| dc.description.abstract | This study aimed to advance academic understanding of what equality of condition (Baker, et al., 2004) would mean for Deaf people about recognising signed language in both education and access to information in particular. It set out to test the hypothesis that the social model of disability is necessary but not sufficient for realising equality of condition for Deaf people because it does not take sufficient account of the importance of either culture or language to Deaf people. Deaf communities identify the status of their signed languages as the indicators of their social standings; therefore, egalitarian measures must be intertwined with the status of signed languages (Lane et al. 1996, Ladd, 2003, Batterbury et al., 2007, Bauman, 2008, Emery 2009). To achieve its goals, a comparative study of signed language policies and practices in both Finland and Ireland was undertaken, two countries that are seen to be more advanced (Finland) and less advanced (Ireland) in terms of the equality of condition for Deaf people. The goal was to establish if Finland had actually moved towards equality of condition by comparison with Ireland concerning the education and public information access of Deaf people. The research process involved the compilation of a range of data, including the analysis of (a) the general political, social and economic contexts of both countries, (b) the wider legislative contexts affecting languages in both countries, (c) the specific language policy contexts of both countries, (d) short study visits to Finland and similar visits to institutions in Ireland and (e) interview data from 29 people (14 Irish people and 15 Finnish people, of which 3 Irish and 7 of Finnish respondents are Deaf). The study concludes that in terms of language policy on sign languages, at least on paper, Finland appears to be more advanced than Ireland. However, on the ground, the attitudes and responses to the language policy measures were very similar. Underlying assumptions that signed languages are a compensatory tool often influences attitudes and responses. Hence, the signed languages in Finland and Ireland are subjected to economic considerations (availability of resources) and political prioritisation (depending on goodwill) rather than legislative enforcement. As a consequence, those Deaf people who regard signed languages as their first language; do not enjoy the level of equality experienced by the majority of society. This study proposes that a Deafhood framework should be applied to guide the language policy orientation to achieve the equality of condition for the Irish Deaf community. The concept of Deafhood was first termed by Ladd (2003) through its practices and norms are used for decades. | en |
