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In this chapter the author recounts his work, supporting the call for the establishment of schools and local and national organizations for deaf people, as well as supporting the call for international organizations to empower deaf communities to meet their goals. International aid institutions after World War II effected changes in the world view of deaf people that led to the establishment of schools for deaf children. Missionaries introduced foreign sign languages or the oral method rather than local sign languages. British Sign Language and Swedish Sign Language were imposed on African and Asian schools, although tribal sign languages persisted. Still, much work remains to be done in raising awareness of Deaf culture and of the validity of sign languages as natural human languages.
Keywords: Deaf activism; deaf rights; deaf communities; funding institutions; deaf schools; British Sign Language; Swedish Sign Language; Africa; Asia; Deaf culture; sign languages
Chapter. 4469 words.
Subjects: language teaching and learning
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