Deaf Archives

Published On - March 15, 2018

Mary Ravenna Language Blog, Sign LanguageTags: British Sign Language, BSL, Deaf

10 Facts About British Sign Language

Did you know that this week is Sign Language Week? This annual observance is promoted by the British Deaf Association to celebrate British Sign language and the British Deaf Community. To celebrate, here are ten interesting facts about British Sign Language (BSL) and BSL interpreters. In the UK, the...

Published On - March 9, 2018

Mary Ravenna Accessibility Services, Interpreting, Language BlogTags: British Sign Language, BSL, Deaf, Sign Language

5 Powerful Lessons from “The Silent Child” About Deaf Communication in a Hearing World

Did you watch the Academy Awards last weekend? One of the most striking moments was when Rachel Shenton came to accept an Oscar for her short film “The Silent Child,” which won Best Live Action Short Film. “The Silent Child” is about a deaf girl who struggles to get by withou...

Published On - August 1, 2011

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: Deaf, Languages

Teaching Deaf Children

There is a long-standing debate in the deaf community over the best way to educate deaf children. Should they be taught with other deaf children, in classes that emphasize sign language? Or should they be “main-streamed” into classrooms with hearing children, taught spoken language as much as po...

Published On - June 14, 2011

Surinder Singh Language Blog, Sign LanguageTags: Deaf, Sign Language

Automatic Sign Language

We’ve all seen TV shows and movies make use of subtitles for the hearing impaired. However, for many deaf people, it takes more effort to decode the English words used in the subtitles than it would to understand the material if it were presented in their native tongue: sign language. In an at...

Published On - June 8, 2011

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: Deaf, Sign Language

Lady Gaga Wants To Learn Sign Language

Lady Gaga has been branded as the new “Queen of Pop Music” and a music phenomenon of her generation with a string of hits: “just dance” , “bad romance”, “poker face “and more recently “Judas”. Since 2005 she has sold more than 6 million albums worldwide. However, unde...

Published On - March 30, 2011

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: Deaf, Sign Language

Scottish Finger-Signing Gets Its Own Documentary

We often read about the struggle to document and preserve endangered spoken and written languages. But what about disappearing sign languages? Deaf people all over the world have their own regional languages and methods of communicating, some of which are also vanishing....

Published On - March 25, 2011

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: Deaf, Sign Language

Deaf Puppy Joins Deaf Family, Learns Sign Language

Alice, a springer spaniel who was born deaf just found a new home where the inhabitants are both deaf as well...Read more now!...

Published On - August 12, 2010

Agnieszka Animucka Language Blog, Sign LanguageTags: Deaf

Plains Indian Sign Language Conference

Plains Indian tribes will gather at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana to create a record of a language that is rapidly going extinct: Plains Indian Sign Language....

Published On - May 19, 2010

Richard Brooks Language BlogTags: Deaf

Deaf Hip-Hop Singer Snags Recording Contract

Deaf hip-hop artist Sean Forbes just signed a recording contract with Web Entertainment and BMI, according to the Detroit Free Press. Forbes is the co-founder of the Deaf Professional Arts Network also known as D-Pan, which makes sign-language remakes of popular music videos....

Cornell Develops Sign-Language Mobile Phones

Published On - December 7, 2009

Gemma Brackenbury Language Blog, Sign LanguageTags: Deaf, Sign Language

Cornell Develops Sign-Language Mobile Phones

These days, almost everyone has a mobile phone. But what about people who are deaf or hearing-impaired? Until now, deaf people have been able to able to use cell phones in a limited fashion, for texting only. Texting is a valuable communication option, and providers like T-Mobile have long offered �...