I enjoyed the research on negation and questions in BSL.

First plenary presentation at #TISLR15 - honest and critical report on the dearth of deaf African SL researchers in the field. Drs Sam Lutalo-kiingi and Pawlos Kasu Abebe stressed the need to respect indigenous African SL and to support research conducted by those within the community.

It's time for TISLR15, first time it has been held in Africa! Here are a few pics I took before the opening ceremony. Projected on the screen is the presenter, an Ethiopia SL interpreter, an ASL interpreter, an International Sign interpreter AND live captioning.

Trying to leave for TISLR tomorrow. But the SNOW isn't cooperating! 😬

It’s arrived! Our book is now published & just got the hard copy. Proud of this work with my co-editors Robert Adam & Stacey Steen (Webb) featuring 22 chapters from different countries.

This year has been a whirlwind. Since graduation from Bham in Dec 2023, my life has changed in ways I never imagined. Today I'm taking a moment for appreciation. Thanks to all I've encountered this year & all who have shared their knowledge & wisdom with me. Time for some dark chocolate!

Bill Labov made it possible for John Rickford and therefore Renee Blake and therefore me, to have a rich life in linguistics. He knew that Black students and speakers had so much to contribute. We will forever owe him a debt of gratitude for his contributions to the field, but also to all of us ❤️

"Computer generated machine #translations cannot render culturally appropriate translations as would be provided by live #interpretations from a human sign language #interpreter." #SignLanguage #SignedLanguages

Ohhhhh! I want to go!