1. Researching Tactile Signed
Language: Non-visual Strategies
in Touch Communication
Meredith Bartlett,
Louisa Willoughby, Shimako Iwasaki, Howard Manns
Monash University

2. Handshape
Orientation
LocationMovement
Non-
manual
features

3. Handshape
Orientation
LocationMovement
Non-
manual
features
Non-lexical
communication

4. Handshape
Orientation
LocationMovement
Non-
manual
features
Non-lexical
communication
Environmental
cues

5. Handshape
Orientation
LocationMovement
Non-
manual
features
Non-lexical
communication
Environmental
cues

6. Research on tactile signing around
the world

7. Tactile ASL research
Karen Petronio & Terra Edwards
More research has been done on
tactile ASL than any other tactile
sign language
Research began in the early 1990s
– several small-scale studies (Reed
et al 1995, Haas et al 1995)

8. Sweden
Johanna Mesch (Stockholm
University) has worked for many
years on tactile Swedish and
Finnish sign languages
Major focus: turn-taking and
repair

9. Norway
Eli Raanes and Sigrid Slettebakk Berge
(Norwegian University of Science and
Technology) have worked extensively on
tactile Norwegian signing, and
collaborates with Mesch
Raanes’ PhD gives full description of
NTNS
Recent work looks at deafblind
communication in meetings – not just
tactile signers, but people with a range
of communication styles

10. What we know
Around the world, tactile signers:
Use hand taps and squeezes to give feedback to their interlocutor
Have constrained signing space
Co-form signs on/ with their interlocutors body
Manage turn-taking seamlessly (but how?)

11. What we don’t know
How much variation is there in the way different people/
communities use tactile sign languages?
How do tactile signers show their stance towards an event/ story
without cues like facial expression?
What strategies do deafblind signers use to try to minimise
misunderstandings? Which are most effective?

12. Our research
Australian Research Council funded project
3 years (2016-18)
Data collection now complete
Approx 10 hours of recordings from 19 different deafblind people
Transcription and analysis ongoing
Focus is mainly on conversation between two deafblind people, but a
small number of deafblind-deaf or interpreted interactions also
recorded

13. The team
Monash Chief investigators:
Louisa Willoughby
Shimako Iwasaki
Howard Manns
Partner investigators:
Mayumi Bono (NII, Japan)
David McKee (Victoria University of
Wellington, New Zealand)

14. Meredith Bartlett
Dennis Witcombe
Thanks to Heather Lawson for the
time she has given to be our
consultant for this research.
14
Project staff

15. Project aims
1. Create a transcribed corpus of Tactile Auslan
2. Document major features of the language
3. Comment on internal variation within the language
4. Develop/ build on CA techniques and insights for analysing tactile
signing
5. Use insights from 1-4 to train interpreters/ support workers etc to
better communicate with Tactile Auslan users

16. Current research strands
1. Turn-taking - Looking at some examples of this today
2. Humour
3. Politeness/stance
Turntaking – natural, fast, with simultaneous nodding, laughter and
other gestures/movements by touch. These contribute to how turns
are managed.

17. Turntaking - example one

18. Turntaking – example 2

19. Strategies - Projection
• It seems that tactile signers use other strategies such as projection to
anticipate or work out what the other person means.
• Example – I am going to the ……….
• We aim to use these additional strategies to the training for support
staff, communication guides and interpreters to improve their
knowledge and awareness so they can provide a better service to
their tactile clients.

20. Awareness Activity with goggles
• In pairs participants try signing to each other
• Turntaking
• Observing other movement and its meaning
• Projection and predictions
• Signs on or near head & face
• Numbers
• Questions
• Discussion with whole group reporting and questions