Sign Language: Tactile

Tactile sign languages are a modality of signed languages. They differ from visual signed languages in that they are used by individuals who are Deaf-Blind and, thus, do not use the visual cues that other sign languages use. In signed languages, for example, the eyebrows are used as articulators, by which raised or squinted brows signal interrogatives, and eye gaze has an important role in functions such as turn taking, constructed action, and reference marking.

The individual variation among people who are Deaf-Blind covers a broad range, and the group is extremely heterogeneous. The degree of both vision and hearing variation differs from person to person and over time: Some speak, while others rely solely on sign language, and some have to change both their language and their method of communication, sometimes even several times over the course of their lives. Three broad categories of Deaf-Blind individuals can be defined: Deaf-Blind individuals who have spoken language as their first language, Deaf-Blind individuals who are born deaf-blind without spoken language or sign language, and Deaf-Blind individuals with sign language as a first language. This entry focuses on the latter group, which comprises people often referred to as “Deaf-Blind signers.”

Deaf-Blind signers can have many identities depending on language use, communication methods, and language community. Many Deaf-Blind individuals have contact with sighted Deaf people, interpreters, and others who use sign language.

Many signers who have “close vision” prefer to sit in proximity to other signers, and those who have “restricted or tunnel vision” communicate with other signers positioned at greater distances. Those with restricted vision have a smaller view of the signing space of the signer, more restricted to a space than above the head to the upper chest in sign language, which is reminiscent of video communication in sign language.

Many Deaf-Blind signers are deaf from birth or from early childhood and become fluent signers before becoming partly or fully blind. They acquire sign language in their early childhood and use it as their primary language in direct communication. Most Deaf-Blind signers have Usher syndrome type I, which leads to vision loss slowly over time. Perception of signs shifts from the visual to the tactile modality, though the hands are still used in the production of signs. Tactile sign language is used in conversations as well as in interpreted situations with Deaf-Blind people.

Deaf-Blind signers use the “two-handed” or “one-handed” tactile perception of signs. Using tactile sign language, a Deaf-Blind individual and a Deaf-Blind or sighted (Deaf or hearing) interlocutor communicate by contacting each other’s hands. This is tactile signing. There are some situations in which a Deaf-Blind person can switch from one-handed to two-handed reception, sometimes several times during a conversation. Some Deaf-Blind signers prefer two-handed perception, which is comfortable when using tactile communication.

Tactile signing among people who are Deaf-Blind is not homogeneous, and thus, variation in tactile signing appears within the tactile sign language community (e.g., how signers hold their hand or hands in their tactile communication varies individually). The most common position is one in which a Deaf-Blind individual holds the back of a signer’s hands to receive signs (see Figure 1). When a Deaf-Blind signer who is fluent in tactile sign language communicates with another deaf-blind signer who is also fluent, he or she will often use one-handed perception (see Figure 2). The dialogue position is a unique position, used between two Deaf-Blind individuals, in which the signer’s right hand is held under the receiver’s hand, and the left hand is held on top of the receiver’s hand (see Figure 3). Another position commonly used by partially Deaf-Blind receivers is one in which the receiver’s supported hand contacts the signer’s wrist (see Figure 4).

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