F-Xinulator: Filipino Sign Language Translator

A proposed Thesis presented to the

Faculty of the Department of Information Technology
of Far Eastern University, Makati.

In partial fulfilment of the course

Software Development

Alibusa, Paula Jodine G.

Arayata, Alden Shaun E.
Estrella, Juan Paolo M.
Matias, Mark Adrian T.
Ramirez, Karl Ivan O.

November 30, 2014

Abstract of the study

The Filipino sign language application is programed to teach

and show the basic sign language to make it possible for users
(deaf and normal people) to understand different sign languages,
to understand one another far more quickly than users of
unrelated spoken languages can. The idea was to make a mobile
app that will help people to learn the basic languages for them to
communicate well with deaf people. The program will show three
parts, these are the alphabets, numbers and basic words.
Participants will obtain the basic knowledge for learning each
signs and their meanings. The researchers provide this application
to help people who wants to learn the basic sign language in case
of communicating to deaf people, also, the researchers provide a
quiz in every end of the lesson. Instead of going to the actual
session that may cause a lack of time for the end-user to attend,
the researchers provide an easy and simple e-learning mobile
application.

Table of Contents

Title Page . i
Abstract ii
Chapter 1 The Problem and its Background
Background of the Study ... 1
Objectives of the Study .. 2
Scope and Limitations of the Study .. 3
Significance of the Study .................................... 4
Chapter 2 - Conceptual Framework
Review of Related Literature and Studies ... 5
Conceptual Model of the Study . 6
Operational Definition of Terms . 7
Chapter 3 Research Methodology
Research Design .. 8
Project Development 9
Operation and Testing Procedure 10
Chapter 4 Results and Discussions
Project Description . 11
Project Structure . 12
Project Capabilities and Limitations . 13

Project Evaluation ... 14

Chapter 5 Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations
Summary of Findings . 15
Conclusions 16
Recommendations 17

Chapter 1: The Problem and Its Background

Background of the Study

A sign language is a pattern which uses hands and body
gesture, and this is commonly used by communities of deaf
people, but sign language is not only for deaf but also to people
who can hear, but cannot physically speak. A Filipino Sign
Language Translator is the easiest way to learn the basic sign
language as they give the overview of each wave of its body and
hands, the meaning and feelings of each signs.
Objectives of the Study
1.)

To assess the knowledge level of the participant in

learning the basic sign language by holding it into their

2.)

palm.
To give more time in learning the basic sign language in

3.)

any time and location.

Making it easier for the friends or families who wants to

4.)

learn and communicate well with the special child (deaf).

To less the avoidance and accessibility of the deaf to the
normal people, as this will be a stepping stone of learning

5.)

with them in the same time.

Provided an alphabet, numbers and basic phrases.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study focused on Sign Language Translator. The
researchers formulated the scope and limitations of this project to
identify the boundaries of this study. The study only focus on the
alphabets, numbers and basic words. The respondents of the
study were composed of deaf people, their family and friends, and

people who encounter the sign language. The application is

capable of showing the alphabets, numbers and basic phrases.
The application also handles a quiz, so the participants can
evaluate his/her knowledge after learning or seeing the demo of
each words or alphabet that was presented on the application.
The study doesnt require internet connection to access the
mobile application. Also, the study doesnt handle composing
sentences that may able to show the actual sign language. It
cannot also translate all words into action as it only uses the
basic/common

sign

language.

The

program

will

only

be

compatible on Android. The sign language will be translated into

English since we are using the FSL (Filipino Sign Language) for
this application.
Significance of the Study
This

section

will

provide

brief

description

on

the

significances focusing on helpfulness, reliability and accurate of

the application. This shows how important the researchers
proposed system is able to change the companys flow and the
following persons will benefit:
To special child (deaf). The proposed system serves as a guide for
them to easily handle the new information system that is to be
developed. It will also help the respondents to be exposed in the
terms of modern technology.
To family and friends. This proposed application will make it easier
for them to learn and understand the basic sign languages in the
terms of communicating well with the people who are deaf, as if
ever the family have a deaf member with them.

To future researchers. The proposed system will help and benefit

their future studies as their guide and can possibly open new
developments.

Chapter 2: Conceptual Framework

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Local Literatures
1. Facebook has been a perfect place for people to mingle without
being physically present. It gives them (me included) a chance to
be or stay informed about the whereabouts of everyone.
However, this is also a place where some people tend to show off
to others that they are better and had experienced the finer
things in life. Thats when bullying comes in. When they see
someone who is not within their level in life, it triggers their
senses to make their status known by giving others a piece of
their mighty minds.
Enter the Deaf. His name is Mininio Buhat. Here is his FB post:
Deaf's FB PostTo those who are natural English speakers, you
might certainly experience a little headache in trying to decipher
what the deaf meant. But for those who are familiar with the
Filipino deafs way of writing, this would be a tad easier to
understand.
Now here is where the Bullies come in. This head bully copypasted the deafs post and remarked insults about his English
using our Filipino language while sharing it with others. Then his
cohorts posted more insulting messages below.

Twenty one insults, 34 likes and 24 shares later, the post caught
the attention of the Defender. Mr. Mike Sandejas, the director of
Dinig Sana Kita, a story of a deaf person who was in love with a
hearing felt that he needs to also say his piece about the matter.
Having experienced the deaf and their culture, he then turned to
the bashers and explained his side on the issue.
Here is what he aired in FB last August 2:
OF GREAT CONCERN! PLEASE READ THIS CAPTION FIRST! I saw
this posted on facebook. I saw a pattern in the misuse of English
that I have seen before in my dealings with Deaf people and I
immediately looked up Minino Buhat. Yes, the person who wrote it
is Deaf and according to Facebook is a student of College of St
Benilde which has a School for Deaf. This is where I found my
actors for Dinig Sana Kita If you look at the right side of the
picture you will see how people have made fun of the English this
Person with Disability has used. Deaf people rarely have a
mastery of English Grammar because they only understand
English as used in sign language which is shorthand in nature.
The writing ability sometimes is still being developed while in
college. I am outraged by how people are so quick to judge others
by their use of English. This is why I made the film Dinig Sana
Kita. To open the eyes of hearing people to the world of the Deaf
so that they will not be insulted like this. SHAME ON ALL OF YOU
WHO POSTED THIS IN JEST! Just the same no one should judge
people by their inability to use English, whether Deaf or non-Deaf.
Feel lucky that I blotted out your names lest you now be judged
the same way.
12,152 likes, 4,288 shares and 339 comments later; Direk Mike
received tons of praises defending the deaf. I was one of those
who shared and posted a piece of my miniscule mind. Here is
my FB status:
Even though I consider this to serve primarily as a wakeup call for
our deaf friends to polish their messages first before posting them
in social media, I also greatly salute Director Mike E. Sandejas for
understanding and defending them. Mabuhay po kayo

Then it went viral. As of this writing, here are the videos and
articles posted by the mainstream and social media.

