Sign Bilingualism

Published in Plaza Pust and Morales López, E. (eds.), 2008. Sign bilingualism: Language development, interaction, and maintenance in sign language contact situations, 223-276. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

This paper is part of a larger research project that approaches the study of the sociolinguistic and socio-discursive changes that have taken place over the last decade in the Spanish Deaf community in the light of contact with the wider European and worldwide deaf movement. In the research presented in this chapter, the aim has been to observe these changes from an institutional perspective: 1) an analysis of the changes that have taken place in certain education centres, where oralist teaching methods have been replaced by bilingual methods and the reactions of the education authorities to such changes; and 2) an ideological analysis of political discourse on deafness by politicians and the latest publications of experts in deaf education.

Publicado en la Revista de Estudios de Lenguas de Signos (REVLES) 1: 340-365. En un monográfico coeditado por Esperanza Morales López y Maria Josep Jarque Moyano, titulado "Aspectos lingüísticos y de adquisición de las lenguas de signos", ww.revles.es/index.php/revles/issue/view/9.
Resumen:ser correctamente implementado en el sistema educativo español, a partir de un objetivo de planificación realista y orientado a su principal finalidad: la mejora de la alfabetización del alumnado sordo. Al mismo tiempo, de esta comparación concluimos que el oralismo es un modelo anacrónico según los estándares del bilingüismo y plurilingüismo, porque puede conducir a la privación lingüística o al semilingüismo del niño y joven sordos. En este trabajo realizo una reflexión sobre las características generales del bilingüismo intermodal y sus diferencias con el bilingüismo en lenguas orales (bilingüismo intramodal), defendido desde el Consejo de Europa. De esta comparación, surge una serie de rasgos comunes y otros específicos que caracterizan dicho bilingüismo intermodal. Con ello quiero demostrar que este puede ser correctamente implementado en el sistema educativo español, a partir de un objetivo de planificación realista y orientado a su principal finalidad: la mejora de la alfabetización del alumnado sordo. Al mismo tiempo, de esta comparación concluimos que el oralismo es un modelo anacrónico según los estándares del bilingüismo y plurilingüismo, porque puede conducir a la privación lingüística o al semilingüismo del niño y joven sordos.

Abstract: This chapter reflects on the general characteristics of intermodal bilingualism and its differences with bilingualism in oral languages (intramodal bilingualism), defended by the European Council. From this comparison, a series of specific and common features that characterize such intermodal bilingualism emerge. With this I want to show that it can be correctly implemented in the Spanish educational system, based on a realistic planning objective and oriented to its main purpose: the improvement of deaf students' literacy. At the same time, this comparison shows that oralism is an anachronistic model, according to the standards of bilingualism and multilingualism defended by Europe, because it can lead to the language deprivation or semilingualism of deaf children and young people.

