After the release of Act No 108 of 1996, the status of the nine African languages of South Africa was elevated to that of English and Afrikaans and as a result, for the first time in the history of languages, South Africa became the first country in Africa to have eleven official languages. However, Sign Language for the Deaf was left out even though Section 6(4) of the South African School's Act No 84 of 1996 puts it clearly that "A recognized sign Language has the status of an official language for purposes of learning at a public school". In terms of Section 6 (5) (a) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Pan South African Language Board was also given a task to promote, and create conditions for the development and use of the Sign Language. DEAFSA (1996), states that Sign Language is the first or natural language for the Deaf. In Act No. 108 of 1996: Section 29(2) stipulates that: "Everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public educational institution where that is reasonably practicable". The first objective of this study was to investigate if the South African Sign Language (SASL) was a fully-fledged language and to find out more about the present status of this language. The second objective was to examine if South African Sign Language was taught to Parents of Deaf children from the Zulu hearing community's point of view. Marcel Jousse; a French Jesuit Anthropologist and linguist, firmly believes in the anthropology of geste, which is synonymous with the anthropology of mimicry. This theory forms the basis of language acquisition of all peoples of the world. "The oral style with its mnemotechnic devices only comes into play once the individual has been informed by a reality which he receives and replays through his mimic being as a whole, (Fanning (1995:vii). This theory best describes the manner in which signers acquire their sign language, which solely depends on gestures made in the space by hands, body movements and facial expressions. In this theory, the anthropos plays out the receptions of the universe, replays them, stores them and revivifies them in expressions that are the mimisms of the whole human compound: corporeal, ocular and auricular manual. Unfortunately, the laryngo - buccal mimism is excluded in deaf people since they cannot speak. A multi-disciplinary approach from the educational, linguistic, historical, political and cultural perspectives was employed in collecting data for this study. The samples for the study comprised deaf learners, deaf educators, and hearing educators in schools for the deaf, interpreters of sign language, senior management from the schools of Deaf learners and parents of the deaf children. The researcher discovered that very little has been done by researchers and the government of the day to assist the deaf to gain recognition in his or her community. Parents of deaf children are unable to communicate fully with their children. The study also revealed that deaf children prefer to be taught by deaf teachers because they can identify much better with them. The researcher discovered that literature for the deaf is non-existent in all spheres of their lives. Sign language per se, is not taught as a subject. Deaf learners are not allowed to take their subjects at a Higher Grade; as a result, they feel extremely marginalized by the educators. Promoting this language would improve our trade and industry, travel & tourism etc. Student exchange programmes would also enhance the development of the sign language locally, nationally and internationally. The Deaf would become multilingual in the Sign Languages of the world when they come into contact with Deaf people from other parts of the world. This would involve sport, education, politics and other activities. The deaf would be equipped to meet various challenges in life. The Deaf people need to communicate freely amongst themselves and the hearing community of our country should make an effort to learn the Sign Language so that they are able to communicate with the deaf. This would improve the socio-economic status of our country. / Thesis (Ph.D)-University of Durban-Westville, 2004.

[pt] Os recentes avanços tecnológicos nas áreas de telecomunicação e informática têm proporcionado o surgimento de vários instrumentos novos de comunicação social. Essas inovações criaram as chamadas redes sociais e diversos veículos móveis de comunicação instantânea. O presente estudo visa identificar as razões pelas quais o aplicativo WhatsApp tem se destacado neste setor, em particular no Rio de Janeiro. Para o alcance desse objetivo foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica e pesquisas de campo envolvendo quatro grupos focais. O método tem como base a construção de mapas perceptivos com uma abordagem qualitativa. Conforme os participantes classificam, em conjunto, os doze veículos de comunicação selecionados, relatam seus pontos de vista em relação a cada um deles, revelando aos poucos as razões pelas quais utilizam um ou outro. Uma vez alcançado certo grau de consenso entre os participantes, eles foram submetidos a um questionário para identificar o perfil demográfico do respondente e reforçar questões específicas sobre a utilização do WhatsApp. Os resultados sugerem que, além de ser percebido como um instrumento de comunicação completo, no que tange sua capacidade de troca de texto, som e imagens, esse aplicativo é o mais adotado por ser o mais conhecido e utilizado por seus conhecidos, sejam amigos, familiares ou colegas de trabalho. A resposta sobre como o WhatsApp se tornou o aplicativo mais utilizado pela sociedade em geral, no entanto, requer novas pesquisas. / [en] Recent technological advances in telecommunications and information technology have provided the emergence of several new instruments of social communication. These innovations have created the so-called social networks and various mobile vehicles of instantaneous communication. This study aims to identify the reasons why WhatsApp has excelled in this sector, particularly in Rio de Janeiro. To achieve this objective a bibliographic research and pieces of field research involving four focus groups were conducted. The method is based on the construction of perceptual maps by using a qualitative approach. As participants classify the twelve selected media outlets, they report their views in relation to each of them, revealing gradually the reasons why use one or the other. Once achieved a degree of consensus among the participants they are submitted to a questionnaire that identifies their demographic profile and reinforces specific questions about using WhatsApp. The results suggest that, in addition to being perceived as a complete communication tool. regarding its text, sound and images exchange capacity, this instrument is the most widely adopted by their acquaintances, either friends, member of family or co-workers. The answer on how WhatsApp has become the most widely used application, however, requires further studies.

