Deaf-hearing gestural interaction in Mumbai: an ethnography of communication 

Annelies Kusters

- completed -

The aim of this study is to understand the potential and limits of gesture use in language contact situations between deaf and hearing people who do not have fluency in a shared language (mode). In the socio-linguistically diverse environment of Mumbai, where (co-speech) gesture is widely and effectively used among speakers of different languages, the study considers two related issues: how fluent deaf signers use gestures (both conventionalized and spontaneous) and aspects of Indian Sign Language to communicate with hearing non-signers; and how hearing speakers use gestures to communicate with deaf non-speakers. This research thus contributes to understanding the multilingual repertoire that speakers could utilize to achieve communication across diverse communities when attempting to reach mutual understanding. The deaf can contribute greatly to studies of gesture, as they are skilled in creative gestural communication with hearing people. In particular, the discourse range of gestural communication, and its limitations and potential, are investigated. The roles of speech and writing in gestural communication are analyzed, as is the role of the location of the interactions (i.e., the immediate physical and spatial environment). Hearing and deaf participants’ own perceptions of the relative ease of communicating on various topics in a range of situations are also examined. Gestural interactions in public and parochial spaces (e.g., markets, shops, streets, food outlets, public transport, and parks) between strangers, acquaintances, or neighbors in Mumbai are observed and video-recorded, and interviews are conducted with individual deaf and hearing participants to discern more about their views on gesture. The recordings provide data for analysis, but also material for a film documentary, which serves as a basis for further exploration in a second round of data collection in which the documentary will be presented for group discussion.