The aim of this thesis is to study the role of Catalan Sign Language (LSC) in the small sign bilingual education class groups, in particular on teaching/learning written language in primary education, and in the general Catalan context of guidance and care for deaf children, in order to propose intervention strategies with deaf pupils. To this end, this study analyses the linguistic and contextual characteristics of primary school pupils in a sign bilingual centre of Barcelona (n = 16), metalinguistic conversation in the grouping classroom and the overall context of care for deaf pupils in Catalonia, from an ecological perspective that has led to the creation of a mixed design.
In the study of narrations in LSC and (Catalan/Spanish) written language, we compared the two languages and also, in an exploratory manner, the texts of each language with adult texts (n = 2), in three areas: grammar, cohesion and coherence of the discourse. In the comparison between pupils and adults, we observed that the texts in LSC show less significant differences, located on two levels of analysis, while with written language they are on all three levels and, moreover, the number of aspects which present significant differences is higher. The comparison in accordance with the modality (sign/written) allowed us to observe the similarities and differences between certain interlinguistic grammatical structures. The behaviour on the two remaining levels of analysis shows more command of LSC than of written language. With LSC the referents are maintained more, the expression of simultaneity is greater, the episodes of the narration are specified more and the internal response of the characters is expressed more. Certain aspects of written language are correlated with various factors: age, parents’ knowledge of LSC, time spent in sign bilingual education and oral language. Sign language is only correlated with parents’ knowledge of LSC.
The observations in the small class groups show a literacy and constructivist environment in which metalinguistic conversation is focused above all on written language, and use of Sign supported Catalan is widespread. Crossing these results with those of individual narrations indicates that the aspects talked about in the classroom are eminently those of which the pupils have a greater command. This leads us to consider that this practice favours the development of written language and also that it may be convenient to refocus the conversation toward those aspects over which they have less command in order to cultivate other interlinguistic transfer processes. For this, it is essential to promote the bilingual educational modality, as the results indicate that, despite being a very recent and innovative project, the support received has been insufficient.
In relation to the global context of the intervention, the results of the documentary analysis and of the interviews carried out in three institutions from different parts of Catalonia indicate that exposure to LSC is not considered during the critical period of language as a preventive measure for the purpose of ensuring language acquisition and the communicative and cognitive development of the deaf child. We also found signs that information on the sign language modality for the parents of deaf children cannot be guaranteed, given that the theoretical framework which supports its practice is based on language acquisition learning/empiricist theories to the detriment of linguistic/nativist theories, and the syllabi of speech therapists, who make up the majority of the professionals of the CREDA, do not include many contents on LSC.
It can be drawn from the results of the research that it is necessary to decouple the early linguistic intervention from the subsequent educational path, and to prioritise simultaneous cross-modal bilingualism instead of successive bilingualism.

RESUMO: Neste artigo, pretende-se discutir o ensino de leitura para surdos mediado pela língua de sinais. O trabalho parte de uma perspectiva holística de bilinguismo, considerando a mescla como um fenômeno natural do bilinguismo (GROSJEAN, 2008), que, no entanto, precisa ser examinado em contextos pedagógicos (SILVA, 2005; SILVA, 2010). Foi analisado um evento de ensino de leitura numa turma de alunos surdos e professora ouvinte do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental, buscando mostrar como professores e alunos precisam transitar entre a Libras e o português durante as aulas. A análise desse evento evidencia a complexidade do trabalho do professor de português para surdos, especialmente no que tange à forma como usa a língua de sinais para estimular o processo de construção de sentidos pelos alunos e explicar o conteúdo e os elementos linguísticos dos textos em português. Em seguida, apresenta-se a proposta de um paradigma visual de ensino da leitura cf. Andrews e Rusher (2010), o qual estabelece diferentes formas de lidar sistematicamente com o trânsito entre a língua escrita e a língua de sinais em termos de objetivos de ensino.
ABSTRACT: In this paper, we intend to discuss the teaching of reading to deaf people, mediated by sign language. The research is based on a holistic perspective of bilingualism, considering the language mixing as a natural phenomenon of bilingualism (GROSJEAN, 2008), which needs to be examined in pedagogical contexts (SILVA, 2005; SILVA, 2010). A lesson on reading in a 9th grade classroom with deaf students and a hearing teacher was analyzed so as to show how teachers and students need to shuttle between Libras and Portuguese during classes. The analysis of this event evidences the complexity of the work of someone who teaches Portuguese to the deaf, especially regarding the way in which the teacher uses sign language to stimulate the students' process of meaning-making and to explain the content and linguistic elements of the texts in Portuguese. Next, a proposal is made for a visual paradigm for the teaching of reading cf. Andrews and Rusher (2010), which establishes different ways of dealing systematically with the transition between written language and sign language in terms of teaching objectives.

Pre-print, 2008, by Plaza Pust, Carolina and Morales-López, Esperanza. Later published in the following book: C. Plaza Pust and E. Morales-López, eds. Sign Bilingualism: Language Development, Interaction, and Maintenance in Sign Language Contact Situations, 333-379. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Abstract: This chapter is a reflection and an update, until 2008, of this kind of bilingualism.

Pre-print. Septiembre 2020
(Versión reducida de la versión en inglés: “Sign Bilingualism or Language Deprivation”).

