Why doesn't everyone here speak Sign Language? Questions of language policy, ideology and economics

Abstract

This paper is a thought experiment exploring the possibility of establishing universal bilingualism in Sign Languages.1 Focusing in the first part on historical examples of inclusive signing societies such as Martha's Vineyard, the author suggests that it is not possible to create such naturally occurring practices of Sign Bilingualism in societies with relatively few Deaf people. The second part examines current policies that attempt to include Deaf people in wider society through language and disability policies aiming to counteract ideologies that perceive both Sign Language and the Deaf as deficient. This section demonstrates how current policies fail to achieve full inclusion of Deaf people. Using economic analysis the author shows in the third part how the marginal status of Sign Languages as minority languages can influence reduced economic and life chances of Deaf citizens providing an argument for a radical reframing of current Sign Language policies.

Keywords:

• deaf
• Sign Language
• language policy
• ideology
• linguistic economics

Notes

Sometimes the word ‘sign language’ is used to generically encompass both invented gestural systems and natural sign languages. Here I use the practice of capitalizing ‘Sign Language’ to clarify that I am referring only to natural Sign Languages used by Deaf people in various villages and nations around the world.

Universal design refers to a set of principles aiming to design environments that are accessible for everyone including people with different abilities.

Of course there may be ideological problems if the choice is to put the ramp or the lift in a location that obviously marginalizes those that are differently abled.

This is unlike current educational policies for ‘inclusion’ accomplished through mainstreaming Deaf children where social needs are often not addressed.

To my knowledge, there has not yet been an academic study of this attempted community. Though newspaper articles seem to indicate it was lack of funding that put the development of this town on hold, Dr Donald Grushkin (personal communication 2009) has indicated that it was zoning troubles from local hearing authorities, but that there were 200 families who actually had expressed interest in moving to the town.

Personal communication, Dr Carol Padden (2009).

Depending on the political agendas used to define nation-states, the current number of independent countries in the world varies from 189 to 195. The United Nations currently has 192 members excluding the Vatican City and Kosovo. The current World Almanac lists 193 countries. (Graphic Maps, 2008)

A recently published survey of Deaf People's Human Rights (World Federation of the Deaf, 2009) focusing on countries outside of Europe, Canada, and the USA; found that 44 out of the 93 respondents had some level of official recognition of their national Sign Language in legislation. These data have not yet been merged with the above data from the European Union, Ethnologue and Gallaudet.

Definitionally, there are problems with the label ‘hearing problems’. It could include people who are mildly hard-of-hearing to people who are profoundly deaf. According to the Gaulladet Research Institute it is likely that 0.23% of the total US population cannot hear or understand any conversation, while the National Institute of Health estimates that 8.6% the total US population is hard of hearing.

The visual-spatial nature of Sign Languages may increase spatial abilities. The embodied nature of Sign Languages may create a stronger mind–body connection and physical awareness. The requirement of many Sign languages that emotional facial expressions match the emotional tone of the phrases may bring with it greater emotional self-awareness.