Deaf but not Hearing-Impaired.
The deaf community has passed the word ‘deaf’ as an appropriate disability lexicon and preferred ‘hearing-impaired’, which is rather widely used in everyday communication as a proper term. But in a September 23, 2019 Ghanaian Times publication, the Ghana Association of the Deaf qualified ‘deaf’ as the right expression. Hearing-impaired is offensive, derogatory and not acceptable anymore! It shall be an offense to tell a person with the condition they are hearing-impaired.
According to Section 37 of the Persons With Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) of Ghana, it is an offense to call a person with disability derogatory names because of their disability. An offender is liable on summary conviction to: a fine not exceeding fifty penalty units – Six Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHc600); or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months; or even to both of them.
As popularly said, ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse’ and ‘no one is above the law’. The everyday people shall flaunt the law unknowingly and public officials, including law makers, shall ignorantly do same. The public needs to be educated on this to make full implementation effective.
Access to Information is a Human Right.
Access to information is a basic human right and it’s associated with the right to freedom of expression. Deaf people have equal right to this primary public necessity. Thanks to smart technology, telecoms and social media, deaf and hard of hearing peoples are afforded a platform for an inclusive communication; a medium through which they are able to experience and contribute to public discourses while issues are still fresh. Video chatting and texting are means praiseworthy for the enjoyment of this right by the deaf.
Putting facilities in place to make public information accessible by the deaf is not out of pity, it is a legal obligation: “A person who provides services to the public shall put in place the necessary facilities that make the service available and accessible to a person with disability.” This is according to Section 7 of the Ghana Disability Act. Offending this provision is equally punishable.
Before, to be informed about a public development, awaiting a newspaper publication the next morning was probably the only option for the deaf. Presently, every sought-after traditional media – newspaper, radio and television – outlet has an online portal and social media handles, reaching their wide audiences to tell them something. It is even a public knowledge that new media leads traditional media in information sharing.
Poor economic conditions limit access to smart technology and its advantages, same way, lack of formal education deprives access to information shared online. Not every deaf person could afford smart-tech, could read and write or know Sign Language. Some basic things must be done offline to further bridge the gap between the deaf and the hearing, in an all-inclusive communication community.
Captioning on TV & the Deaf.
Radio – in its strict sense – is transmitted through audio and is not deaf-friendly; nonetheless modern day radio stations go live onto the internet in videos to make more results. Arguably, radio yesterday, is not radio today!
In fulfilling this basic human right through television, the first picture that comes to mind is seeing an interpreter in a corner of your screen, signing to the deaf and hard of hearing to equally access information often during news broadcasts. Many TV stations campaign for an inclusive society but are unfortunately yet to employ interpreters to provide this all-inclusive service.
Imagine a story on TV about the deaf without the interpretation nor subtitles! Also imagine an event or show about disability inclusion where the audience is treated to music without sign language interpretation!! Kudos to the very few media outlets around the world that have lived their campaigns in this regard, although there is more room for improvement.
It is acknowledgeable that captioning on TV has played some role in telling the deaf something and every TV channel does this, if not at all, during news broadcasts. Often coming in a big title with a sub title and a crawler at the base of the screen, TV captioning respectively informs viewers of the current broadcast theme, subject matter and both past and up next stories.
Some TV channels and filming houses have fortunately seen the need to fulfill this legal obligation by subtitling all dialogues and sounds on their documentaries. They should receive accolades!
Voiceover Translation, Sign Language & Subtitles.
Around the world, there are news broadcasts without sign language interpretations but have voiceover translations to change local/foreign languages to official languages. The need to translate is fulfilled but the need to interpret or to subtitle is relegated to the background.
If a speech in an unofficial language is translated into an official language for viewers and listeners to appreciate, but the same speech is not at least subtitled (if not interpreted) into an official language, what is made of this society? A non-inclusive, partial-inclusive or all-inclusive communication community?
It is maybe (or maybe not) sound to argue that interpreting a whole broadcast is expensive, however it shall not stand to claim same for subtitling voices in a piece – if not the whole – of broadcast narrations. What is good for Peter is good for Paul! But in this case, whereas translation is good for the hearing, interpretation or subtitles are even imperative for the deaf.
On one hand, the hearing already has a full enjoyment of a broadcast through voice narration and on the other hand, the deaf relies on captioning which is inadequate without subtitles. So if, on top of it all, translation is made for the hearing and subtitle is not made for the deaf, it debases the concept of equality and equity in mass communication.
If subtitling a news story is painstaking and for that matter the deaf should go onto the Internet to be informed, then everyone else should also go online for meanings of words in unofficial languages used on air! At least it is fair to, in addition to voiceover translations, subtitle to include viewers relying only on captions.
The “Tell Me Something” Community.
Watching news should not be like being in a jungle. News is neither to be misinterpreted nor misunderstood; news is to inform, educate and entertain. It is what it is! TV news broadcasts without sign language interpretation nor subtitles shall be misunderstood or not understood at all.
Target audience!? TV channels target the hearing and not the deaf? Please tell me something else!! The new media and its vloggers are trying hard by captioning almost all short online videos. Advertising, film and music industry players are also trying with captions on TV. TV newsrooms are equally trying! But there is more room for improvement to make video public services accessible to the deaf.
Is Ghana introducing Sign Language into her basic education? If she is, it shows the prospects of December 3, 2019; the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities which is themed: The Future is Accessible. In a segregated communication community, the deaf communicates with the deaf and the hearing communicates with the hearing until an interpreter shows up to tell each group something. In the accessible future, at “Tell Me Something”, both the deaf and the hearing will be able to “Tell Me Something”!
By Spencer Kwabena Boateng Mensah
The writer is a broadcast journalist at Media General, a disability advocate and a law student.