Sociolinguistic Situation of the Dominican Republic Deaf Community Holly Williams SIL International...
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Transcript of Sociolinguistic Situation of the Dominican Republic Deaf Community Holly Williams SIL International...
Sociolinguistic Situation of the Sociolinguistic Situation of the Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf
CommunityCommunity
Holly WilliamsSIL International
17 December 2009SIGN4 – New Delhi, India
Special Thanks to:
Dominican Republic Deaf community for volunteering their time to share
about their language and life.
Jason and Elizabeth Parks for helping gather, analyze and document
information about the Dominican Republic Deaf community.
Dominican Republic SurveyDominican Republic Survey
Dominican Republic SurveyDominican Republic SurveyGeneral
population: 9.5 million
Deaf population: 18,000?
October 2008• 3 surveyors• 3 weeks in
country• 7 cities
Why 7 cities?• Largest cities
with large Deaf populations
• Geography• Contacts
Dominican Republic SurveyDominican Republic Survey
Rapid appraisal survey: investigates and gathers information to provide an overall perspective of the language community situation in a relatively short amount of time
Research tools• Participant observation• Informal interviews• Sociolinguistic
questionnaire (SLQ)
Dominican Republic SurveyDominican Republic Survey
SLQ:Questions 1-11: basic
demographics of the Deaf community
Questions 12-19: metadataQuestions 20-40: language
use and attitudes specifically among the Deaf community
Dominican Republic SurveyDominican Republic Survey
Research questions1. What is the sociolinguistic situation
of the Deaf community in the Dominican Republic?
2. What is the language attitude of the Deaf community in the Dominican Republic towards American Sign Language (ASL)?
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Sociolinguistic Factors1. Education2. Organized social groups3. Religious groups4. Social access5. Language use
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Education1967 National Deaf
School• 1970’s Total
Communication• 2008: oral education but
transfer to sign language if not succeeding orally
• 600+ students• Teachers – no deaf
education training available
• 10 satellite schools with goal of a school for Deaf people in each of the 31 provinces
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
1973 Instituto de Ayuda al Sordo Santa Rosa (Help Institute for the Deaf in Santa Rosa)
• Oral• 400+ students• Students required to have at
least 60 decibels of hearing• Sign language used outside
of classroom
1980’s Religious deaf schools
• 10 schools throughout the DR• Less than 40 students at each
school
21 cities with at least one deaf educational
center (2008)
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Organized social groups
• 1982: Deaf Club (est. 15 yrs after deaf school)
• 2000: National Deaf Association
• Informal gatherings in smaller towns
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Religious groups• Protestant 1980’s
– Interpreted and Deaf-led services– Yearly camp 300+ attendees– Sign language class– Connections to USA, Panama and Puerto Rico
• Jehovah’s Witness– Deaf camp– Mostly led by hearing individuals
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Social access• Employment
– Education certificate– Typical jobs– CASS
• Communication– Cell phones– Internet café– Interpreters
• No professional interpreters• Goal: establish interpreters association
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Language use
History• Trujillo (1930-1961)• Sign language development started
in 1967 with founding of the national deaf school
• ASL introduced in 1970’s
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Sign Language Variation• Geographical region
– More similar along middle (main services offered)
• Desire for standardization while respecting different cultures
• Deaf women may have limited vocabulary due to less interaction outside of home18%
82%
Different Signing
Similar Signing
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Language attitudes• Sign freely in public • ASL is prestigious• Importance of characteristics for a
leader in the Deaf community
0
2
4
6
8
10
Deaf Participant Responses
Must bedeaf
Know SignLanguage
Able tovoice
Literate inSpanish
Welleducated
Very important
Doesn't matter
Adverse to it
Dominican Republic Deaf Dominican Republic Deaf CommunityCommunity
Sign Language dictionaries• ASL dictionaries
– Easily accessible– Used in schools
• Dominican Sign Language dictionary– Produced in 2008– Disagreement
• Spanish initialization of ASL signs (eg: WATER/AGUA)• Signs borrowed from other Spanish speaking countries
• Goal: Dominican Sign Language dictionary including regional signs
ConclusionConclusionThe Dominican Republic Deaf community is unified in
pursuit of a better life and identify the following needs:
• Bilingual situation: retaining ASL while developing their indigenous Dominican Republic Sign Language materials
• Better educational opportunities (Spanish literacy)
• Deaf education training for teachers• Training for hearing parents of Deaf
children• Equal employment wages • Interpreter training