Visual manifestations of an object that moves from one place to another are common in sign languages. Here, we offer an overview of techniques for conveying motion of an entity based on an examination of storytelling and poetry in seven sign languages. The signer can use embodiment and/or classifiers to show translocating movement of an object, or…

This article will explore the impact of various language education policies and their measures on Irish Sign Language (ISL) in Irish deaf education. The focus will be on how previous and current policy decisions regarding language education have affected the use and recognition of ISL as a legitimate language in the education system. The article…

This article is a critical review of a book by Sir William Wilde (better known as the father of Oscar Wilde) entitled "On the Physical, Moral, and Social Condition of the Deaf and Dumb" (1854). This book, which is based on the demographic and medical information that he collected from "deaf and dumb" people in the early 1850s,…

Background: Key Word Signing (KWS) is one system that can be used to support the communication needs of children with Down syndrome (DS) who attend mainstream school. The success of KWS in schools is mediated by staff experiences and perceptions of KWS. The current study is one of the first to explore KWS use in mainstream schools. Aims: To…

There is a dearth of qualitative research concerning deaf people's experiences of participating in the Irish Sign Language (ISL) recognition movement, and this limits our ability to understand the opportunities and constraints they encountered as they negotiated their way toward the passing of the ISL Act 2017. While ISL is unique to Ireland, it…

Background: Opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to become bi/multilingual tend not to be widely available despite demonstrated linguistic and extralinguistic advantages associated with an ability to use more than one language. This article focuses on the learning experiences of students with intellectual disabilities in…

Parents' experiences of using Lámh, a key word signing approach used in Ireland, were captured through in-depth face-to-face interviews with parents of children with a range of intellectual disabilities. It emerged that Lámh provides child users with one of the rudiments of inclusion, that is, a means of engaging with others. A number of factors…

Little is known about the nature of fingerspelling during sign language interpretation. In this small-scale, exploratory study, we examined the fingerspelling of interpreters working in five different sign languages: American Sign Language (ASL), Australian Sign Language (Auslan), British Sign Language (BSL), Irish Sign Language (ISL), and Italian…

Key word signing, an unaided augmentative, and alternative communication (AAC) system is commonly used by children with Down syndrome who attend mainstream primary schools. To ensure the successful use of key word signing within a mainstream environment, a meaningful, contextually appropriate sign vocabulary must be available to all communication…

Sign language learners are a heterogenous group who have different motivations for embarking on formal studies. It is apparent at the outset that many learners are uninformed about sign languages and the deaf community. It has been previously noted that societies often lack the understanding that signed languages are valid languages, and have…

Linguistic imperialism--a term used to conceptualize the dominance of one language over others--has been debated in language policy for more than two decades. Spolsky (Language policy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004), for example, has questioned whether the spread of English was a result of language planning, or was incidental to…

This ethnographic study examines deaf people's experience of the Roman Catholic Sacrament of Confession in two Catholic schools for deaf children in the Republic of Ireland from 1950 to 1990. The article fills a gap in Catholic deaf education literature that fails to uncover the experiences of deaf children. It provides space for their storied…

The author explicates the life story of Anne Smyth, a deaf teacher in 19th-century Ireland. The story was written and published in 1858 by another deaf teacher, Charlotte Mary Kelly, who traced Anne Smyth's life trajectory from her birth to the day she began life in a deaf school until her untimely death at the age of 18 years. The study examines…

Background: Lámh is a key word signing approach used in Ireland, which can support the communication needs of children with Down syndrome. However, the success of this approach in mainstream schools relies heavily on the attitudes of those within the school environment. To date, two studies have explored the attitudes of teaching staff towards the…

This paper discusses the contributions of the Dominican Sisters and Sisters of Mercy in running schools for female deaf children in Ireland during the period 1846 to 1946. The schools were established as part of an attempt to educate Catholics in the Catholic faith and provide literacy to female deaf children. In assuming the challenge of…