Differing attitudes toward Spanish sign languages in three Galician pre- and primary schools

Abstract

[Abstract] Research into multilingual communities in Europe shows parallels between spoken languages and sign languages in relation to the influence of school and family on the origin and transformation of linguistic attitudes. Compared with the number and variety of studies on spoken languages, however, relatively little research has been carried out on the question of linguistic attitudes to sign languages. The dearth of specific research is further compounded by the methodological challenge of how to apply indirect research techniques to the study of visual-spatial languages. The results obtained in this study confirm the influence of linguistic attitudes on the teaching of deaf pupils, as well as the need to resource and promote the development of plurilingual curricula in different language modalities.