Language attitudes in the British deaf community: Evidence from the British Sign Language Corpus

The aim of this project is to conduct secondary data analysis of the BSL Corpus, an existing large video dataset of British Sign Language (or 'BSL', the language of the British deaf community), to study language awareness and language attitudes in BSL. The BSL Corpus consists of video data collected from 249 native and near-native deaf signers of BSL from 8 sites across the United Kingdom. The data are representative of the language community, including a mix of men and women, deaf adults with deaf parents and those with hearing parents, signers who are young and old, and individuals from working and middle class backgrounds as well as different ethnic groups. The primary aim of the project is to investigate language attitudes of the British deaf community using the BSL Corpus interview data which consists of responses from all 249 signers to a range of questions about BSL, what it is and what it isn't, how it is used and how it should be used, how it varies and how it's changing (and whether it should or shouldn't vary/change). We will be able to see if there are similarities or differences in the language attitudes of different social groups within the deaf community (e.g. if there are differences in how BSL is viewed by younger and older signers), and how attitudes relate to signers' own behaviours (e.g. whether signers are aware that there are actually differences between younger and older signers, as found in recent research, and what those differences are). This study also gives us the opportunity to explore the deaf community's attitude towards language contact between BSL and English - e.g. via attitudes about BSL versus English-based sign systems such as Sign-Supported English (SSE). This information will be beneficial for future research on BSL but also in language planning and policy, including the legal status of BSL in the UK. Additionally, translations of the interview data will be completed and made publicly available online. Translating the interview data means people will be able to see video clips of deaf people from different areas of the UK, different age groups and gender signing in BSL along with English translations. This will dramatically increase the searchability and browsability of the interview data, making it accessible and thus a much more valuable resource for teachers, learners and researchers.

Who will benefit:
-Practitioners: The greater understanding of language attitudes that will result from our work will lead to improved opportunities for training of sign language teachers and sign language interpreters. Access to more information about language attitudes held by the British deaf community will lead to improved BSL teaching resources that accurately describe how the language is perceived by a range of subgroups within the British deaf community. These attitudes, taught alongside linguistic behaviours, will give students and interpreters an overall picture of BSL not just in terms of structure and use but also how it is perceived by the deaf community.
-BSL learners: The benefit of BSL research to practitioners and professionals such as BSL teachers, interpreter trainers and other educators will have an immediate impact on those who learn BSL from these educators.
- Professionals working with deaf children (teachers of the deaf, speech and language therapists, communication support workers, interpreters etc.): New insights from this project will help professionals working in with deaf children, as it will enable them to understand in more detail the impact of language attitudes on mental well being, thus allowing them to support to families of deaf children and young people in various ways e.g. with mental health issues and improve their quality of life.
-Policy-makers: Improved resources for BSL teaching, learning and research will provide an evidence-base for policy-makers in supporting appropriate education, training and services for deaf children and adults. This will help close the gap in education, employment, and health between deaf people throughout their lifespan and their hearing peers. Findings about language attitudes in particular will be crucial in language planning undertaken by policy makers in various government, education and third sector organisations, including deaf organisations.
-Deaf people in society: A major social benefit will be in relation to equity and the status of deaf people in British society. More appropriate resources for sign language teaching, and sign language interpreter training will lead to improved quality of educational and interpreting services for deaf people and provide more opportunities for self-development and employment. Deaf people who can become more highly qualified and trained will be in a better position to contribute to society in different ways, and will be able to achieve greater recognition, access, and equity in the wider community. Also, more knowledge and understanding about how language attitudes and variation influences learners' perception of the language they use may help encourage a more positive attitude towards sign language and thus, improve the self-esteem of deaf adults and children.
How they will benefit from this research:
-Accessible online BSL corpus: The fact that the BSL Corpus is available online (http://www.bslcorpusproject.org/data) and, with the current project, will be more searchable/accessible to the deaf community and the wider public, alongside publicly available online corpora of spoken languages such as the British National Corpus of English, will help justify and strengthen the linguistic status of BSL which will in turn support full participation of their users in British society.
-Knowledge exchange: Findings will be presented at workshops/events not only to share our findings but also to set the agenda for future work on the BSL Corpus. These workshops will help us target the British deaf community generally but also sign language teachers and interpreters, including the Association of BSL Tutors and Assessors, the Association of Sign Language Interpreters, and Signature (the awarding body in the UK for qualifications in BSL and interpreting). This will allow us to reflect back to the deaf community their own views, and allow for community-led language planning from there if so desired.