> Why do written languages make it inaccessible? Am I missing
something?

Good question, and one that is asked by most people out there.

Answer is threefold:

a) Traditionally mainstream education has been inaccessible to Deaf
people, due to plain lack of communication / access .. therefore
they have missed out on the usual educational opportunties;

b) To process written language in your head, you have to possess
something called an auditory memory. As you are reading this, you
are to some degree saying the words in your brain (even though not
out loud). Deaf people (not the same as hard of hearing or deafened
people) frequently do not have an auditory memory, as they have not
heard speech being processed. Written language is not quite as
visual as people assume it is.

It is possible for Deaf people to have a command over English etc
(btw I'm Deaf), but when this happens language is being processed in
another way. Secondly, not all Deaf people are the same.

I don't want to bore people with the details. If you are
interested, there's some MRI scans online (visual) that'll give you
an idea what I'm talking about:
http://bdl.uoregon.edu/Galleries/gallery.html

c) Sign languages (and they are different) often are Deaf people's
first language. As with any spoken language, people prefer to
converse in their native / mother tongue, as its easier. Thus, Deaf
people and some hearing people (whose parents were Deaf) like to
converse in their own sign language, especially for such things as
journals etc.

Also, Deaf people want more information available in sign, because
it is the method that is most accessible to them. It is their
language.

Anyone who has experience of using different languages should have
an inkling of what I'm talking about.


> Are you implying "talking hands" instead of "talking heads"?

Well talking hands, facial expressions, body movement, placement
etc. Sign isn't just about your hands, although it might look like
it to an outsider. :)

> Bandwidth and storage are, as Adrian eloquently called
them, "contraints", but from both the art and technology perspective
we can work around them. Bandwidth and storage will also be getting
cheaper every year.

Cool - that is positive news.


> <promo-mode>That's what http://www.vblogcentral.com is trying to
do.</promo-mode> Many of us think this type of approach makes sense.

Excellent. I will take a look at it.

Some of this stuff, needs to be taken out to the Deaf community, and
I am talking about internationally. It potentially is a large
market / customer base.

Alison