A sociolinguistic study of sign language(s) in Algeria: exploring the situation of sign language(s) in Algeria and the attitudes of the signing community towards signers and sign language variation

Cherif, Hadjira (2024). A sociolinguistic study of sign language(s) in Algeria: exploring the situation of sign language(s) in Algeria and the attitudes of the signing community towards signers and sign language variation. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The research at hand is a sociolinguistic study that aims to shed light on the present situation of sign language(s) in Algeria. It explores the current situation of sign languages in Algeria and the deaf community due to the lack of literature on this issue in the field of sociolinguistics. Equally important, the study aims to explore the social factors that came into play in shaping sign language variation in Algeria by highlighting the factors that influenced the emergence, development, maintenance, and use of sign language varieties in Algeria.
The conceptual framework of the study lies in adopting aspects of the variationist sociolinguistic approach which explores the effect of social factors on variation in spoken and signed languages (e.g., Lucas et al., 2001). The research explores the effect of social factors on sign language use in Algeria by interviewing seven hearing and six deaf Algerian signers who shared their experiences of sign language use and the signing community.
Furthermore, the research applies a qualitative methodological approach in which semi-structured online interviews were used in order to collect data. In order to test the feasibility of the study, a pilot study was first conducted in order to investigate the current sociolinguistic situation of sign language varieties in Algeria. From this, two main research questions were raised: (a) what are the social factors that came into play in shaping sign language use in Algeria? And (b) what are the experiences of deaf and hearing members of the signing community? Thematic Analysis has been applied to analyse the data gathered after transcribing, translating and coding the data.
Results, according to the participants’ responses, showed that there are other varieties of sign language in Algeria than the widely used Algerian Sign Language (LSA) and French Sign Language (LSF). The presence of this variation its emergence, development, and use, are affected by a range of factors, which include (a) historical factors that cover the rich history of Algeria and the long period of colonisation that it underwent, (b) cultural aspects such as food, traditions, dress, (c) recent appearance of new illnesses and viruses, (d) political aspects such as the language planning and policy conducted by the Algerian government and the attempts to unify and standardise LSA in order to detach the country from a history of use of LSF and to spread Arabisation, (e) religious aspects such as the borrowing of new Islamic signs from the sign languages of Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, (f) technology, such as naming new objects and inventions, (g) regional variation and geographical boundaries, (h) social media (mainly Facebook) such as borrowing new signs from other countries when communicating online with other deaf people from those countries, (i) socio-economic status.
Finally, after analysing the narratives of the experiences of these members of the signing community, results revealed that there were varying attitudes expressed by the signing community towards both the signing community itself and the sign language varieties, including both positive and negative attitudes depending on the situation discussed. It is noteworthy that the study showed that those social factors that came into play in shaping LSA are reflected in the attitudes of the signing community as well.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):