The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) is a research center for ethnology and cultural anthropology.

Seminars, Symposia, and Academic Conferences

Sunday, December 1, 2013
MINPAKU Seminar: Linguistics in Daily Life "Language Disorders and Linguistics"

  • Date:Sunday, December 1st
    13:00-17:00（Registration begins at 12:30）
  • Location:Nippon Foundation Hall The Nippon Zaidan Building, 1-2-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8404 http://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/about/access/
  • Languages:Japanese, Japanese Sign Language (Simultaneous Japanese-English interpretation)
  • Lecturer:HARA Daisuke (Toyota Technological Institute, Sign Language Linguistics）
  • Commenters:ICHIDA Yasuhiro（College, National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities & National Museum of Ethnology [Sign Language Linguistics]）
    NASUKAWA Kuniya（Tohoku Gakuin University [Spoken Language Linguistics, Phonology]）
    FUJIWARA Yuri（Seirei Christopher University [Speech Therapy]）
    YABUNOUCHI Hiroshi（Salut Legal Professional Organization, Omiya Office [Attorney]）
  • Discussant:Susan FISCHER（CUNY Graduate Center & National Museum of Ethnology [Sign Language Linguistics]）
  • Coordinator/Moderator:KIKUSAWA Ritsuko（National Museum of Ethnology & The Graduate University for Advanced Studies [Linguistics]）
  • Hosted by the National Museum of Ethnology (MINPAKU)
    Sponsored by the Nippon Foundation

In July 2004, Ōya Kimie, a deaf sign language user, was seriously injured in a car accident that left her dominant hand functionally impaired. Under the current law, language disability classification criteria are only applied to spoken languages, while nothing has been determined regarding sign language. The court ruled that “it is appropriate to determine on an individual basis whether it is possible to communicate and the degree to which sign language ability has been lost”. It was determined that in Ms. Ōya’s case, the court “could not admit to a significant failure in communication”. If disability classification criteria had been developed for sign language, how would Ms. Ōya’s sign language impairment have been recognized? In this seminar, features of spoken languages and their equivalent in sign languages will be examined from a linguistic perspective in relation to language disability classification criteria. While listening to the talks, we hope that Japanese speakers and JSL signers will analyze their own use of mouth and hand movements and shapes when communicating.

Program

（11:00-12:00 Meeting with presenters and interpreters）

12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Registration
1:00 p.m. - 1:05 p.m. Welcome
KIKUSAWA Ritsuko
1:05 p.m. - 2:05 p.m. How Can Linguistics Contribute to Grade Rating Sign Language Disorders?
HARA Daisuke
2:05 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Break (Question submission）
2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Speech Disorder and Its Assessment
FUJIWARA Yuri
2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. The Relationship between Language Features and Audio-Visual Communication Channels
NASUKAWA Kuniya
3:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. From the Phonological Perspective of Sign Language Linguistics
ICHIDA Yasuhiro
3:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Application of the Criteria for Rating Disability Grades of Automobile Liability Security Act in Trials
YABUNOUCHI Hiroshi
3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Break（Question submission）
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Panel Discussion
Moderator: KIKUSAWA Ritsuko
Discussants: ICHIDA Yasuhiro、NASUKAWA Kuniya、HARA Daisuke、Susan FISCHER、FUJIWARA Yuri、YABUNOUCHI Hiroshi

* Questions and comments from the general public will be accepted in writing（Japanese or English）or by video（JSL）during the break times.