Translating a School Notice into ISL
A Class XI student is asked to translate a school notice into ISL for a video announcement. The notice reads: 'All students of Class XI must submit their project reports to the class teacher by 4 p.m. on Friday, 12 September. Reports submitted after the deadline will not be accepted. Students who have not collected their project files should do so from the library.' The student's first attempt is a word-for-word rendering: 'ALL STUDENTS CLASS XI MUST SUBMIT THEIR PROJECT REPORTS TO CLASS TEACHER BY 4 PM ON FRIDAY 12 SEPTEMBER...' The teacher comments that the video is 'grammatically English, not ISL' and that Deaf viewers may miss the deadline. The student argues that word-for-word is clearer because it matches the written notice.
1. Explain why the word-for-word rendering is not equivalent, using specific features of the notice.
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Word-for-word is not clearer; it transfers English structure into a visual language and makes the viewer do the translation. Specific problems:
- Time is buried. In the English notice the deadline appears in the middle of a long sentence. A signed announcement normally establishes time early so the viewer can anchor the action. If 4 p.m. Friday arrives late, a viewer may process the instruction as a general rule rather than an urgent deadline.
- The negative is weak. 'Will not be accepted' is a future passive. A signed version needs an unmistakable negative, usually with a headshake and a clear negative sign, not a fingerspelled NOT buried at the end.
- The relative clause is heavy. 'Students who have not collected their project files' is a long English relative clause. In ISL, a conditional or topic-comment structure is easier: project file not collected? go to library and collect.
- Fingerspelled English overload. Spelling CLASS XI, PROJECT REPORT and DEADLINE in English order slows the message and adds no meaning.
The test is not whether the signs match the words, but whether a Deaf viewer can act correctly after one viewing.
2. Propose a revised signed structure or gloss for the notice, with non-manual marking, and justify the order.
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A possible gloss, using capitals for signs and brackets for non-manual marking:
FRIDAY 12 SEPTEMBER, 4PM - [time established first] CLASS XI STUDENTS - PROJECT REPORT - CLASS TEACHER - SUBMIT MUST. AFTER 4PM - SUBMIT - NOT ACCEPT [headshake, firm hold]. PROJECT FILE - NOT COLLECTED [raised brows, conditional] - LIBRARY - GO COLLECT.
Justification:
- Time first gives the deadline before the action, so the viewer knows when the submission must happen.
- Topic-comment puts the class and the report first, then the instruction.
- Negation is marked twice: the sign NOT/ACCEPT with a headshake and a hold, so it cannot be read as a suggestion.
- The conditional is signalled non-manually with raised brows before the library instruction, so the viewer knows this part applies only to some students.
- Repetition of key information is acceptable in a one-way video announcement; it is not redundancy if it prevents a missed deadline.
The gloss is a teaching tool, not a written language. The candidate should perform it, record it, and ask a Deaf reviewer whether the deadline and the negative are clear.
3. How should the teacher assess the translation without penalising legitimate variation?
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Assess meaning equivalence, not gloss matching. Use a checklist with four or five core propositions:
- Class XI students must submit project reports to the class teacher.
- The deadline is 4 p.m. Friday 12 September.
- Late reports will not be accepted.
- Students without project files must collect them from the library.
- The negative and the deadline are visually marked, not only fingerspelled.
A second signer may put the library instruction before the deadline, repeat the deadline at the end, or use a different sign for collect. Those are legitimate if the meaning survives a back-translation by a Deaf viewer. The teacher should therefore do a back-translation check: show the video to a Deaf colleague or advanced learner and ask what action is required, by when, and what happens if it is late. Penalise only failures of meaning, clarity or non-manual marking. This also protects the student from being marked down for using a regional sign variant that the teacher does not personally use.