VIRAL | Film director shames FB crowd for cyberbullying a deaf

user for poor English
Filipino Film Director Calls on Cyberbullying
They even made a news-reply from the bullied Deaf.
Having been with Filipino deaf education for more than twenty
years now, I still find it amusing how they construct their
sentences. While I am always on the defensive side whenever
they are insulted, I still remind them, especially in my English
class that written English is the water as sign language is the oil.
They should never mix the two because it would certainly wont.
To my deaf friends; admit it. Everybody can have access to your
post whether you are deaf or not. Im not saying that we should
all be grammar policemen. I am definitely not siding with the
bullies. But at least our dear Deaf should also consider that they
have hearing friends who read and try to understand their posts
the best way they can.
Source:
https://deafphilippines.wordpress.com/category/filipinosign-language/

2.According to Maria Christina L. Manlapig, This study analyzes and

describes the stages of faith development of deaf students
enrolled in 2000-2001 at the Special Schools Studies at the De La
Salle University-College of St. Benilde. Fourteen out of twenty
randomly selected students responded to the interview. The
students were interviewed using an open-ended format adapted
from Deborde's Interview Guide. The researcher, who is a sign
language interpreter herself, conducted each interview being
videotaped. Each tape was then transcribed into written English
by a sign language teacher and checked and verified by two
other sign language interpreters. The transcript was coded and
scored according to Fowler's criteria for faith stage by the
researcher and two (2) other scorers. The inter-rater reliability
was established at 67%. The Non-Language Multi-Mental Test
Form A was also administered. The descriptive statistical
analyses included means, frequencies and percentages. Results
show that there was one student who is at Stage 2 (Mythic-Literal
Faith), nine students who are at a Transition Stage 2 to 3 (Mythic-

Literal and Synthetic-Conventional Faith) and four students are at

Stage 3 (Synthetic-Conventional Faith). According to Fowler,
Stage 2 occurs at approximately between the ages 18 and 12,
and Stage 3 is usually between the ages 13 and 18. Comparing
the students mean age (22) with Fowler's classification, the
students seem to be delayed in their faith development.
However, they are at the same stage as grade school students
who participated in Deborde's study in 1996. Students at
Transitional Stage 2 to 3 manifest concrete-literal thinking and of
inductive-deductive reasoning. Thus the students in the present
study were a little bit delayed in the faith development in
comparison to Fowler's categorization. This study also found that
the use of sign language by parents seemed to be associated
with the student's stage of faith development. The more they use
sign language, the higher is the stage of faith development.
Furthermore, the more crises the student experienced in life, the
higher is the faith stage of faith. The older the student, the
higher is the stage of faith development. However, there seem to
be no association between age and stage of faith development
because of the small sample size of the study. Students with the
higher intelligence seem to have higher faith than those with
lower intelligence. The more the students are involved with
Campus Ministry activities, the higher is their faith stage.
3.According to Iwan Njoto, Sign language number recognition
system lays down foundation for handshape recognition which
addresses real and current problems in signing in the deaf
community and leads to practical applications. The input for the
sign language number recognition system is Filipino Sign
Language number video files. The study is limited to include only
1000 numbers in Filipino Sign Language from number 1 to 1000.
Each number is recorded 5 times using web camera. The frame
size of the video is 640 x 480 and the speed is 15 frames per
second. A student from School of Deaf Education and Applied
Studies (SDEAS) De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)
does the Filipino Sign Language numbers with color-coded glove
for dominant hand. The colorcoded gloves uses less color
compared with other color-coded gloves in the existing research.
The system extracts important features from the video using
multi-color tracking algorithm which is faster than existing color
tracking algorithm because it did not use recursive technique.
The feature vectors contain the position of dominant-hands

thumb in x and y coordinates and the x and y coordinates of

other fingers relatively to the thumb position. Next, the system
learns the Filipino Sign Language number in training phase and
recognizes the Filipino Sign Language number in testing phase by
transcribing Filipino Sign Language number into text. The system
uses Hidden Markov Model (HMM) for training and testing phase.
The system was evaluated in terms of training time and accuracy.
The feature extraction could track 92.3% of all objects. The
recognizer also could recognize Filipino sign language number
with 85.52% average accuracy using the features from feature
extraction module. Keywords Computer vision, Human Computer
Interaction (HCI), Sign Language Recognition (SLR), Hidden
Markov Model (HMM), hand tracking, multi-color tracking.
4. MANILA, Philippines - As the country celebrates Buwan ng Wika
this month, a sector of society that has been lobbying for the
recognition of the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) is reiterating its call.
The Filipino deaf community is currently supporting lawmakers,
through the help of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party List
representative Antonio Tinio and Rep. Teddy Casio, in passing
several relevant House bills to benefit their stakeholders.
Among them is House Bill (HB) 6079 which pushes for the
declaration of FSL as the national sign language of the Filipino deaf.
HB 4121, on the other hand, pushes for the use of sign language
interpretation inset in television news programs, while HB 4631 is a
bill that would give access to sign language interpreters in
Philippine courts.
As these Bills gain traction, leaders of the Filipino deaf community
are optimistic about the progress they are making.
''Yes, we are very optimistic. The progress has been very
tremendous especially this year. The same with FSL, we want the
same mother tongue-based instruction in education. There's a lot of
research and a lot of work to be done. What's important is we have
strong support, we have a strong advocacy. We want to emphasize
that the deaf people also need the help of the hearing community in
this advocacy,'' shares Raphael Domingo, De La Salle-College of
Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Center for Education Access and
Development (CEAD), Education Access for the Deaf coordinator.
THE UNIQUE FILIPINO SIGN LANGUAGE

In 1907, the American Sign Language (ASL) was introduced to the

Filipino deaf community through the School for the Deaf and Blind,
now known as the Philippine School for the Deaf. ASL has since
influenced FSL, the Filipino sign language.
''FSL is a unique language. It has its own grammar, structure,
syntax, which is different from the spoken language. It's also the
mark of identity of deaf Filipinos,'' explains Mackie Calbay, program
coordinator of DLS-CSB School of Deaf Education and Applied
(SDEAS) Deaf Advocacy.
FSL is believed to be part of the French Sign Language family, the
sign language where most sign languages are derived from,
including ASL. But like any other language, sign languages differ
depending on its use and the country's culture.
''ASL has a big influence on FSL, which can be traced back to the
history of the Philippines. In terms of grammar, there are
differences and similarities between FSL and ASL. There are
similarities in terms of hand shapes, positioning, hand location,
movement, facial expression, and palm orientation. But the
conversation and discourse are different depending on the culture.
For example here in the Philippines, we have a sign for flooding
inside the house, a term ASL does not have because they don't
experience it,'' explains Domingo, who is also a member of the
Special Education (SpEd) Council of the Department of Education
(DepEd).
He explains that the use of FSL by deaf Filipinos has increased
through the years. In 2007, about 60 percent of deaf Filipinos were
using ASL while 40 percent used FSL. Today, they recorded that
about 54 percent of deaf Filipinos use FSL compared to ASL.
STRONGER SUPPORT FOR FSL
Rey Alfred Lee, president of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf
(PFD), says that the Filipino deaf community did not even know that
FSL existed.
''A lot of deaf people did not realize that they are using FSL. They
know ASL but in reality they are using FSL. Naturally, if they are
conversing among themselves they are going to be using FSL but if
a deaf person would have to communicate with a hearing person,
there's an automatic switching of the language. So they would