Masters of Science / This thesis offers some prototypes to provide browser-based and mobile video communication services for Deaf people and evaluates these prototypes. The aim of this research is to identify an acceptable video communication technology for Deaf people by designing and evaluating several prototypes. The goal is to find one that Deaf people would like to use in their day-to-day life. The thesis focuses on two technologies | browser-based systems and mobile applications. Several challenges emerged, for example, specific Deaf user requirements are difficult to obtain, the technical details must be hidden from end users, and evaluation of prototypes includes both technical and social aspects. This thesis describes work to provide South African Sign Language communication for Deaf users in a disadvantaged Deaf community in Cape Town. We posit an experimental design to evaluate browser-based and mobile technologies in order to learn what constitutes acceptable video communication for Deaf users. Two browser-based prototypes and two mobile prototypes were built to this effect. Both qualitative data and quantitative data are collected with user tests to evaluate the prototypes. The video quality of Android satisfies Deaf people, and the portable asynchronous communication is convenient for Deaf users. The server performance is low on bandwidth, and will therefore cost less than other alternatives, although Deaf people feel the handset is costly. / South Africa

Kommunikation är en nödvändig förutsättning för att människor ska kunna samverka med andra i samhället. Skolans undervisning ska utifrån detta utgå ifrån elevens behov för att eleven ska kunna allmänbilda sig i samhället. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur musik kan användas som ett kommunikationsmedel för elever med funktionsnedsättning i undervisningen och på vilka sätt som den undervisande läraren använder sig av detta. Resultatet som presenteras redovisar genomförda intervjuer och observationer som har utförts med olika undervisande lärare i musik, på olika orter runt om i Sverige. Resultatet presenterar hur lärare använder sig av kommunikation i undervisningen genom musik samt på vilka sätt detta sker. Lärarna använder sig av kommunikation som sker på flera olika sätt genom musik, kontakt, teckenspråk, kroppspråk och tecken som stöd. Diskussionen kring studiens ämne koncentreras på den undervisande lärarens kommunikation i undervisningen med hjälp av musik, vilka alternativa kommunikationssätt som kan användas av läraren för att nå ut till eleverna samt vilka för- och nackdelar det finns med användning av alternativa kommunikationssätt.

Please read the abstract in the section, 00front, of this document / Dissertation (MA (Augmentative and Alternative Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

This thesis sets out to undertake research into the very important topic of sign language and its usage, particularly in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Three schools are used in this study. Interviews and questionnaires were used to conduct research with teachers, students and deaf teacher assistants within this context. The analysis of this data is presented in Chapter five of this thesis.

The main aim of this diploma thesis is to suggest the appropriate communication strategy of selected municipality, in this case the municipality of Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou. The theoretical part defines the basic concepts in the field of communication and communication strategy. The practical part consists of the analysis of the contemporary status of the communication strategy of the selected municipality. This analysis describes the municipality and analyses the ways of the municipal communication with the target groups and means of the communication used to do so. The second part of the practical part is a survey focused on the citizens´ contentment with the municipal communication. The survey is subdivided into the five component aims. Based on the analysis of the communication strategy and the survey, the complex communication strategy of the municipality Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou is formulated. It consists of a SWOT analysis, proposal of the communication strategy and its realization.