Resumen
En este trabajo damos cuenta de los resultados de la investigación etnográfica realizada en la zona de Barcelona, durante el curso 2018-19, sobre la situación de la educación sorda, a raíz de las continuas quejas de las asociaciones de familias de hijos sordos y de jóvenes sordos signantes sobre la falta de respuesta de la administración educativa catalana a sus demandas. El análisis cualitativo de los datos recogidos muestra la existencia de privación lingüística en algunos niños y jóvenes, un conflicto abierto entre las familias y los profesionales de la sanidad y logopedas, y el grave deterioro del servicio de interpretación. Ello nos lleva a intentar explicar las razones de este conflicto en el marco del contexto de un modelo bilingüe intermodal que se inició a principios del siglo XXI, pero que se ha ido deteriorando poco a poco a pesar del reconocimiento legal de la lengua de signos.

Palabras clave:
Privación lingüística, semilingüismo, bilingüismo intermodal, bilingüismo en lengua de signos y lengua oral, educación sorda, oralismo, planificación lingüística.

There are mainly two ways of perceiving deafness, written by convention in two different forms. "Deaf people" (beginning with capital letter) refers to those who consider themselves members of a cultural and linguistic community. In this social conception of deafness, sign language takes a special role, as a full, natural language. On the other case, "deaf" refers to an audiological condition. It reflects a medical perspective of deafness, conceiving it as a disability . A particularity of this linguistic group is that unlike the hearing societies "the language and cultural background are not transmitted preferably from parents to children, but between peer groups and educational centers" . Only a small percentage of the deaf children are born from deaf parents. That is why the educational setting is of great importance in the case of sign language communities.

W niniejszej książce zaprezentowano dotychczasowy stan wiedzy na temat komunikacji i procesów myślowych głuchych dzieci. Objęte analizą dwie sfery funkcjonowania: poznawczą i komunikacyjną wybrano ze względu na ich istotną rolę w edukacji i integracji społecznej głuchych dzieci. W niniejszej pozycji przyjęto perspektywę dwujęzyczności migowo-pisanej, która obejmuje język mniejszości osób głuchych, czyli język migowy oraz język większości słyszącego społeczeństwa, czyli pismo. Oba sposoby przekazywania i odbierania informacji mogą być w pełni dostępne osobom głuchym. Wybrane ujęcie jest wyrazem szacunku dla inności osób głuchych, ale równocześnie wskazuje na potrzebę integracji społecznej ze słyszącym społeczeństwem poprzez język pisany. Dwujęzyczność migowo-pisana oparta jest na idei zanurzania osób głuchych w świecie i kulturze zarówno osób głuchych jak i słyszących. W edukacji dwujęzycznej głuchych dzieci stawia się za cel przygotowanie ucznia do satysfakcjonującego funkcjonowania w grupie mniejszości kulturowo-językowej głuchych oraz w środowisku osób słyszących. Książka składa się z trzech rozdziałów. W pierwszym przedstawiono zagadnienia: głuchoty i dwujęzyczności. Po wyjaśnieniu przyjętej perspektywy dwujęzycznej, w drugim rozdziale opisano dotychczasową wiedzę na temat rozwoju komunikacji głuchych dzieci w zakresie akwizycji języka migowego oraz nabywania umiejętności czytania. W ostatnim rozdziale podjęto temat funkcjonowania poznawczego głuchych dzieci w ujęciu dwujęzycznym (zagadnienia: poziom inteligencji oraz funkcje zarządzające). Na zakończenie w książce umieszczono przemyślenia dotyczące związku pomiędzy językiem i procesami poznawczymi ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem dwujęzyczności osób głuchych

Traditionally, language deprivation was associated with extreme social situations in which very specific individuals lived their childhood disconnected from social life (the so-called "wild children"), and they could not develop a first language spontaneously, in relationship with a social group. However, in recent decades, the phenomenon has begun to appear in deaf children and adolescents, because of the proliferation of hearing implants and hearing aids, and the tendency to deprive these subjects of the natural development of sign language in the first years of life. Following this observation, research has also begun on this deprivation and its psychosocial, cognitive and cognitive consequences for these subjects. This paper reviews these studies and contextualizes the phenomenon in Spain.

