Features of Written Language in Virtual Communication of Deaf Teenagers

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of written language of adolescents and young people with hearing impairment in the virtual space. The study involved 28 people, aged 16 to 20 years, 14 of them were with hearing impairments. 3 people at the age of 16 years old, 9 people are 17 years old, 4 people are 18 years old. The first part of the study was conducted as online questionnaires, which was aimed to clarify preferred virtual spaces for communication, the attitude to the written communication, also creative tasks for evaluation of written language developed by O.V. Vilenskaya was included. The second part consisted of analysis of the contents of the social network profile of the participants. The results have shown that the written language of deaf adolescents and young people in social networks reflected the general features of their verbal communication and social relations (in general, they use less detailed written statements than hearing peers do, less actually initiated written language, less flexible writing, less partners for communication in social networks, the prevalence of consistency errors). Nevertheless, it is significant that they appreciate the importance of writing and try to monitor its accuracy. Virtual communication in the life of young people with hearing impairments plays the same role as in the life of hearing peers and they successfully master this side of modern reality.

Keywords

• writing
• deaf and hearing impaired adolescents
• hearing impairments
• virtual communication
• social networks