Deaf Canadians march

Year Published:  1989
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX3688

Abstract: 
Deaf Canadians marched in a dozen cities across Canada earlier this year to demand changes in the education they receive. One of their major demands was that American Sign Language (ASL) be used in schools for the deaf. The preference for ASL is widespread among the deaf in North America, who have had to do battle with the educational bureaucracies, which have tended to want to make the deaf concentrate on oral communication and on Signed English. Signed English is a literal translation of English which deaf representatives say does not meet their needs. According to Jim Roots, the executive director of the Canadian Association for the Deaf, "the word butterfly is a perfect example [of the difference between the systems]. In American Sign Language, it is a single sign that copies the fluttering motion of a butterfly's wings. In Signed Exact English, it is two separate signs, one for butter and one for fly. Does that make sense? Does that convey the impression of a butterfly? I think not." Concern is also being expressed about government moves to shut down special schools for the deaf in order to integrate them into regular classrooms. They say that while the desire to integrate them has value, this approach to integration often harms the deaf because they can learn better in classes which are specifically set up to meet their needs.