En este trabajo realizamos un recorrido de la reivindicación de la comunidad sorda española por el reconocimiento legal de la lengua de signos y el derecho del alumnado sordo a recibir una educación bilingüe. Desde finales de la década de los noventa, diversos trabajos nuestros han dado cuenta de este proceso, hasta su concreción en la creación de varios centros bilingües y la aprobación de dos leyes que explícitamente reconocen este derecho; surge así el recorrido legal de dos lenguas en España: la LSE y la LSC. Sin embargo, los obstáculos políticos y socioeconómicos de las dos últimas dos décadas han mostrado que se ha tratado de una empresa difícil, aún no completada. Analizados estos obstáculos desde la perspectiva de las ideologías lingüísticas y de la planificación lingüística, se observa también que el reconocimiento del bilingüismo intermodal no es un proceso al margen de la problemática del resto del bilingüismo en nuestro país y de nuestra política lingüística.

Accessibility" features promote inclusive education but do not guarantee it. Communication accessibility, such as sign language interpretation or note-taking, may facilitate the academic inclusion of deaf students in general classrooms but does not necessarily enable their full social inclusion. Whereas in general classrooms deaf students are often the only deaf person present, in co-enrollment programs a "critical mass" of deaf students is educated alongside their hearing peers. These co-enrollment programs may employ a wide range of communication modalities; however, sign bilingualism has the greatest potential to create a socially inclusive environment, because deaf and hearing children can communicate directly without mediation. In this article, I explore the potential of sign bilingual co-enrollment programs as pathways to belonging, or ibasho, in Japanese education. The analysis is based on existing research on co-enrollment practices across the globe, an in-depth interview and ongoing correspondence with one of the founding members of the first co-enrollment program in the world, as well as my long-term fieldwork with deaf communities in Japan. Based on these findings, I argue that sign bilingual co-enrollment environments go beyond cosmetic accessibility to true inclusivity, creating opportunities for peer interactions, meaningful communication, and belonging.

Neste artigo, pretende-se discutir o ensino de leitura para surdos mediado pela língua de sinais. O trabalho parte de uma perspectiva holística de bilinguismo, considerando a mescla como um fenômeno natural do bilinguismo (GROSJEAN, 2008), que, no entanto, precisa ser examinado em contextos pedagógicos (SILVA, 2005; SILVA, 2010). Foi analisado um evento de ensino de leitura numa turma de alunos surdos e professora ouvinte do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental, buscando mostrar como professores e alunos precisam transitar entre a Libras e o português durante as aulas. A análise desse evento evidencia a complexidade do trabalho do professor de português para surdos, especialmente no que tange à forma como usa a língua de sinais para estimular o processo de construção de sentidos pelos alunos e explicar o conteúdo e os elementos linguísticos dos textos em português. Em seguida, apresenta-se a proposta de um paradigma visual de ensino da leitura cf. Andrews e Rusher (2010), o qual estabelece ...

The medical and technological development has contributed to increasing number of deaf children's cochlear implant surgeries. The cochlear implant can not been perceive as a cure for deafness, because this electronic device does not assure that the deaf people have access to the same level of sound based information as the hearing people do. Therefore, the deaf children with cochlear implant can be considered as a distinct group from their hearing peers and from the deaf children without cochlear implant. In this article we analyze how the deaf children with cochlear implants specifically function in educational setting and in the familial milieu, seen as the social environment engaged in the children's development. One of the proposition of the development for the deaf children with cochlear implant is the sign-speech bilingualism that includes the sign language as a natural language used in the deaf community and the spoken language as a mode of communication of the hearing majority of the society. K e y w o r d s: Deaf child, cochlear implant, hearing parents, deaf parents, deaf children with cochlear implant education, sign-speech bilingualism S ł o w a k l u c z o w e: Głuche dziecko, implant ślimakowy, słyszący rodzice, głusi rodzice, edukacja głuchych dzieci z implantem ślimakowym, migowo-foniczna dwujęzyczność