Top 5 Sign Language Moments That Don’t Involve Nelson Mandela
AFTER a man, stood onstage at Nelson Mandela’s memorial waving his arms around wildly, making up sign language as he went along, leaving deaf South Africans wondering if they were watching someone being attacked by invisible wasps, it got us appreciating what those who do sign-language can do.
They appear on TV, at press conferences and as groups of children during emotional renditions of songs at opening ceremonies. They even have sign language at some festivals now.
And, with absolute and maximum respect for what they do, they can be very amusing sometimes. With that, let us look at the Top 5 signing moments.
No. The massive charlatan at Nelson Mandela’s gig doesn’t count this time round.
Sign Language Meets Donk
Donk took over small towns for a summer and, due to the nature of such a heavy beat, it could actually be perfect for deaf people. However, they shouldn’t be denied the hilarious lyrics of ‘Put A Donk On It’. One signer on TV impressively kept up with the rapid fire lyrics. A lesser human would’ve been doubled up with body cramps one verse in. This is probably the best video on the internet.
Mayor Bloomberg Gets Upstaged
One of the key things about sign language is an expressive face and Lydia Callis became an accidental star working with Mayor Bloomberg. She emotes through her face like no-one else.
Frozen Planet
Doing the sign-language for nature programmes must be one of the greatest jobs on Earth, as you can have as much fun as this great lady.
Profanity Sign
At Lollapalooza, festival organisers had signers at the side of the stage, which is a great thing. However, no-one quite envisioned what would happen when rappers took to the stage, complete with huge amounts of swearing and sexual references. This woman nearly upstaged all the acts with this wonderful performance. Credit to the moment she signed “I know you want this dick.”
Mr Bloom’s Nursery
Surreal children’s TV must be a dream gig for the competent signer, because they get to play along with the daft stuff on-screen. And so, to Mr Bloom’s Nursery, where the lady in question really got into her role, making us all laugh – her included.
Posted: 14th, December 2013 | In: Key Posts, Reviews, TV & Radio Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
