Meera Modi - Guest post #10
Post categories: Diversity, Guest Blog
|11:43 UK time, Tuesday, 10 November 2009
Web accessibility for deaf people is an issue, because although captioning is provided for web material such as online videos, part of the problem is that for many deaf people, English isn't their first language. As bizarre as it sounds, for many deaf people, (British) Sign Language may be the language they are most comfortable with. BSL uses grammar in a different manner and words may be missed out in a conversation or explanation. Try watching a television programme that uses a BSL signer in the corner - see if you can match up what the signer is saying to the speech. Doesn't seem to match up, right? That's because BSL English is different from spoken English. It is a visual language, and this is reflected in its use.
BSL English is, as a result, much more limited than spoken English - it would be impossible to have signs for every single word in the English language. Even more confusingly, deaf people sometimes invent their own words and signs that cannot be expressed verbally! They may use shorter, simpler words (e.g. "use" instead of "utilise") and also find it easier and better to use shorter sentences. There are deaf people who don't use BSL as their first language. These people may have grown up in mainstream schools and learned to speak before they learned sign language (if they chose to learn it). So web accessibility for the deaf should include both sign language and subtitles, to cover as many bases as possible (you can never please everyone after all!).
Another important point is the simpler English issue - in order for deaf people (and anyone really) to understand the material, it should be in plain English wherever possible. Some of you may agree this plea has particular relevance to Workplace! During the course of my research I've discovered the The Plain English Campaign which promotes the use of English that can be understood the first time it is read. It would be great to see these ideas put into practice more widely by us all.
Accessibility extends to DVDs and CD-ROMs - providing subtitles and BSL language options. Specialist production companies can help with all these. If you are responsible for a website or writing content that other people will read online, it's well worth bearing these issues in mind to improve accessibility for deaf people, as well as make things more readable generally.
Comment number 1.
At 17:35 10th Nov 2009, M M wrote:I have to disagree English is not the primary language of deaf people. ALL surveys at the BBC regarding access for the deaf were in the majority in wanting subtitling (888), unless mine old eyes decieve me that text/grammar is English. There is NO 'proof' in the United Kingdom on (A) How many profoundly deaf there are (Guesses vary between 48,000 and 90,000!), this figure is a 'medical' or registered guess on unusuable hearing, like the RNID claiming 9 million. (B) Again there has never been a survey on the deaf on who uses what mode primarily, so we don't know if that is BSL/SE/Lip-reading or sheer guesswork on their part.
The nearest figure most can accept is about 3,000 deaf people in the UK, daily using sign language, again SIGN-LANGUAGE this may or may not be BSL, and may or may not be their sole mode, simply because it is a primary mode in a deaf club does not indicate it is their sole means of access the rest of the world. When SEE HEAR asked a group of BSL people 9 years ago, which access they most prefer, 65% opted for 888 not sign language. SEE HEAR itself tried at one point to remove titles and use BSL alone and viewing almost zeroed, complaints went in they capitulated to 888.
The needs of the many outweigh the preferences of the few I'm afraid, they have already spoken and that is access via English (Text), the internet is ample proof of the deaf being actually very good at using and following English grammar. Of course the major fly in your access ointment is, that there will NEVER be enough translators on the BBC to provide basic access, never mind anything else, there are only 3 per 100 deaf people on the street.... Deaf people have the 'luxury' of two language approaches, but have opted for the most effective to media, which is text. This is also the primary mode on the net, and even vbloggers using native sign have been approached to provide captions.
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Comment number 2.
At 12:24 11th Nov 2009, Meera_M wrote:Thank you for your reply, it was really interesting. This is not actually my opinion, but is simply an article based on research I did, but thank you for your enlightening statements anyway.
Meera
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