convert signing exact English (SEE). But if a deaf person converses

with another deaf person then they will use the more natural
language, which is FSL,'' Lee says.
Lee, faculty member of the Filipino Sign Language Learning Program
of SDEAS, says that most of his students, both deaf and hearing, are
surprised to discover that there is an FSL. DLS-CSB SDEAS is known
for its use of FSL and advocates the use of the local language in the
school and community.
''The support for FSL is now stronger. The influence of the usage of
FSL is slowly making waves. Hopefully in terms of the usage of FSL,
it will come soon but we'll have to work double time,'' Lee shares.
FSL IN SCHOOLS
One of the main objectives of the deaf community is to push FSL in
schools and make it the medium of instruction for deaf students.
Most SpEd schools today use ASL. SpEd courses in colleges and
universities also do not offer FSL in their curriculums
''The Special Education Council has made a proposal to hire deaf
teacher assistants for hearing teachers who do not know sign
language. The deaf assistants will facilitate communication in the
classroom. DepEd is happy about that,'' Domingo says.
Although Domingo says that SpEd teachers are not to be blamed.
''The SpEd teachers are aware of the need, however they are not
readily accepting. We cannot blame them because the SpEd courses
do not include FSL courses in their curriculum. So that means the
SpEd teachers have no choice but to learn sign language by
themselves. There are many organizations that don't use FSL in
their curriculum,'' Domingo says.
Currently, the Philippine Federation of the Deaf (PFD) is designing
an FSL curriculum for the SpEd course in higher education.
PFD will also soon work with the Japan Ministry of Education to
further enhance FSL as a language. They are also in talks with the
Professional Regulation Commission in licensing deaf teacher
assistants to provide them with the recognition and right to benefits
they duly deserve.
Domingo says that they are also now working on the curriculum for
the deaf, in line with DepEd's K to 12 curriculum.

PROUD TO BE DEAF, PROUD OF FSL

These deaf community leaders hope that more deaf Filipinos
recognize FSL, their native language.
''SDEAS is advocating the use of FSL in the community. Hopefully,
through that they could foster as sense of community and also
promote excellence in deaf education. FSL is best used to have
better communication. We should be using a language we could
understand,'' Calbay says.
And they will not stop to work to further the cause of their
advocacy. After all, the deaf community is fighting for their
language, fighting for their identity.
''ASL, being a colonial language, we don't want it to be propagated
here. Out of respect for the deaf Filipino culture we want FSL to be
used here. It's where we belong. It's part of our own language, it's
Filipino. That's how we communicate and understand each other,
because this is what we use. If some people don't take FSL
seriously, other countries will look down at us, where is your own
language? We're proud that this is our language, this is what we
know. This is FSL,'' Domingo says.
Source: https://ph.news.yahoo.com/pushing-filipino-sign-language053614492.html
5.

DLS-CSB is just one of the 17 educational institutions under DeLa

Salle Philippines and SDEAS is one of the five academicSchools
under this College. Reviewing DLS-CSB and SDEASdocuments show
that the original program offered for Deaf students was a Certificate
Program in Bookkeeping/Accountingfor the Hearing-Impaired that
opened in 1991. The faculty coreof this program, placed under the
Educational DevelopmentDepartment (EDD) of DLS-CSB, underwent
sign languagetraining and intensive teacher training to prepare
them for thework they will be doing with Deaf students admitted
into theCollege. This particular program was not only academic
innature, but also included a formation component that focused
onDeaf
students
emotional
development.
The
Deaf
studentsenrolled at EDD were mostly scholars and as their return
serviceto the institution they rendered service through
officeassignments which exposed them to the Colleges
hearingenvironment and challenged them to interact with the
hearingmembers of the institution and so from the start the greater

hearing population of DLS-CSB has always had someknowledge of

the presence of the Deaf community among them.A report made by
the SDEAS to one of their academic linkages,the Post-Secondary
Education Network-International (PEN-International) makes mention
that in 1993, the Sign LanguageLearning Module (SLLM) was
developed with the primary purpose of building the self-esteem of
the Deaf students as theymanaged sign language classes for
hearing students.In 1994, the personnel involved with the Deaf
program came torealize a number of things, including (1) a
certificate program isnot enough training to get the Deaf students
employed, and (2)the impact of having Deaf teachers teaching Deaf
students. Andwith these thoughts the Bachelor in Applied Deaf
Studies(BAPDST) was conceptualized with the core of the program
being in education with several areas of specialization fromwhich to
choose from.In 1996 DLS-CSB went through a restructuring and
some of thechanges made paved the way for the School of Special
Studies(SSS). It was also during this year that the BAPDST
programwas granted recognition by CHED and was offered by
theCollege. The Colleges administration, and later on CHED,
wasconvinced by then SSS Director Dr. Liza Martinez to change
thename of the certificate course being offered from
Certificate Program in Bookkeeping/Accounting for the HearingImpaired
to
Certificate Course in Bookkeeping/Accounting for the Deaf
.This change in name showed that SSS view of the Deaf personwas
not rooted in the medical perspective, where they werelabeled as
hearing-impaired and anchoring their identity ontheir inability to
hear, but the Deaf person is recognized as amember of a Deaf
community that has a unique identity, culture,and language (which
is Filipino Sign Language). At about thesame time the SLLM also
needed to change directions.Although it was initially intended as a
tool for the developmentof self-esteem of the Colleges Deaf
students, it was nowtransforming into a program with the potential
to producehearing students with sign language skills that may
eventually become service providers for the Deaf Community (i.e.,
teachers

for the Deaf, sign language interpreters). The SLLM was nowcalled
the Sign Language Learning Program or SLLP.Student development
not only happens inside the classroom butalso takes place during
student activities such as sports, performing arts, leadership
training and involvement in studentorganizations. Understandably
the Deaf students of the Collegehad limited opportunities in these
areas even if the institutionhad a unit in charge of providing such
activities to the students.Admittedly this unit did not understand
the needs of the Deaf student population and did not have any sign
language skills.The opportunities to participate in student activities
were then provided to the students of SSS through coordination
withexternal agencies. In 1998 a proposal was made for the
creationof the Counseling and Resource Unit for the Deaf (CRUDEAF)and the vision for this unit was not only to serve the Deaf
students of the College but also to reach out to other members of
the Deaf community through outreach activities in the field of
guidance and counseling.In 2000 DLS-CSB again went through an
evaluation andassessment of its programs and services and SSS
also wentthrough a similar process. Consultation meetings were
held withthe Deaf students and the members of the faculty to
gather andunderstand their opinion on the curriculum, student
needs, and program direction. Based on the results of these
consultationsrecommendations were made to the greater institution
and thesewere linked to the directions of the College to transform
into alearner-centered institution. And so beginning the school year
of 2001 the School of Special Studies was renamed the Schoolof
Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS) and was givena new
structure. This time, aside from the academic program for the Deaf,
the SDEAS also housed its own student services unitin order to
remain responsive to Deaf needs, although a number of programs
still opened its doors to the Deaf and mainstreamingin some
activities (e.g. BESTMade Leadership Training and the planning
sessions of Student Council and other studentorganizations) still
took place and the integration of the Deaf students into the
Benildean community during these events weredone with the aid of
sign language interpreters. Also, theBAPDST Program whittled down
its offering of areas of specialization to two: Multimedia Arts and
Entrepreneurship.To meet the need for skilled teachers in these
areas, DLS-CSBsSchool of Design and Arts and School of
Management andInformation Technology assigned some of their
faculty practitioners to be teachers at the SDEAS. In order to

