Creating A Hawaiʻi Sign Language Video Dictionary
Ryan Rinerson (he/him) (2027) | Linguistics and Spanish
Ryan Rinerson is a SURF L&S scholarship recipient and a third-year transfer student majoring in Linguistics and Spanish. For his SURF project this summer, Ryan is working to preserve Hawaiʻi Sign Language (HSL), the indigenous sign language of the Hawaiian Islands, by documenting linguistic, cultural, and historical knowledge from native HSL signer and educator Linda Lambrecht. His goal is to create the first public HSL video dictionary, helping preserve an endangered language and support future research on sign languages in the Pacific Islands.
What made you choose this research project? How did your interest in your research topic emerge?
Researching Hawaiʻi Sign Language (HSL) intersects two of my passions: Sign linguistics and Indigenous studies. I am honored to learn the language from my teacher Linda Lambrecht, who is a native HSL signer. Learning that HSL is a critically endangered language inspired me to collaborate with Linda on preservation efforts.
What is your project about (in simple terms)? How does it relate to issues or ideas you have been studying in your coursework?
My research project consists of formally documenting Hawaiʻi Sign Language and producing a HSL video dictionary. Documentation of HSL will add to a growing corpus of Pacific Island Sign Languages research as well as support the preservation of Hawaiʻi Deaf history, language, and culture. Language loss and preservation are key topics in my current linguistics coursework; when we lose a language we lose unique perspectives on humanity.
What are you most excited about this summer? Will your research entail travel, access to special collections, or experiments?
I am most excited about continuing my study of HSL and incorporating this research into a community project. My research will not entail any travel or special experiments; rather, it will consist of recording semi-structured interviews through online video communication.
What do you hope to learn from this experience? What would success look like for you? What challenges do you anticipate confronting?
I am looking forward to continuing to refine my linguistic knowledge and research skills while increasing my familiarity with Hawaiʻi Deaf history and culture. As a formal HSL video dictionary has yet to be compiled, any and all documentation is a success. Given the time we have, I do not believe it is realistic to document all of HSL in one summer. Therefore, I hope the outcome of this project will provide a strong foundation for future HSL preservation and research.
What do you hope comes out of this research? What impact do you hope your research will have?
I hope this research will educate more people about the existence of HSL and the importance of minority language and culture preservation. I hope the materials I develop with Linda will be used for the benefit of the present and future Hawaiʻi Deaf community. I especially hope to support both HSL revitalization as well as advanced Pacific Island Sign Languages research.