The purpose of this study was to examine the processes and patterns of communicative interaction which preschool and elementary school-aged deaf and hearing siblings utilized to initiate, maintain and terminate dialogs during play. Specifically, the focus was to determine if the processes and patterns of communication differed when a deaf sibling interacted with an older hearing sibling who has been exposed primarily to a simultaneous visual-auditory (SimVA) pattern of communication, as compared to when a deaf sibling interacted with a younger hearing sibling who has been exposed to both a SimVA and a sequential visual (Seq V) pattern of communication. Video-taped playbouts were observed between each of two sibling dyads at play within a single family: (a) an older dyad composed of a seven-year-old hearing child and her five-year-old deaf sister, and (b) a younger dyad with the second-born deaf sister and her three-year-old hearing brother. The video-tapes were coded to determine: the kinds of play siblings engaged in; the use and expression of behavioral and communicative elements of attention-getting, exchange of information, and termination processes of dialogs; who initiated and terminated dialogs; the occurrence of turn-taking during message delivery; and the expression of patterns of communication used by siblings during dialogs. Only three of five possible kinds of play were actually noted, of which social play was the most frequently observed kind of play taking place between siblings within both dyads. In the older hearing and deaf sibling dyad, it was found that the older hearing sister predominately used visual processes and patterns of communicative interaction when conversing with her deaf sister, whereas the deaf sibling relied extensively on visual-auditory processes and patterns of communication when conversing with her hearing sister. In the younger dyad, visual-auditory patterns of communication predominated both hearing and deaf siblings' expression of processes and patterns of communication with each other. New terminology reflecting siblings' behavioral and communicative patterns of communication are introduced. This study represents the first known research examining the processes and patterns of deaf and hearing siblings' behavioral and communicative interactions of dialog. The findings are discussed in relation to potential applications to early intervention programs for hearing families with deaf and hearing siblings and to future research directions. Overall, the findings from this study appear to indicate that deaf and hearing siblings communicate in ways largely influenced by developmental maturation and the communicative environments to which each child has been exposed during language acquisition processes. The findings are also consistent with Vygotsky's theory of a sociocultural origin of language development. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Please read the abstract in the section, 00front, of this document / Thesis (PhD (Augmentative and Alternative Communication))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / PhD / Unrestricted

This thesis sets out the rationale and design for a speech programme for Deaf learners to be implemented by teachers in the classroom. Theoretical and empirical research are provided to support its design. Speech teaching is set against a backdrop of current issues so that the programme is seen to take cognisance of these. To this end the disappointment and conflict which surround speech teaching and newer educational and audiological trends are described. Following this, the deviant speech of the Deaf is described. Prevocal aspects of speech production, namely aberrant repiratory functioning and deviant vocal set are described. The latter is a term coined for this research to denote psychological, functional, physical and neural changes that deleteriously affect the speech of the Deaf. Suprasegmental and segmental problems are next delineated. An argument that supports the view that vowels are less accessible to correction than consonants is proposed to explain the empahasis accorded to consonants. Hereafter, theories of speech teaching are set out to clarify their incorporation into the proposed programme. Critiques of Haycock, the Ewings, Ling and van Uden are provided. The role of computers and biofeedback is evaluated. The Whole Language Approach to mainstream education, the phonological method of speech correction, and creative techniques, speech arid drama, and singing, are described in relation to speech instruction for Deaf learners. Empirical research that investigates attitudes and needs of educators of Deaf children, with the emphasis on the class teacher, is delineated. Finally, the proposed programme is presented emphasising its potential to interrupt the current self perpetuating negative cycle. Theoretical principles are a defocus on lipreading cues to provide information on speech production, restriction of digital contact with the larynx or throat, repeated cycles of intervention at phonetic and phonological levels, and the employment of five multisensory avenues to enhance speech perception. The latter are orosensory, graphic, kinaesthetic, hand analogies and use of inanimate objects. Skills targeted for development are control of vocal organs, suprasegmental, segmental and phonological development. The fit of the proposed programme to the education paradigm in terms of learner, teacher and school system is described. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of the programme and recommendations for future research. / Thesis (DPhil (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted