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Some Important Terms to Know:
Some Important Terms to Know:
Terms you'll see on this site:
Signer - as there are different groups in the Society that offer sign language services, this term is to be inclusive of all SCAdians that are a member of one or more of these groups, such as the Silent Heralds and the Voices of the Populace.
Deaf Culture Terms:
Deaf (with a capital D) - adjective, referring to deafness from a socio-cultural perspective, referring to people who are immersed in the Deaf community using a signed language as a primary form of communication. Many Deaf people are pre-lingually deaf (deaf before learning to speak/sign/communicate).
deaf (with a lowercase d) - adjective, referring to a complete lack of hearing power, whether the deaf person is part of the culturally Deaf community or otherwise. People who use the term deaf but do not use sign language/interact with the Deaf community remain integrated in the hearing community, such as the friends and family they have had all their lives.
What is a Sign Herald?
What is a Sign Herald?
Sign Heralds' Handbook Highlights:
"Sign heralds in the society are heralds who express auditory information into visual and/or tactile information. Sign heralds use sign language, lip movements, facial expression, gestures, and body language to convey what they hear, this is the visual part. As well, there are some members of the populace who require the sign herald to make signs into the person’s hands, this is the tactile part."
An important note is that Sign Heralds are not always certified interpreters. Interpreters are bilingual [if not knowing more than two languages] and have received special training and credentials to to communicate across the languages and cultures in a variety of professional contexts. They pass state or national levels of certifications [for example, a specialised American Sign Language medical interpreter] to show they are qualified professionals. Sign Heralds include all levels of sign users, including beginners as well as professional interpreters. A beginner Sign Herald may only sign for scrolls they practiced prior to an event, an experienced Sign Herald may sign everything spoken and heard by the audience during and between scroll readings during court and sign for other meetings and classes and anywhere else signing may be requested.
Though 'Silent Herald' and 'Sign Herald' have historically been interchangeable, 'Silent Herald' is still being phased out so as not to perpetuate that the d/Deaf voice is being silenced.
What is required to be a Sign Herald?
What is required to be a Sign Herald?
Knowledge of sign language (American Sign Language, Signed Exact English, [or Quebec Sign Language] etc). "Your knowledge can be as basic as knowing the manual alphabet or as complex as full knowledge of sign language with its syntax, grammar, and vocabulary." The point of a Silent Herald is to convey the gist of the information signed to you by a signer or spoken to you by someone speaking [a signed herald speaks for a signer and signs for a speaker]. "You should be familiar with signs specific to the SCA, and with signs only used within your kingdom." There are many signed languages used around the world. American Sign Language and Quebec Sign Language are the most common signed languages used in the East Kingdom. The Kingdom of Lochac uses New Zealand Sign Language and Auslan Sign Language.
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