German Sign Language and
Communication of the Deaf
Photo: UHH/Denstorf
14 August 2019
Photo: IDGS
On July 10th 2019 we had another prestigious visitor. Prof. Dr. Pamela Perniss from the University of Cologne (Department für Heilpädagogik und Rehabilitation; Dolmetschen für Deutsche Gebärdensprache) gave a presentation about spatial relations in sign languages titled „Space above Space: The expresssion of spatial relations in the visual modality“ (German: "Raum über Raum: Der Ausdruck räumlicher Beziehungen in der visuellen Modalität“). It was the grand finale of our series of international invited presentations held at the IDGS in the 2019 summer term. The audience, including students, guests and staff of the IDGS, experienced the research findings about how simple and how complex spatial relations can be expressed in various sign languages. How can we express spatial relations, that need a certain point of view, for example a cup, that is located next to the table on the left? This and many more examples led to a vibrant discussion. Already the evening before the presentation, we met Pamela with a small and friendly group for dinner, laughing and discussing. Thank you very much for coming and see you soon at TISLR!