ensureeffective communication between the teachers and their

Deaf students, sign language interpreters were assigned to assist
inthese classes. In 2003, the academic and formation units
wereformally recognized in the organizational chart as the Office for
Academics (O-AP) and the Office for Deaf Esteem andFormation (ODEAF).In 2006, the Office for Partnership and Development (OPD)was added to the structure of the SDEAS functioning as
theemployment and advocacy arm of the School to the larger
Benildean Community as well as to the external agencies thatwere
looking into providing the Deaf graduates of the Collegewith
employment. At about the same time the SLLP wasrenamed the
Filipino Sign Language Learning Program(FSLLP)
in line with its commitment to be an innovator in theFilipino Sign
Language education for the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Hearing. It
was at this time that personnel fromthe different offices providing
students with academic supportservices were becoming aware of
the importance of knowingsign language in order to effectively
deliver their services to themembers of the Colleges Deaf
Community thus the rise inenrollment of DLS-CSB personnel into
the FSLLP. This wassupported by the College through their subsidy
of the enrollmentfee of personnel who enrolled into the
program.During this time the College was starting to become truly
awareof the presence of the Deaf Community of the SDEAS and
Deaf students were being invited to attend various activities
likeseminars and workshops, leadership trainings, and other
institutional programs. The process for providing access
andaccommodation services at this point was still very unclear
withsign language interpreters rendering free service during
eventswhen the organizers could not afford to pay the
interpretinghonorarium and perennial last minute requests for
interpretingservices when they would realize that Deaf students
were participants of an event. In 2007, in a move to
professionalizethe provision of interpreting services within the
College, a policy was approved by the institutions Academic Council
putting structure into the request of interpreting services for
activities and events within the College and providing
aninterpreting honorarium scheme that was fair given the
servicerendered by sign language interpreters.Recently, as the
result of the partnership between DLS-CSB andPEN-International,
the Center for Education Access andDevelopment (CEAD) was

created with the primary purpose of setting up support structures

for the mainstream set-up thatqualified Deaf students can get into
with the School of Hotel,Restaurant and Institution Management
(SHRIM) and theSchool of Design and Arts (SDA). A team comprised
of theDeans and Chairpersons of SDEAS, SHRIM, and SDA withDLSCSBs Vice Chancellor for Academics visited the NationalTechnical
Institute for the Deaf (NTID) in early 2009 for aseries of discussions
on the mainstream environment that NTIDand Rochester Institute of
Technology (RIT) has and to conductobservations on how classes
are conducted when there are anumber of Deaf persons in a largely
hearing class. Once thegroup returned to their institution, steps
were taken to preparethese Schools for the eventual mainstreaming
of Deaf learnersinto their programs and the initial step was to
organize corefaculty members and academic support services
personnel andenroll them in Filipino Sign Language classes. Apart
fromlearning the basic conversational signs, these groups will
alsowork with their FSLLP teachers and with members fromSDEAS in
developing technical signs for the vocabulary thatone often uses in
the areas of culinary arts, tourism, hospitalitymanagement, and
design.At the start of school year 2009-2010, upon the
recommendationof the human resource study that the College was
undergoing,the Offices under the SDEAS were renamed Centers and
arenow called the Center for Academics, Center for Deaf Esteemand
Formation (C-DEAF) and the Center for Partnership andDevelopment
(C-PD).
Source:
http://www.academia.edu/1421846/The_Use_of_Filipino_Sign_Langu
age_in_Providing_Academic_Support_Services_to_Deaf_Students
Local Studies
1. August 5, 2014, during the 4th Day of Novena Masses, St. Benilde
Romancon, Ms. Leah Osido shares about her life experiences,
relationship with God and family, and commitment to serve the
Deaf community. She is an alumna of the School of Deaf
Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS batch 2001) and the
current Media Development Specialist of SDEAS' Center for
Partnership and Development. Ms. Joyce Dalawampu was her
voice interpreter in the video above and the transcript of the
sharing below was edited by Ms. Bea Francisco.

Good afternoon everyone, I am Leah Osido a graduate of Benilde

and now work in SDEASs CPD. I was tasked to share my reflection
on the appreciation of the individual worth.
Let me share a little about my family. I am an only child and was
very close to both my parents growing up. In 2009, my mother
lost her job after the typhoon Ondoy destroyed the factory she
was working in. In November, I was able to get a new job.
Unfortunately, by December of the same year, my father who was
a former OFW had a fatal stroke and passed away. It was a very
difficult time in my life and I was afraid; I didnt know what to do. I
learned a lot from that experience. I learned how to save money,
to budget and make do with what I have. I also learned to become
independent and do things on my own.
People used to ask me why I was always frowning or sad and I
realized I wasnt aware that I was showing a negative disposition.
I dont see myself being negative but other people always tell me
that I was. So after some reflection, I decided to change my
perception of life and be more positive. I had a lot of problems
and I asked God for help to overcome them. I tried to search for
ways to become more positive. I changed my lifestyle and routine
and tried to appreciate the beauty of simple things, such as the
environment and people around me.
I have received a lot of positive blessings in my life, my mother,
my friends, and the Deaf Community. I always show my
appreciation of life by being cheerful and smiling at everyone. I
believe God always gives me the grace to smile despite
everything. As a leader I wanted to be a good role model to other
people and at the same time respect each persons uniqueness. I
wanted to help other people who are having problems and have
negative perspective in life. I listen to their problems and try to
give them positive advice. I always ask God to help me continue
living and not go back to my difficult life before. I encourage other
people who had the same experience to be happy and try to
change their life for the better.
I wish to be of more value to my community by sharing my
experience and professional ability and serving other people. The
challenge for me is to continue being strong in life. I believe and I
am confident that I am helping my community by serving other
Deaf people, volunteering, especially helping out in the provinces.

I believe the real challenge for us is to change our perspective,

understand and accept the uniqueness of other people; not
quickly judging them, because each one has his/her own family
background, set of values and culture. Thats why its also
important to have a positive perspective of ones self, ones
identity and a firm hold on ones values and principles.
Remembering that each person is unique and God- given.
Source: http://deaf-studies.blogspot.com/
2.What are sign languages?
Common misconceptions:
Signing is universal.
Signing is gesture or only pantomime.
Sign languages are based on spoken languages.
Sign languages have been demonstrated to be true languages at
par with spoken languages. Spoken languages are based on
classes of sound, while sign languages are built from visual units.
There are over a hundred sign languages currently recognized
around the world.
The fundamental unit of structure is the Handshape, along with
the other parameters of Location, Movement, Palm Orientation
and Nonmanual signal. These are further organized into units
which carry meaning, and then, sentences and discourse.
Sign languages have no written systems and are governed by
purely visually motivated grammatical devices found in the
Nonmanual signals of the face and body.

How do sign languages differ from sign systems?

Sign languages arise and grow naturally across time, within
communities of persons with hearing loss. A sign language is not
intrinsic to children with hearing loss but is among the set of
learned behaviours within the community that is shared, nurtured
and passed on.
Sign languages possess their own structure distinct from spoken
and written languages.

Sign systems, on the other hand, are considered artificial since

they did not arise spontaneously but were purposively created as
educational tools in the development of literacy. Artificial sign
systems follow the structure and grammar of spoken and written
languages.
What is Filipino Sign Language (FSL)?
Common misconceptions about Filipino Sign Language:
It is based on Filipino.
It is based on English.
It is the same as American Sign Language.
Like other legitimate visual languages, FSL has a hierarchy of
linguistic structure based on a manual signal supplemented by
additional linguistic information from No manual signals of the
face and body. It is the ordered and rule-governed visual
communication which has arisen naturally and embodies the
cultural identity of the Filipino community of signers.
It shows internal structure distinct from spoken and written
languages, and other visual languages, and possesses productive
processes, enabling it to respond to numerous current and
emerging communication needs.
It reflects rich regional diversity in its vocabulary and bears a
historical imprint of language change over time since the early
beginnings of manual communication in the 16th century in
Leyte.
From the lexicostatistical analysis of field data by the Philippine
Federation of the Deaf (PFD), possible varieties have so far been
proposed: an Eastern Visayas group (Leyte variety) and a
Southern Luzon group (Southern Tagalog, Bicol and Palawan
varieties).
FSL bears the historical imprint of heavy language pressure from
contact with American Sign Language since the start of the
century, as well as with Manually Coded English since the 1970s.
In 2004, sign linguist Liza Martinez called attention to the massive
and abrupt change of the core vocabulary of FSL, which has
resulted from this linguistic pressure. The PFD historical analysis

in 2007 used the lexicostatistical approach and verified

vocabulary elements of indigenous as well as foreign origin.
Distinguished sign linguist James Woodward has been at the
forefront of pioneering research to protect endangered indigenous
sign languages (including FSL) and stem the strong tide of
influence from foreign sign languages and sign systems.
Who are the Filipino deaf?
These are Filipinos who have hearing loss, including those who
lost their hearing early or late in life (late-deafened adults, senior
citizens), the hard of hearing, those with other impairments such
as the deafblind, those who communicate orally, unschooled deaf,
LGBT deaf, deaf indigenous peoples and so on.
Who are the Filipino Deaf?
They are
deaf Filipinos who use, share, nurture and promote
common values (including their visual language and cultural
identity) as a claim for human rights and self-determination.
How are FSL and American Sign Language related?
FSL belongs to the branch of visual languages influenced by
American Sign Language together with, for example, Thai Sign
Language and Kenyan Sign Language. However, the structure of
FSL has changed significantly enough for it to be considered a
distinct language from American Sign Language.
There is substantial evidence of widespread FSL changes in the
following:
Overall form, internal structure (particularly on the inventory of
handshapes and accompanying phonological processes)
Sign formation or morphological processes (such as affixation,
compounding, numeral incorporation, lexicalization of finger
spelling, inflections and others
Classifier predication, grammatical features and transformational
rules, enabling it to generate infinite forms of surface structure
from patterns of deep structure
What is the legal basis for House Bill No. 6079?
The bill is known as An Act Declaring Filipino Sign Language as
the National Sign Language of the Filipino Deaf and the Official

Language of Government in All Transactions Involving the Deaf,

and Mandating Its Use in Schools, Broadcast Media and
Workplaces.
The State is duty-bound internationally and domestically to
legislate HB 6079 or other laws written in the same spirit.
International commitments include its ratification of UN core
treaties, e.g. the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the Convention on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights, as well as the signing by the Philippines of
the 1994 Salamanca Statement on Special Needs Education.
Department of Education (DepEd) policies include the 1997
specific guidelines on the use of FSL as the medium of instruction
for students with hearing impairment. Recent or proposed DepEd
policies, such as those for Mother Tongue-based Multilingual
Education, the K-12 bill and the Early Years Act, already
incorporate principles of full accessibility, inclusion and
participation of children with disabilities.
Is this legal recognition of a national sign language taking place
only in the Philippines?
No. Forty-four countries are reported to have various levels of
formal recognition for their sign languages, from constitutional
status to specific legislation, polices or guidelines.
Sign language recognition continues to be an area of active
lobbying with the government for Deaf communities worldwide,
which invoke their right to language and communication in all
aspects of their lives.
How much research has been done on FSL?
Rosalinda Macaraig Ricasa, the first Filipino hearing sign-language
linguist who trained at the renowned Deaf institution, Gallaudet
University (Washington), first presented in the late 1980s the
observation of a possibly unique sign language in the Philippines,
distinct from American Sign Language.
In 1990, Liza Martinez, the second Filipino hearing sign-language
linguist who trained at the same Deaf university, conducted the
first linguistic inquiry in the country. Since that time, over 80
studies on the structure and use of FSL have been undertaken
and published or presented in local and international forums.

These span the fields of sign language linguistics, history,

Philippine studies, literature and culture, lexicography and corpus,
sign language interpreting, translation studies, language policy,
education, early childhood development, human rights and
machine intelligence/sign language recognition.
The Philippine Federation of the Deaf was the lead for the National
Sign Language Committee, which produced the Status Report on
the Use of Sign Language in the Philippines (with principal support
from the Gallaudet University Alumni Association through the
Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund) and the Practical Dictionaries Project,
a four-country study with Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong
through the support of Nippon Foundation.
Trainers for the latter project were Dr. James Woodward,
Dr. Yutaka Osugi (a Deaf sign linguist from Japan) and Dr. Liza
Martinez.
How are deaf children taught in public schools?
The National Sign Language Committee collected and evaluated
videotape samples of over 150 hearing teachers in nine regions.
The data show typically Sign Supported Speech or Simultaneous
Communication (i.e., speaking and signing at the same time). The
most frequent use of the spoken language is English, mixed with
either Filipino or Cebuano.
Will HB 6079 hinder the development of literacy?
No. Section 4 (1) of the bill states that the reading and writing of
Filipino, other Philippine languages and English shall still also be
taught. For a bilingual-bicultual goal in Deaf education, the first
language (L1) is a fully accessible visual language (i.e., FSL), and
the second language (L2) is a written language.
Shall the legal recognition of FSL as the national sign language
conflict with individual autonomy?
No. A fundamental principle of the UNCRPD is individual
autonomy, including the freedom to make ones own choices
(Article 3.a).
On education, Article 24.3 emphasizes that States Parties shall
enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social
development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in

education and as members of the community. To this end, States

Parties shall take appropriate measures, including:
(b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of
the linguistic identity of the deaf community;
(c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular
children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, is delivered in the most
appropriate languages and modes and means of communication
for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic
and social development.
Part (b) is a clear directive to facilitate and promote the linguistic
identity of the community (i.e., FSL). Notable is the use of the
word including in the first paragraph (meaning, it is not
exclusive) for the directive to promote this linguistic identity.
Part (c) instructs the State to make sure that schools, in pursuit of
their goals and mandates, offer education that is appropriate and
maximizes academic and social development. This appears to
give schools latitude in the choice and delivery through the use of
various languages, modes and means. However, these must
satisfy the requirements for fully inclusive education and
maximum development.
Article 21.b directs the State to guard the freedom of expression
and access to information of persons with disabilities of all forms
of communication of their choice, while also recognizing and
promoting the use of sign languages (21.e).
The most critical point here is State responsibility. The party to
the convention is the Philippine state and not any stakeholder.
The State must, therefore, clearly demonstrate that it is carrying
out its duty to facilitate and promote the linguistic and cultural
identity of the community (Articles 21.b, e; 24.3.b, 30.4) and
provide full accessibility through sign language interpretation
(Article 9.2.e). Articles 21.b and 24.3.c in no way diminish State
commitment to clearly promote and protect sign language and
deaf culture.
What will happen if HB 6079 does not become a law?
State responsibility remains clear and does not change. It shall
still need to demonstrate how it is implementing Articles 21.b, e,
24.3.b,
30.4 and 9.2.e of the UNCRPD. It shall also be

accountable for the nearly two decades of neglect of its

commitment to the 1994 Salamanca Statement to ensure access
through a national sign language.
Existing policies of the DepEd and the judiciary relating to sign
language and accessibility must still be fully implemented
according to the principles and obligations of the UNCRPD.
Will the mandatory use of FSL be a barrier to unschooled deaf
Filipinos?
No. Because of its fully visual nature, FSL is the next most
efficient and effective interface in communication even with a
deaf person who has been isolated and is unable to use the
typical sign communication of the community. Artificial sign
systems, which are sound- and alphabet-/spelling-based, shall be
incomprehensible to such deaf persons.
Source:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/41909/primer-on-filipino-signlanguage w

3.The Unspoken Language

EAVESDROPPING is despicable but I do it all the time. When I see
deaf people talking on the train, I cant help myself. Im riveted
by their conversation and my eyes follow their hands as they
dance in space. Fingers animated by meaning slice, flick, and stab
the air. Noses scrunch, eyebrows rise and fall, cheeks puff out, lips
purse and wiggle about. Not a word is spoken but a lot is said.
Chances are, theyre communicating in Filipino Sign Language
(FSL), a unique visual language that has its own grammar and
syntax. FSL is not gesture or pantomime. FSL is not American Sign
Language (ASL), although it cannot deny that it was influenced by
ASL; neither is FSL the sign equivalent of spoken Tagalog or
Filipino.
FSL is FSL and it is a defining part of the Filipino Deaf big D,
not small d identity, which is why members were shocked
when Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretary Yolanda
Quijano endorsed Signed Exact English (SEE), a manually coded
version of spoken English, for classroom use during a forum
attended by public and private school teachers, and NGOs.

