Kienu diversi l-għanijiet tal-proġett. L-iktar urġenti kien it-tagħlim tal-LSM u r-riċerka marbuta miegħu, kif ukoll il-ġabra ta’ dizzjunarju. Hekk kif beda miexi l-proġett, indunajna bil-ħtieġa ta’ riżorsi oħra. Naturalment kellna bżonn ta’ iżjed għajnuna f’dik li hi r-riċerka, u għalhekk ħajjarna lil xi gradwati ġodda biex jistudjaw xi aspetti tal-LSM.

L-ewwel assistenta fir-riċerka kienet Maria Azzopardi (li iktar tard saret Galea). Hija ħadmet fuq l-LSM kemm għal-Lawrja fil-Baċellerat tal-Arti fl-2001, kif ukoll għall-grad tal-Masters fl-2006 u għad-Dottorat fl-2014.

Il-Proġett tad-Dizzjunarju

Marie Alexander hija l-editriċi tad-dizzjunarju imma kitbet ukoll id-deskrizzjoni ta’ kull sinjal. Li tikkoordina x-xogħol ta’ assistenti differenti fuq medda ġmielha ta’ snin kif ukoll li tippreżerva l-kontinwità fix-xogħol tagħhom, kienet sfida kbira. Maria Galea issa hija l-Assistent Editriċi. Il-proġett qatt ma ħallietu, u daqqa ħadmet fuqu bħala assistenta uffiċjali , u daqqa tat is-sehem tagħha fuq bażi volontarja. Fil-fatt bħalissa qed tkompli taħdem fuq is-SignWriting ta’ sinjali ġodda li għadhom ma ddaħħlux fid-dizzjunarju online.

Għadd ta’ riċerkaturi Deaf ingħaqdu mal-proġett tad-dizzjunarju, mislufin mill-post tax-xogħol tagħhom (ara d-dokument dwar l-isponsors). Dawn l-assistenti kienu Dorianne Callus (mislufa mill-BOV mill-2001 sal-2010) u Karl Borg (misluf mid-Dipartiment tax-Xogħlijiet mill-2001 sal-2016). Meta kellna xi fondi oħra dawn il-persuni għamlu xogħol extra wara l-ħin biex il-proġett seta’ jimxi ’l quddiem. Bħalissa l-assistent Deaf li qed jaħdem fuq id-dizzjunarju huwa Loran Ripard-Xuereb (misluf mill-Korporazzjoni għas-Servizzi tal-Ilma sa minn Settembru 2017). Minn żmien għal żmien jgħinna wkoll Karl Borg fuq bażi volontarja, speċjalment meta jkollna xi problema fil-każ ta’ xi data qadima u jkollna bżonn l-għajnuna teknika tiegħu.

Dan id-dizzjunarju online mhux kisba taċ-ċajt, speċjalment meta tqis li ħadilna żmien daqshekk twil minħabba n-nuqqas ta’ fondi biex inkopru l-ispiża ta’ riżorsi umani fuq bażi full-time. Madankollu għad jonqos ħafna xogħol biex inlestuh u biex inżommuh aġġornat. Huwa jikkostitwixxi riżorsa kruċjali li għandha tagħti s-sehem tagħha biex il-miżuri mitluba mil-Liġi tal-Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija jsiru realtà.

It-Tagħlim tal-Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija

Imwieżen mill-Istitut tal-Lingwistika – li fl-2017 sar jismu l-Istitut tal-Lingwistika u tat-Teknoloġija tal-Lingwa - il- Proġett ta’ Riċerka tal-Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija seta’ jistinka b’modi differenti biex il-Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija, n-nies isiru konxji tagħha fuq bażi nazzjonali. Mezz ewlieni kien l-organizzazzjoni ta’ korsijiet għall-istudenti Universitarji, ħidma li bdiet wara li xxandar kors pilota fuq it-television.

L-Interpretar tal-Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija

Bejn l-2001 u l-2013 il-proġett indaħal ukoll għat-taħriġ tal-interpreti tal-lingwa tas-sinjali speċjalment bis-saħħa ta’ korsijiet intensivi fil-LSM. Dawn kienu jinkludu wkoll komponent tal-etika professjonali kif ukoll tagħlim dwar il-kultura Deaf. L-għalliema tħallsu mill-Fondazzjoni Żvilupp Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija. Il-komunità Deaf appoġġjat dan it-taħriġ billi lill-istudenti pprovditilhom l-opportunità li jpaċpċu informalment bil-LSM barra mill-ħin tal-lezzjoni.

Ir-Riżorsi

Bis-saħħa ta’ għotja mill-Fond għar-Riċerka tal-Università ta’ Malta, il-proġett kien f’qagħda li jipprovdi xi riżorsi importanti, fosthom l-Istorja tal-Milied, ibbażata fuq il-Vanġeli Sinottiċi. Ma’ din żdiedu wkoll xi stejjer oħra għat-tfal (li tnejn minnhom wieħed jista’ jarahom hawn). Għandna l-ħsieb li nżidu xi stejjer oħra hekk kif jirnexxielna nsibu iktar fondi għal dan il-għan.

Ir-Riċerka dwar il-Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija

Bħala parti mill-programm tal-Istudju tal-Lingwistika, l-Istitut ilu jipprovdi korsijiet fil-Lingwistika tas-Sinjali u tal-Kitba tas-Sinjali sa mill-1998. Minħabba f’hekk, għat-teżi tagħhom, għadd ta’ studenti ħadmu fuq aspetti differenti tal-LSM u bis-saħħa tagħhom sar xogħol siewi f’dan il-qasam. B’dan kollu s’issa għad m’hemmx ħafna pubblikazzjonijiet f’dan is-suġġett.

