Bulletin Spring‧Summer Autumn‧Winter 1999

Deaf research assistants William Lauck and Samuel Chan analyse sign handshapes for alphabetizing the dictionary of Hong Kong sign language. objects and verbs i n sentences. Hong Kong sign language clearly belongs to a different language f ami l y f r om spoken or w r i t t en Chinese. I n structure it is closer to sign language varieties i n Shanghai than it is to signing i n Guangdong or Taiwan. I n fact, Taiwanese sign language belongs to a different language family, and is much closer to Japanese sign language than any sign language varieties used i n China or Hong Kong. What Researchers Set out to Do Wi th funding support f r om the Research Grants Council, Drs. Wo o dwa rd and Tang p l an to collect and then analyse i n depth formational, lexical, and grammatical data on sign language varieties used by local deaf people, and to train p r o f ess i ona ls a n d memb e rs of the deaf community i n Hong Kong i n the scientific study of the structure of sign languages and deaf cultures. Concrete products that w i l l result from the research include a large dictionary of Hong Kong sign language, a grammatical handbook for Hong Kong sign language, a Hong Kong research team trained to continue research on sign languages i n the Asia-Pacific region, and a university-level course in the linguistic structure of Hong Kong sign language. Theoretical and App l i ed Significance As the f i r st s t udy to systematically app ly historical-comparative techniques to an Asian sign language, the research w i l l enhance the unde r s t and i ng of the universal and un i que characteristics of different sign languages and therefore human languages i n general. It w i l l also lay the f o u n d a t i on for f u t u r e app l i ed programmes i n such areas as sign language teaching and sign language interpretation. But more importantly, the research w i l l help a large group of individuals i n Hong Kong to develop their potentials to the full. It should be noted that the hearing-impaired i n Hong Kong are much less likely than people who are b l i nd or people w i t h other forms of physical handicap to receive a good secondary or tertiary edu- cation. While deaf people i n many economically developed parts of the wo r l d have access to special support services i n selected schools and universities, there are currently no universities i n H o n g K o n g t hat o f f er r egu l ar spec i al educational support services for deaf students. As a result, the great majority of Hong Kong deaf students either receive no un i v e r s i t y education, or have to go abroad to receive such education. I n short, it has been difficult, if not impossible, for the ma j o r i ty of adu lt deaf individuals to achieve their f u l l educational, and therefore , emp l o yme nt and economic potential i n Ho ng Kong. This is also true of Research 17