Common Misconceptions
A misconception is a view or opinion based on fault thinking or understanding. There are many misconceptions about British Sign Language, the way in which it’s used and the people who use it. We try to address some of those below and shed some light on them.
“I can communicate with deaf people by writing things down, sign language isn’t important.”
This seems to be quite a common one, British Sign Language (BSL) is a different language to that of English. Some deaf people only use BSL and really struggle with English. Deaf people may have went to dedicated schools for the deaf that used sign language so had no use for English throughout school. Deaf people often use English-to-BSL interpreters to translate documents so that they can understand them.
“British Sign Language is just English signed word for word.”
Absolutely wrong! BSL is a different language, recognised by the Government in March 2003. This statement was released: “The Government recognises that British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right, regularly used by a significant number of people … BSL is a visual-gestural language with its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax.”
“All deaf people are dumb.”
Most deaf people find this statement derisory, naturally over time the meanings of words are affect by social influence and in a modern world, ‘dumb’ is used in a very negative fashion. Deaf and dumb was a term coined to describe deaf people who couldn’t pronounce words clearly. Deaf without speech is the accepted term today.
“Deafness affects hearing, not speech.”
This issue differs with every person, if someone has been deaf from birth, it is very difficult for them to learn how to develop speech clearly. Some people will have undertaken speech training, but due to the significant amount of time required, some people choose to focus on other things and learn a sign language to communicate. Thus, deafness has a knock-on effect on other aspects of peoples life.
Remember, deafness is an ‘invisible’ disability and the level of disability varies massively between every person. It’s best not to form judgments based on hearsay as there are not many sweeping generalisations about deafness that are true.
Heard or seen any other common misconceptions? Send them in by email and we’ll help put the world to rights as a community! Send them to admin@mydeafcommunity.co.uk.
Last update: February 2011
A misconception is a view or opinion based on fault thinking or understanding. There are many misconceptions about British Sign Language, the way in which it’s used and the people who use it. We try to address some of those below and shed some light on them.
“I can communicate with deaf people by writing things down, sign language isn’t important.”
This seems to be quite a common one, British Sign Language (BSL) is a different language to that of English. Some deaf people only use BSL and really struggle with English. Deaf people may have went to dedicated schools for the deaf that used sign language so had no use for English throughout school. Deaf people often use English-to-BSL interpreters to translate documents so that they can understand them.
“British Sign Language is just English signed word for word.”
Absolutely wrong! BSL is a different language, recognised by the Government in March 2003. This statement was released: “The Government recognises that British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right, regularly used by a significant number of people … BSL is a visual-gestural language with its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax.”
“All deaf people are dumb.”
Most deaf people find this statement derisory, naturally over time the meanings of words are affect by social influence and in a modern world, ‘dumb’ is used in a very negative fashion. Deaf and dumb was a term coined to describe deaf people who couldn’t pronounce words clearly. Deaf without speech is the accepted term today.
“Deafness affects hearing, not speech.”
This issue differs with every person, if someone has been deaf from birth, it is very difficult for them to learn how to develop speech clearly. Some people will have undertaken speech training, but due to the significant amount of time required, some people choose to focus on other things and learn a sign language to communicate. Thus, deafness has a knock-on effect on other aspects of peoples life.
Remember, deafness is an ‘invisible’ disability and the level of disability varies massively between every person. It’s best not to form judgments based on hearsay as there are not many sweeping generalisations about deafness that are true.
Heard or seen any other common misconceptions? Send them in by email and we’ll help put the world to rights as a community! Send them to admin@mydeafcommunity.co.uk.
Last update: February 2011
Deaf News
Downloads
Facts and Figures
Press Releases
Facebook
Twitter