Abstract
Access: a bird's-eye view
“Access” is a central trope in deaf languages and lives discourses, and in deaf communities’ advocacy efforts. It is complicated by deaf people’s dual category status as both linguistic minorities and persons with disabilities. But depending on who is making the claim, “access” can mean different things in different contexts and to different people. Who decides what “access” means? And access to what exactly, for whom, when and to what end? This presentation will discuss different kinds of access on institutional, societal, and individual levels, that impact deaf languages and lives.
