How do I find out if a train is wheelchair-friendly? Should I talk about my "disability" at job interviews? What types of educational support are available for disabled children, and who should I contact to apply for it? Are the toilets in this restaurant accessible? To find answers to these kinds of questions, people with disabilities develop a range of social and linguistic practices that are often unknown to the general public, as do their friends and family. The barriers to active, autonomous participation in society are not only architectural, social and political; accessibility is dependent on a host of additional social and language-related interactions. While these aspects have been addressed by the humanities and social sciences (particularly in Disability Studies), the field of applied linguistics has shown relatively little interest in the social and linguistic practices used by people with disabilities, with the exception of disabilities which are directly associated with language (deafness, dyslexia, etc.).
The goal of this research project is to explore the field of disability from a sociolinguistic perspective in order to gain a better understanding of the language component of disability and its impact on the production of social inequality. Based on an extensive review of the scientific literature, supported by collaborative pilot projects with disabled persons, this research project intends to explore the following questions:
- Which social and language-related practices have been studied in relation to disability?
- What are the social and linguistic aspects of disability? What does the scientific literature tell us?
- To what extent do these sociolinguistic aspects have an impact on the lives of people with disabilities? What are the consequences and for whom?
In terms of knowledge, the review of the literature will:
- provide an overview of those sociolinguistic practices that help to reinforce or attenuate inequalities in the field of disability;
- identify areas requiring further research from the sociolinguistic and interdisciplinary perspectives.
This knowledge will be disseminated and discussed on a research blog ( https://parolinas.hypotheses.org/) and a bibliography will be provided without charge at the end of the project.
Furthermore, the project will create a network of potential partners to help develop an experimental research project in collaboration with disabled persons.