Id-Dizzjunarju Online

Id-dizzjunarju online mhux kisba taċ-ċajt u ħadilna daż-żmien kollu biex inwettquh l-iktar minħabba n-nuqqas ta’ fondi biex inkunu nistgħu nħaddmu nies full-time fuqu. B’dan kollu huwa ħolma li sa fl-aħħar saret realtà. Imma xorta għad baqa’ ħafna xogħol xi jsir biex jirnexxielna ninkludu s-sinjali kollha li diġà nġabru u biex id-dizzjunarju naġġornawh regolarment billi din il-lingwa għadha qed tiżviluppa b’pass mgħaġġel ħafna.

Ix-Xogħol għal li ġej

Għal li ġej għandna l-ħsieb li nippubblikaw xogħol ta’ riċerka bħala parti minn dan il-proġett. B’xorti ħażina għad m’għandniex riċerkaturi biżżejjed f’dan il-qasam. Issa li fl-2016 għaddiet il-liġi għall-Għarfien tal-Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija, forsi fl-aħħar jinstabu l-fondi biex tinħoloq pożizzjoni ta’lettur f’dan il-qasam, preferibbilment fi ħdan l-Istitut tal-Lingwistika u tat-Teknoloġija tal-Lingwa. B’hekk niżguraw li jitkompla d-dizzjunarju online u jkompli jiġi aġġornat; inkomplu nħarrġu iktar għalliema Deaf tal-LSM li jkunu jistgħu joffru korsijiet fil-LSM kemm lill-istudenti tal-Università kif ukoll lil dawk li mhumiex; inħarrġu iktar interpreti tal-LSM; nipprovdu iktar korsijiet fil-Lingwistika tas-Sinjali u nippubblikaw iktar riżorsi f’dan il-qasam.

The project had a number of objectives. The most urgent of these were the teaching of, and research into, Maltese Sign Language (LSM) and the compilation of a dictionary. The need for additional resources became evident as the project progressed. Naturally research assistance was required and an attempt was made to encourage new graduates to work on some aspect of LSM.

The first research assistant was Maria Azzopardi (later Galea) who concentrated on research in Maltese Sign Language for her undergraduate degree in 2001 and later her Masters in 2006 and her Ph.D. in 2014.

The Dictionary Project

Marie Alexander is the editor of the dictionary and produced the text for the dictionary entries. It has been challenging to coordinate and ensure sufficient continuity across the work of the different research assistants over many years. Maria Galea is now the Assistant Editor. She has never left the Project but has worked sometimes as a research assistant and sometimes as a voluntary contributor. She is currently working on the SignWriting of new entries that have not yet been uploaded into the online dictionary.

Deaf research assistants joined the dictionary project on loan from their work (see funding document). These were Dorianne Callus (on loan from BOV from 2001 to 2010) and Karl Borg (on loan from the Works Department from 2001 to 2016). When grants were available extra work was also done to move the project forward. Currently Loran Ripard-Xuereb is the Deaf research assistant (on loan from the Water Services Corporation since Sept 2017) working on the dictionary project. Occasional voluntary work is also carried out by Karl Borg, particularly when a problem with old data requires his technical experience.

The online dictionary is a considerable feat that took many, many years mainly because of the lack of funds for full-time human resources. Nevertheless, a great deal of work still needs to be done to complete it and maintain it. It is a crucial resource that should contribute to making the implications of the Maltese Sign Language Recognition Act a reality.

The Teaching of Maltese Sign Language

Supported by the Institute of Lingustics – which became the Institute of Linguistics and Language Technology in 2017– the Maltese Sign Language Research Project worked towards the objective of moving Maltese Sign Language into national awareness in various ways. One primary means was the organisation of courses for university students. This venture took off after one pilot course which was televised. Many students opted to follow the courses.

Sign Language Interpreting

Between 2001 and 2013 the project was involved in training sign language interpreters, primarily by providing intensive courses in LSM, along with professional ethics and deaf culture. The Fondazzjoni Żvilupp Lingwa tas-Sinjali Maltija provided the funds for the tutors. The Deaf community supported the training by providing the students with opportunities to converse in LSM for periods of time beyond the classes.

Resources

A grant from the University of Malta Research Fund enabled the project to provide some resources. One important one was the Christmas Story from the synoptic gospels. A number of chilren’s stories were added.(Two can be seen here. Some more have been planned.

Research on Maltese Sign Language

The Institute has been providing study-units in Sign Linguistics and SignWriting since 1998 as part of the Linguistics study programme. This resulted in some undergraduates and postgraduates working on Maltese Sign Language for their dissertations. Some very good work was produced in theses. There are not many publications so far.

The Online Dictionary

The online dictionary is a considerable feat that took longer mainly because of the lack of funds for full-time human resources. Nevertheless, a great deal of work still needs to be carried out to complete it with all the entries already recorded, and to maintain it on a regular basis since the language is still developing at a very fast rate.

Future Work

Work towards published research is the next target of the project. Unfortunately, the human resources required are still lacking. Perhaps the passing of the Maltese Sign Language Recognition Law in 2016 will result in more funding for a post in this area, preferably within the Institute of Linguistics and Language Technology, to enable the completion and maintenance of the online dictionary, the training of more Deaf sign language tutors for more courses in Maltese Sign Language within and outside the University, the training of more interpreters, the provision of more courses in Sign Linguistics and more publications including more resources.