A Night of Sex and Drugs

How convenient it was to schedule a workshop on Sex and Drugs the night before a long weekend.  At first, I was a little annoyed to delay my long weekend by attending a professional development workshop, but this annoyance was quickly replaced by a quizzical sense of confusion – it almost felt like I was sitting in a one-man adult comedy show punctuated with, “We’re focussing on linguistics” throughout the show.

The workshop was facilitated by Ross Onley-Zerkel with the helping hand (or should I say helping hands) of three other ‘experienced’ Deaf individuals, namely Shane Mindy, Joanna Egius and Debra Swann with cameo appearances by a number of Deaf volunteers from the audience.

For many, the workshop presented an opportunity to be a voyeur on the linguistics of the ‘red light district’ of Auslan and for a few (and you know who you are) to showcase their prowess of the use of classifiers on the subject many would only mumble after downing several pints of beer on a Saturday afternoon before a big night out.

As correctly pointed out by the facilitator throughout the night (and repeatedly so), the focus of the workshop was the linguistics of the subjects.  Many nodded vigorously in agreement but we all knew that the said many were there for a different reason.  Why else was it one of the largest turnouts for an ASLIA workshop?  And the interpreters were outnumbered by Deaf people by three to one!  Okay, I’m exaggerating – it was really 2.5 to one with the presence of a second majority – Auslan students.

The workshop focussed on the variations of signs between formal and informal settings, and among age groups, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds.  It was also important to know the communication preferences of the ‘Deaf client’, especially when interpreting in a medical setting.  Many abstract sign productions for certain lexicons (mostly lexicons for drugs) were brought to light after discussions of their origin, often regional dialects and symptomatic characteristics of certain drugs.

At the end of the night, many were entertained but everyone was certainly enlightened on the Auslan linguistics of Sex and Drugs.  To say that it was a fun and educating night would be a gross understatement.  I certainly have learnt many variations of sex and drug-related signs and the etiquette of using certain lexicons in various settings.   Well done to Ross, Shane, Joanna and Debra for putting on an invaluable professional workshop.