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145 appendix i Project Directions Note: This is an interpretation of the ASL version of the project directions. Hello! My name is Keith Cagle and this is my name sign (shows K handshape tapping right cheek). Brenda Nicodemus is a good friend of mine and we’re both in the same doctoral program in linguistics. I’m pleased to be a part of her research project. Brenda would like to extend her thanks to you for being willing to participate in this research project. I’m sure you’re curious about the focus of this research project. The goal of this project is to examine how interpreters designate sentence boundaries in ASL interpretations. Perhaps, like me, you’ve experienced the situation in which interpreters create long run-on sentences without any clear boundaries. The goal of this project is to look at how effective boundaries are created in ASL interpretation. You are familiar with how punctuation marks create boundaries in written English. In this project you are being asked to identify locations in an interpretation where full concepts have been expressed and concluded. You’ll be watching a 15-minute videotape of a skilled, certified interpreter who is interpreting a lecture entitled “The Life of the Ant.” The lecture is an interesting account of the various living habits of ants. You will be viewing the interpretation on a laptop computer that has an electronic button attached to it. You are to watch the videotape of the interpreter and when you feel you’ve seen the location of a boundary, press the button immediately. A few cautionary notes before you begin. First, you might find yourself so engaged in the lecture that you forget to look for the boundaries in the interpretation. Do try to keep the task in the front of your mind as you view the interpretation. Second, you may feel that some of the boundaries are easy to identify while others are not as clear cut. Please don’t worry about getting the “right” answer because there are no right or wrong answers. Just do your best! In addition, you may feel yourself becoming fatigued by the task. For that reason, you will be given a 15-second break after each three minutes of viewing. 146 : a p p e n d i x i Before you begin the actual experiment, you will have the opportunity to try it out on a practice trial. It will help you to become accustomed to the task. The practice trial is constructed exactly as the actual experimental trials. O.K. If you have any questions at this time, feel free to ask Brenda now. And if you’d like to view the directions again, you’re welcome to do so. Well, good luck. I hope you enjoy yourself and thank you again! ...

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