ERIC Number: EJ1071538
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0302-1475
EISSN: N/A
A Barking Dog That Never Bites? The British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill
De Meulder, Maartje
Sign Language Studies, v15 n4 p446-472 Sum 2015
This article describes and analyses the pathway to the British Sign Language (Scotland) Bill and the strategies used to reach it. Data collection has been done by means of interviews with key players, analysis of official documents, and participant observation. The article discusses the bill in relation to the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and posits that, although the bill will raise awareness, it also has significant weaknesses. These include the absence of enforceable rights, the representative imbalance during the negotiation process, the perception of BSL as a tool to access public services, the question who is benefiting from recognition, and most of all the absence of educational linguistic rights and cultural rights.
Descriptors: Sign Language, Interviews, Indo European Languages, Civil Rights, Participant Observation, Foreign Countries, Language Planning, Public Policy, Access to Education, Federal Legislation, Deafness
Gallaudet University Press. 800 Florida Avenue NE, Denison House, Washington, DC 20002-3695. Tel: 202-651-5488; Fax: 202-651-5489; Web site: http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/SLS.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom; United Kingdom (Scotland)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A