It was like a bomb, said George Lintag, secretary of the

Philippine Federation of the Deaf, Inc. (PFD), who was present
when Ms. Quijano made her controversial statement.
Mr. Lintag is a post-lingual Deaf person, which means he lost his
hearing after he learned to speak. At the age of nine, his hearing
gradually started to weaken and by the time he turned 15, his
world was silent. The interview was conducted without the aid of
an interpreter. BusinessWorld wrote its questions and comments
down; he answered in a quiet voice. In answer to an observation
that he spoke well, he shrugged and smiled. I dont know. I cant
hear myself.
There are several degrees of hearing loss. For quick reference, a
mildly deaf person cannot hear whispered conversations and has
a hearing threshold of 20-40 decibels (dB); a moderately deaf
person has difficulty following close-range conversations and has
a hearing threshold of 40-60 dB; a person with severe hearing loss
can only hear loud noises such as the racket made by a vacuum
cleaner or lawn mower at close range, representing a hearing
threshold of 60-90 dB; finally, a severely deaf person can hear
only extremely loud noises a chainsaw, for example and feel
the vibrations made by loud sounds.
The people in the final group have a hearing threshold of greater
than 90 dB, a level thats around 10 to 40 decibels lower than a
live rock concert (it depends on which band is playing). Normal
conversation is 60-70 dB; Col Hatchman of Dirty Skanks holds the
Guinness Book of World Records record for loudest drummer
when he hit a peak reading of 137.2 dB at a 2006 gig.
Filipinos with hearing loss account for 2% of the population, a
conservative estimate. However, not all deaf Filipinos are
members of the Filipino Deaf community, which defines itself as a
cultural and linguistic minority fighting for the right to use FSL,
the native sign language that it knows, understands, and
identifies with the most.
In response to Ms. Quijanos endorsement of SEE, PFD, a member
of the World Federation of the Deaf and the national Deaf
advocacy organization composed of 18 member Deaf
organizations in 14 regions, drafted a resolution this August
claiming the fundamental human rights to language, culture,

participation and self-determination for all Deaf Filipinos, in

accordance with the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability, the
Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs
Education (1994), the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities.
The PFD called on the DepEd to halt the violation of the rights to
language, culture, participation and self-determination of Deaf
Filipinos; and institute, facilitate and promote all appropriate
measures to guarantee the full enjoyment of these rights.
We are proud of our culture. We want to preserve our culture.
And the most important part of our culture is our language, which
is FSL, said Mr. Lintag.
FSL is a true language
According to Dr. Liza B. Martinez, a hearing sign language linguist
who is founder and director of Philippine Deaf Resource Center
(PDRC), FSL is one of about a hundred natural sign languages
recognized to be linguistically distinct from each other at all levels
of linguistic structure (phonology, morphology, syntax and
discourse).
FSL is not simply a dialect of American Sign Language (ASL),
though it does borrow heavily from it. Ms. Martinez cites archival
documents dating back to the 16th-17th century as critical
evidence that sign language existed in the Philippines before
American colonization.

Separate accounts written by Jesuit priests Gregorio Lopez and

Pedro Chirino describe mutes who used signs to communicate.
An Introduction to Filipino Sign Language, a multivolume series
published in 2004 by PDRC and PFD, answers many of the
questions a hearing person might have about a visual language.
Sign languages are as different from each other as spoken ones;
and only those who know sign languages from the same branch or
family will be able to understand each other right off the bat. Its
easy to get FSL if you know ASL, for example, because theyre
related though history and development. Taiwanese Sign

Language, meanwhile, uses handshapes that are alien to FSL: the

raised middle finger in the sign for brother and the folded pinky
in the sign for airplane, among others.
As in ASL, each sign in FSL has five components. Handshape,
which was already mentioned, is one of them. The other four are
palm orientation, location, movement, and nonmanual signals.
Change any one of these five components and the meaning of the
sign changes as well.
Nuances such as tone, sarcasm, or irony are conveyed through
nonmanual signals such as facial expressions and body
movements.
Shouting entails taking up a larger area of signing space, an
imaginary three-dimensional region in front of the user;
whispering, a smaller area. (If the need for privacy is great, you
can always sign underneath your shirt so that your conversation
is hidden from prying eyes.) Eloquence, just the same as any
language, is demonstrated by the wide use of vocabulary and
complex sentence structure.
Hands can move rapidly or slowly, gracefully or abruptly. How you
sign tells a lot about who you are: your age, educational
attainment, even your gender. Just as there is swardspeak in
spoken language, there is also gay FSL (youll know it when you
see it; gay signs have more. pizzazz.)
As in any language, there is the whole range of human diversity
in terms of signing styles. Each individual has his or her own
dialect, said Ms. Martinez. Particular vocabularies are distinct
for certain age groups and social classes. Like other living
languages, new vocabularies emerge, change, and disappear.

Members of the Filipino Deaf community have repeatedly said

that they would rather be taught in FSL. The PFDs resolution is
only the latest and, as mentioned, their request is backed by
several local and international declarations. The DepEd, in the
1980s, prescribed that local sign language Pilipino Sign
Language be used as the language of instruction for the
hearing impaired.

The Formal Resolution adopted by the World Congress of the

World Federation of the Deaf in Helsinki, Finland in 1987 said that
the distinct national sign languages of indigenous deaf
populations should officially be recognized as their natural
language of right for direct communication and that teachers of
the deaf learn and use the accepted indigenous sign language as
the primary language of instruction.
The Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special
Needs Education, adopted by 92 governments (the Philippines
included) and 25 international organizations in 1994 read, in part:
Educational policies should take full account of individual
differences and situations.
The importance of sign language as the medium of
communication among the deaf, for example, should be
recognized and provision to ensure that all deaf persons have
access to education in their national sign language.
In 2007, the Philippines became one 82 signatories to the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(UNCRPD). Article 24 of the Convention states that signatories
shall facilitate the learning of sign language and the promotion of
the linguistic identity of the deaf community.
Why then, Ms. Quijanos endorsement of Signed Exact English?
Why then, the use of SEE in the Miriam College Southeast Asian
Institute for the Deaf (MC-SAID)? Why then, the use of Signed
English (a system that is simpler than SEE) in the Philippine
School for the Deaf (PSD)?
Visual codes, reading, and writing
We are not here to teach signs. We are here to teach concepts,
said Yolanda Capulong, principal of PSD, which offers three levels
of schooling (pre-elementary, elementary, and secondary). Our
students are here to learn the parts of the body and the parts of
the plant. They are here to learn to read and write.
The language of instruction in PSD is English, complemented by
Signed English, a system of manual communication that
translates spoken English into signs. Signed English is one of
several visual codes for representing spoken English.

The history of PSD goes back more than a hundred years. It was
established in 1907 as the School for the Deaf and the Blind by
Delia Delight Rice of Columbus, Ohio. In 1963, the School split
into two entities: PSD and the Philippine School for the Blind.
Today, it has 603 students, ranging from the mildly deaf to the
severely deaf. PSD also accepts children with other disabilities
and special needs, such as autism and cerebral palsy.
Since PSD is a national school, the medium of instruction has
always been a concern. Were trying to serve a very diverse
population with different needs, said Ms. Capulong. There are
three big issues in the education of the deaf: where shall we teach
deaf children, how shall we teach deaf children, and what shall we
teach deaf children? FSL relates to the second issue.
PSDs goal is to mainstream its deaf students. In the education
setting, this means helping them join regular classes based on
their skills and intellectual abilities. In another sense,
mainstreaming refers to becoming part of the larger, hearing
society. To this end, PSD adheres to the Total Communication
Philosophy, which means that it uses a combination of
communication modes in its classes.
Where other schools are either purely oral (meaning students
must lip read and undergo auditory training so that they can
speak) or purely manual, PSD believes in Simultaneous
Communication signing and speaking at the same time.
Concepts cannot be taught without a common language, said
Ms. Capulong. FSL is gestural like any sign language. How can
you convert a gestural language into a written language?, she
asked.
The PSD principal made it clear that she has no problem with FSL.
Its okay; its fine, she said. However, inside a classroom, you
have to use a system. You have to standardize things, including
the manifestation of a language. Using Signed English, she
continued, will help students grasp the syntax of English, which,
in turn, will help them read and write.
Sign what you say
Parents who were not satisfied with the education offered at PSD
established the Miriam College Southeast Asian Institute for the

Deaf (MC-SAID), which teaches pre-school to secondary levels, in

1974. It was a forerunner in adopting the Total Communication
Philosophy. But unlike PSD, MC-SAID used and still uses Signed
Exact English, an even more precise visual code for spoken
English than Signed English.

Every morpheme in spoken English has an equivalent sign in SEE:

verbs must be conjugated, meaning there are appropriate
gestures that tell you whether a verb is in the progressive form (ing) or the past tense (-ed); articles and prepositions are not
skipped, neither are affixes. Basically, everything that is said is
exactly signed (hence the name).
The advantages of SEE are many. Ive seen how the use of this
sign system has helped our graduates, said Carol Ui, MC-SAID
principal.
An educators concern is literacy and I believe that this is what
SEE can give to our deaf students. She continued that the use of
SEE does not exclude FSL. They can both be functional and
useful for any deaf child.
For Ms. Ui, MC-SAIDs graduates are the best arguments for using
SEE. Theres Jemima Ming Go, who graduated cum laude from the
University of the Philippines, Diliman, College of Fine Arts last
year. As a matter of fact, many Deaf leaders now advocating for
the use of FSL were products of SEE.
I think that one of the reasons they can engage intellectually in
these conversations and discussions about FSL and SEE is that
they have command over both languages [FSL and SEE], said
Ms. Ui. That they favor FSL over SEE is not really an issue with
me. It makes me proud as a teacher to see them engaged. Not
any deaf person can do [what theyre doing].
The MC-SAID principal continued that seeing how well the system
has worked for them just bolsters the case for SEE. When were
talking about classroom situation, I really believe that we should
use SEE, she said, adding that literacy is reading and writing,
and, therefore, knowing the rules of English (which is the closest
the world has to a lingua franca). But again, that doesnt mean
that FSL cannot be used in other contexts.

A learner-centered environment
Raphael Raphy Domingo is a Deaf leader who works as
coordinator of Education Access for the Deaf at the De La Salle
College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)-Center for Education Access
and Development (CEAD). He was president of the PFD from
1999-2003 and a major contributor to An Introduction to Filipino
Sign Language. Mr. Domingo, who lost his hearing pre-lingually, is
bilingual, being fluent in FSL and English. DLS-CSB uses FSL in its
School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS), which has
a Multimedia Arts track and a Business Entrepreneurship track.
There are more Deaf teachers in the school than hearing
teachers.

FSL is our language, Mr. Domingo said through an interpreter. It

is the natural language of the Filipino Deaf community. The deaf,
in general, use their eyes to understand the world.
(Later on in the interview, Mr. Domingo requested that
BusinessWorld use Mr. Domingo said in this article instead of
Mr. Domingo said through an interpreter. This is my voice,
these are my thoughts and not the interpreters, he said, adding
that the phrase through an interpreter could be used once as a
compromise.)
To illustrate how FSL is different from SEE, he used the question
What is your name? as an example. SEE entails signing each
word what, is, your, and name plus the question
mark at the end of the interrogative sentence. In FSL, the sign for
name and a puzzled facial expression suffices.
Mr. Domingo stressed that its not a shortcut but a visual concept.
Before learning English, Tagalog, or whatever spoken language,
the Deaf should first learn their own language, which is FSL, he
said. The problem is that teachers keep using hearing methods
to teach us.
They bombard the Deaf with so many written words and we just
copy, copy, copy without understanding anything. Communication
is one way and theres no feedback. It has to be more visual.

Theresa Christine Techie Benitez-dela Torre, director of CEAD

and dean of SDEAS from 2002-2009, said that DLS-CSB uses FSL
because it is learner-centered.
You have to see it from the view of the students. You have to
understand it from a sociocultural perspective, she said. Deaf
people cannot hear, yes, but that does not define their
personhood. Their identity is not their hearing ability. They have
their own unique experiences.
Imagine a deaf infant born in a hearing world. From day one, this
baby is isolated and cut off. There is a barrier a barrier that is
not necessarily a product of his deafness but a product of his
hearing environment, which has always addressed only the needs
of hearing people, said Ms. Benitez-dela Torre. If we understand
the context of the deaf, then we can adjust the environment so
that they can access the same things hearing people have access
to.
One way of adjusting the environment is using FSL, a visual and
kinesthetic language that is the natural language of the Deaf.

Oral-based languages are learned in an auditory manner.

Hearing and post-lingual deaf people already have the
foundations they need in their brain to understand the rules, said
the CEAD director. The same is not true for the pre-lingual deaf.
It is better for a deaf child to learn FSL, she continued, and use it
as a bridge to a second, oral-based language such as English. It
should not be the other way around, Ms. Benitez-dela Torre said.
Its difficult when you force an oral-based reality on those who
are deaf. All we want is for them to have choices and the power to
make them.
Source:
http://www.bworld.com.ph/content.php?
section=Weekender&title=The-unspoken-language&id=37560

4. According to Angelo Garcia of Manila Bulletin Philippines, MANILA,

Philippines as the country celebrates Buwan ng Wika this
month, a sector of society that has been lobbying for the

recognition of the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) is reiterating its

call.
The Filipino deaf community is currently supporting lawmakers,
through the help of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party
List representative Antonio Tinio and Rep. Teddy Casio, in
passing several relevant House bills to benefit their stakeholders.
Among them is House Bill (HB) 6079 which pushes for the
declaration of FSL as the national sign language of the Filipino
deaf.
HB 4121, on the other hand, pushes for the use of sign language
interpretation inset in television news programs, while HB 4631 is
a bill that would give access to sign language interpreters in
Philippine courts.
As these Bills gain traction, leaders of the Filipino deaf community
are optimistic about the progress they are making.
Yes, we are very optimistic. The progress has beenvery
tremendous especially this year. The same with FSL, we want the
same mother tongue-based instruction in education. Theres a lot
of research and a lot of work to be done. Whats important is we
have strong support, we have a strong advocacy. We want to
emphasize that the deaf people also need the help of the hearing
community in this advocacy, shares Raphael Domingo, De La
Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Center for Education
Access and Development (CEAD), Education Access for the Deaf
coordinator.

5. THE UNIQUE FILIPINO SIGN LANGUAGE

In 1907, the American Sign Language (ASL) was introduced to the
Filipino deaf community through the School for the Deaf and
Blind, now known as the Philippine School for the Deaf. ASL has
since influenced FSL, the Filipino sign language.
FSL is a unique language. It has its own grammar, structure,
syntax, which is different from the spoken language. Its also the
mark of identity of deaf Filipinos, explains Mackie Calbay,
program coordinator of DLS-CSB School of Deaf Education and
Applied (SDEAS) Deaf Advocacy.

FSL is believed to be part of the French Sign Language family, the

sign language where most sign languages are derived from,
including ASL. But like any other language, sign languages differ
depending on its use and the countrys culture.
ASL has a big influence on FSL, which can be traced back to the
history of the Philippines. In terms of grammar, there are
differences and similarities between FSL and ASL. There are
similarities in terms of hand shapes, positioning, hand location,
movement, facial expression, and palm orientation. But the
conversation and discourse are different depending on the
culture. For example here in the Philippines, we have a sign for
flooding inside the house, a term ASL does not have because they
dont experience it, explains Domingo, who is also a member of
the Special Education (SpEd) Council of the Department of
Education (DepEd).
He explains that the use of FSL by deaf Filipinos has increased
through the years. In 2007, about 60 percent of deaf Filipinos
were using ASL while 40 percent used FSL. Today, they recorded
that about 54 percent of deaf Filipinos use FSL compared to ASL.
STRONGER SUPPORT FOR FSL
Rey Alfred Lee, president of the Philippine Federation of the Deaf
(PFD), says that the Filipino deaf community did not even know
that FSL existed.
A lot of deaf people did not realize that they are using FSL. They
know ASL but in reality they are using FSL. Naturally, if they are
conversing among themselves they are going to be using FSL but
if a deaf person would have to communicate with a hearing
person, theres an automatic switching of the language. So they
would convert signing exact English (SEE). But if a deaf person
converses with another deaf person then they will use the more
natural language, which is FSL, Lee says.

Lee, faculty member of the Filipino Sign Language Learning

Program of SDEAS, says that most of his students, both deaf and
hearing, are surprised to discover that there is an FSL. DLS-CSB
SDEAS is known for its use of FSL and advocates the use of the
local language in the school and community.

The support for FSL is now stronger. The influence of the usage
of FSL is slowly making waves. Hopefully in terms of the usage of
FSL, it will come soon but well have to work double time, Lee
shares.
FSL IN SCHOOLS
One of the main objectives of the deaf community is to push FSL
in schools and make it the medium of instruction for deaf
students. Most SpEd schools today use ASL. SpEd courses in
colleges and universities also do not offer FSL in their curriculums
The Special Education Council has made a proposal to hire deaf
teacher assistants for hearing teachers who do not know sign
language. The deaf assistants will facilitate communication in the
classroom. DepEd is happy about that, Domingo says.
Although Domingo says that SpEd teachers are not to be blamed.
The SpEd teachers are aware of the need, however they are not
readily accepting. We cannot blame them because the SpEd
courses do not include FSL courses in their curriculum. So that
means the SpEd teachers have no choice but to learn sign
language by themselves. There are many organizations that dont
use FSL in their curriculum, Domingo says.
Currently, the Philippine Federation of the Deaf (PFD) is designing
an FSL curriculum for the SpEd course in higher education.
PFD will also soon work with the Japan Ministry of Education to
further enhance FSL as a language. They are also in talks with the
Professional Regulation Commission in licensing deaf teacher
assistants to provide them with the recognition and right to
benefits they duly deserve.
Domingo says that they are also now working on the curriculum
for the deaf, in line with DepEds K to 12 curriculum.
PROUD TO BE DEAF, PROUD OF FSL
These deaf community leaders hope that more deaf Filipinos
recognize FSL, their native language.

SDEAS is advocating the use of FSL in the community. Hopefully,

through that they could foster as sense of community and also

promote excellence in deaf education. FSL is best used to have

better communication. We should be using a language we could
understand, Calbay says.
And they will not stop to work to further the cause of their
advocacy. After all, the deaf community is fighting for their
language, fighting for their identity.
ASL, being a colonial language, we dont want it to be
propagated here. Out of respect for the deaf Filipino culture we
want FSL to be used here. Its where we belong. Its part of our
own language, its Filipino. Thats how we communicate and
understand each other, because this is what we use. If some
people dont take FSL seriously, other countries will look down at
us, where is your own language? Were proud that this is our
language, this is what we know. This is FSL, Domingo says.
Conceptual Model of the Study

Input

Process
Output

Proposal

Involvement of
decision making

Time

Transparency

Resources
Planning
Team Work
Effective
methods

Review
Guides/Instructi
on
Program

Effectiveness of
researching and
conducting time
to work on
every single
part of the
system and
coming up a
helpful idea for
creating and
developing the
said
system/applicati
on.

Operational Definition of Terms

Deaf/Hearing loss:
Symptoms may be mild, moderate, severe or profound. A
patient with mild hearing impairment may have problems
understanding speech, especially if there is a lot of noise around,
while those with moderate deafness may need a hearing aid.
Some people are severely deaf and depend on lip-reading when
communicating with others.
Sign Language:
A language which uses manual communication and body
language to convey meaning, as opposed to acoustically
conveyed sound patterns. This can involve simultaneously
combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands,
arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's
thoughts. They share many similarities with spoken languages
(sometimes called "oral languages", which depend primarily on
sound), which is why linguists consider both to be natural
languages, but there are also some significant differences
between signed and spoken languages.

Chapter 3: Research Methodology

Research Design
USE CASE

Select a
Category

Tutorial

Quiz
Deaf Person

See results

Family and friends

Entity Relationship Diagram

Context Diagram

Planning out the

Tutorial layout and
platform
for
Project Development animation for the
development.
dummy

DATA GATHERING

Identifying the clients

used signPRODUCTION
language in
the Philippines.
Tutorial and quiz level
design.
Formulating the
technical approach.

Program developing
Animating the dummy
for visual presentation

GRAPHICS/ANIMATION

Images, files, and

unity package

Audio and sounds

Logo layout

Functional reviews
Creating quiz

TESTING
Function testing
System tutorial/quiz
testing
Functionalities testing
DesignWork
and graphic
Plan
testing

Novemb Decemb Janua Februar Marc

Reporting of error
er
er
ry
y
h
issues
Activity/Wor 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
k
Planning
the system
Gathering
requiremen
ts
Coding
Designing
the system
Testing
Fixing
errors /
Bugs

Start

End

Operation and Testing Procedure

During the test of the integration of the application, the
programmers as well tested if the intended output meets the
desired performance of the F-Xinulator application. Maintaining
the system is always the priority, when errors occurred such
debugging during implementation.

Evaluation Procedure

F-Xinulator can be evaluated but only its current progress. Having

the organized interface form and also contents of the application
can be easily understood to avoid difficulty on using the
application.

Functionality: has different features that support the actual sign

language

Testability: Highly responsive and easy to use.

Maintainability: can be maintained easily with the use of the
software by the programmers