Languages in deaf communication

This monograph builds on the linguistic and cultural approach to deafness developed at the Institute of Deaf Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, since the mid-1990s. It presents partial probes into the characteristics of the languages used in the communication of Deaf Czech people – Czech Sign Language and written Czech, including in their mutual relationships. It is based, on the one hand, on texts that exist in the communication of Deaf Czech people, with the aim of capturing their specific features – also based on findings from elsewhere – and, on the other hand, on the linguistic resources available in Czech Sign Language and Czech, and their possible modification for the purposes of intracultural and/or intercultural communication. The aim of the monograph is to view the communication of Deaf Czech people differently than it is viewed by disciplines traditionally focused on the issue of deafness, and thus to initiate a discussion about the status of Czech Sign Language and written Czech by Deaf Czech people in the professional and public spheres, especially in the field of education. The publication is intended for students of fields that deal with issues of deafness, or whose fields are related to issues of deafness, their educators, teachers in schools for deaf children and youth, and teachers in mainstream schools where children with hearing impairments are integrated. It is also for specialists at special educational centres or early intervention centres, and all other professionals who encounter the issue of deafness or the languages of Deaf Czech people, parents and families of deaf children, as well as the wider public, to whom it presents attitudes towards deafness, Deaf Czech people, and their communication that are different from those traditionally held in our country. It is, of course, also intended for the Deaf Czech community, to whose self-awareness, self-concept, and self-definition it wishes to contribute at least in some part.