MULTI: Multimodal Interaction and Tactile Sign Language Research Group

Research – Department of Teacher Education

MULTI: Multimodal Interaction and Tactile Sign Language Research Group

Illustration of two people doing tactile signs. Photo

The field of communication in multimodality is an interdisciplinary research area, bringing together perspectives from applied linguistic, special needs, rehabilitation, and educational research. The field of multimodal tactile interaction is related to areas of studying basic elements of human communication as well as studying conventionalized tactile language systems.

The members of this research group do work on empirical data from tactile sign language and tactile communication. The data and focus are both working with established national tactile sign languages and with emerging tactile communication systems. As interdisciplinary scientific research, the MULTI research groups bring together scholars from the Nordic and international research community working with development and learning in individuals with dual sensory loss and deafblindness. A close connection to the users’ groups and organizations for deafblind people is emphasized during project designs and data collection for the research group’s projects.

Several projects within this field are run by NTNU-ILU based researchers and in cooperation with Nordic and International scholars.

The research group is working with empirical data from the conventionalized tactile sign languages Tactile Norwegian sign language, and Swedish tactile sign language, with interpreter mediated communication, the use of haptic signals, translanguaging processes in deafblind’s meetings, inclusion, environmental description, intersubjective interaction and with varies development project in linguistic and applied linguistic.  In this area, multimodal methodology and ethnographic perspectives are important parts to include and to develop communication systems adjusted to this field.

Contact

Please make contact for more information

Coming events

Februar 2024

Visiting researcher Louisa Willoughby, Monash University is staying at ILU-NTNU the spring semester of 2024

The research group MULTI is arranging a seminar at NTNU, planning for designing a coming research project, design of work packages.

Seminar MULTI

The research group MULTI welcomes you to the corpus applicant seminar!

Data: 19–21 February 2024, NTNU – ILU, Trondheim

Program

19 February 2024

Reflection on what knowledge will a joint research project be addressing?

(09 – 16. DKNVS – Meeting Room:  Moser, ILU-NTNU.  Lunch in the cantina, a short cultural break)

  1. Introduction, presentation, and tuning into a communicative process.
  2. New knowledge developed on existing corpus based on studies on tactile sign languages. 
    • What exists of corpus on tactile signing in Sweden, Norway, and Australia?
  3. Based on corpus data, what would possible topics for research (& work packages) be?

Presentations:

Johanna Mesch, professor, Stockholm University

  • Tactile signing and haptic communication – some reflection on a communication field developing internationally 
  • What do we need of technical standards for effective corpus studies on tactile sign languages

Discussion:  What research questions to make based on Johanna's presentation

Louisa Willoughby, assistant professor, Monash University

  • Conveying environmental information
  • Developing skills for professional groups meeting deafblind people 

Discussion:  What research question to make based on Louisa's presentation

Eli Raanes, assistant professor, NTNU

  • Building cross-linguistic competencies – data based on meetings between deafblind signers
  • Negotiation for meaning – identifying core elements in corpus data of tactile signing.
  • What may corpus on tactile signers bring into educational programs for children with special needs/deafblindness (Tactile signing/haptic communication)

Discussion:  What research questions to make based on Eli’s presentation

  1. Identifying central themes.

 What to prioritize - Identifying possible work packages for future studies.

20 February 2024

Founding and partners

Design for work to be done, on short & long turn

(09 – 16. ILU-NTNU.  Lunch in the cantina, a short cultural break)

  1. Founding opportunities and directions 
  2. Research design
  3. Areas to further collection of data to be included as corpus data
  4. Who will we be playing with?
    • Partners to include
  5. The process of applying
  6. What do we do before a great amount of money arrives?
    • What may we do on short turn, idea for a caolloboration on a paper?

One of the evenings: Birthday dinner for Louisa!

Sigrid Slettebakk Berge will join us one of the days – Monday 12.30 – 14.00

Kathrine Alterhaug from the ILU’s research administrators will be happy to meet with us one time during the days – Tuesday 11.30- 13.30

Bio Note Louisa Willoughby

Associate Profesor Louisa Willoughby is a sociolinguist/applied linguist who deeply interested in how multlicultural societies responds to linguistic diversity. She works with mainstream institutions such as schools, hospitals and libraries in Australia to explore better ways of engaging with clients from non-English speaking backgrounds and developing multilingual language proficiency. Much of her recent work looks at Deaf sign language users, but she also has a strong interest in migrant languages, especially for small and newly-arrived migrant groups. 

Some publications by the research group members

Some publications by the research group members

Mesch, Johanna og Raanes, Eli (2023). Meaning-making in tactile cross-signing context. Journal of Pragmatics, 205, 137-150.

Raanes, Eli; Berge, Sigrid Slettebakk. (2021) Intersubjective understanding in interpreted table conversations for deafblind persons. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research. vol. 23 (1), 260–271.

Raanes, Eli; Ostad, Johanne. (2021) Historien om Ragnhild Kåta - hva kildene forteller. Språk i arkivet. Historier om hvordan språk reflekterer samfunnet. Notabene. 279-300

Raanes, Eli; Berge, Sigrid Slettebakk. Intersubjective understanding in interpreted table conversations for deafblind persons. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 2021; Volum 23. (1) s. 260-271.

Raanes, Eli; Ostad, Johanne. Historien om Ragnhild Kåta - hva kildene forteller. I: Språk i arkivet. Historier om hvordan språk reflekterer samfunnet. Oslo: Nasjonalbiblioteket 2021 ISBN 978-82-7965-465-0. s. 279-300.

Raanes, Eli. Access to Interaction and Context Through Situated Descriptions: A Study of Interpreting for Deafblind Persons. Frontiers in Psychology 2020; Volum 11, s.1-15.

Raanes, Eli. Use of Haptic Signals in Interaction with deaf-blind persons. I: The Second International Symposium on Signed Language Interpretation and Translation Research. Gallaudet University Press 2020 ISBN 978-1944838515. s. 58-79.

Raanes, Eli; Berge, Sigrid Slettebakk. Sign language interpreters' use of haptic signs in interpreted meetings with deafblind persons. Journal of Pragmatics 2017; Volum 107. s. 91-104.

Berge, Sigrid Slettebakk. Social and private speech in an interpreted meeting of deafblind persons. Interpreting 2014; Volum 16. (1) s. 81-105.

Berge, Sigrid Slettebakk; Raanes, Eli. Coordinating the chain of utterances: An analysis of communicative flow and turn-taking in an interpreted group dialogue for deaf-blind persons. Sign Language Studies 2013; Volum 13. (3) s. 350-371.