With the changing trends in sign language education and recognition, this study looks at how Deaf people from different backgrounds view sign language. Will Japanese Sign Language (JSL) become an endangered language or will it co-exist with Signed Japanese? This study will provide more insights into the future of JSL.
Sign language in Japan has been gaining more recognition and this has enabled the public to recognize sign language as a language. Some elementary schools in Japan teach their students easy signs as part of their morning assembly or period for integrated studies. Many students are taught how to fingerspell and some schools teach sign language songs, where the hearing students enjoy singing popular songs with signs. Many of these activities are good that it raises awareness of sign language but it also creates a misconception that Japanese Sign Language (JSL) has the same word order as Japanese. The public know little about the variation that is possible in the communication modes that the deaf use. This paper aims to look at how the Deaf feel about their sign language and how they view the sign language. In Japan there is one word shuwa, that can have a wide meaning referring to JSL and Simultaneous Communication (SimCom). This paper interviewed, 10 Deaf subjects to find out their views towards the term shuwa. 10 subjects from different types of linguistic and educational background (2 subjects for each group) were interviewed by a deaf interviewer. This study provides insights to the situation in Japan and provide a deeper understanding to the term shuwa that can refer to many varieties of visual communication modes that the Deaf use. It also looks at how deaf people from different background view sign language.
