Minority Rights in a Supra-national Era: The Case of the Deaf Community in the UK

Abstract

The hegemonic influences of nationalism have led to the decline and loss of many minority languages. In recent years however, in parallel with supranationalism, minority groups and Linguistic Human Rights (LHRs) advocates have promoted equitable rights for all. This paper will discuss the field of LHR and will specifically address the rights of D/deaf children in the UK. It is argued that despite official recognition of British Sign Language in 2003 significant steps have not been taken to promote and support a paradigm shift, from viewing the Deaf as a ‘disabled’ grouping to viewing them as a socio-cultural minority.

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