In a recent Lemelson-MIT Program, two sophomore undergraduate students – Navid Azodi and Thomas Pryor – won in the “Use It” undergraduate category with a pair of high-tech gloves called SignAloud. The gloves were created with the intention of improving communication barriers between the deaf and hearing community.
The gloves are programmed to record and interpret American Sign Language (ASL) then computationally report the translation aloud. SignAloud was made with the intention of bridging communicational gaps, and although it won an award and much deserved respect, the project as is would regardless need a lot of work in order to properly fulfill the intended function.
“This is not the first time that I have seen something like this,” said Jeff Jaech, Sign Language Interpreting and Transcribing Coordinator. “The thing that makes me a little skeptical about this, is that it’s very embryonic.”
ASL is an incredibly articulation-based language. It requires expression of the body rather than merely the hands. ASL as a language also has its own grammar and conjugation that is completely separate from the English language.
“It does something that other [languages] can’t do,” said Jeach. The complexity of ASL challenges what a computer program can accurately translate, causing this particular technological development to be problematic in terms of actual communication.
It’s essential for the hearing community to understand the culture that has been built with this language in the deaf community. Our ability to understand that a minority group communicates through a language not shared by those who can hear should be similar to our understanding that the Greek do not inherently speak French.
Although being able to communicate aloud might benefit the hearing community, it is stripping the deaf community immensely by invalidating the language in terms of similar accommodation. Unless this technology is applied to all languages on both sides, this invention comes off as more detrimental than useful.
Not to say that the concept entirely is unacceptable. There should not be any segregation between which languages need translation and which don’t.
International communication is faced with the constant issue of everyone knowing different languages. We are going to experience barriers when attempting to communicate because we can’t know every language of the world. The same consequence results from an inability to speak ASL, a lack of schooling in the foreign language causes an inability to properly communicate.
There is no way around learning a language in order to communicate – we just don’t have the technology yet. Although these gloves are a step in the right direction, we should be focusing on eliminating all language barriers rather than just one.
Jeach informed me of a particular slogan, “Nothing About Us Without Us,” which expresses the need for proper consolidation, representation and participation by the parties involved in any decision concerning them.
The truth is that this project – and the research I hope will follow – should not only have proper consultants and tailored researchers, but should focus on eliminating language barriers themselves.
Communication should be considered a right among all communities, but when it comes to cultural interrelations there are going to be times when accommodations are necessary. The important thing to remember is that language barriers apply to anyone and everyone facing them.
All accommodations regarding translation in the future should take each side into consideration before starting any kind of project, and should equally consider what it means to have a language barrier.