From Signed Swedish to Swedish Sign Language in the 1970s

• Published in: Sign language studies Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 474 - 485
• Main Author: Bergman, Brita
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Gallaudet University Press 01.01.2024
• Subjects: Bilingual education; Children; Committees; Communication; Deafness; Dictionaries; Education; Language Skills; Linguistics; Native language acquisition; Parents & parenting; Phonetics; Sign language; Students; Swedish language
• ISSN: 0302-1475; 1533-6263; 1533-6263
• DOI: 10.1353/sls.2024.a920124

Brita Bergman, a sign language researcher in Sweden, played a crucial role in establishing sign language as an academic subject at Stockholm University. Her interest in sign language began when she encountered three deaf signing men in a café during her high school years. This interest grew when she visited a school for deaf children and realized that sign language was not being used in communication with the students. She became determined to understand why deaf children were denied access to the language used by deaf adults. Bergman's research focused on analyzing the structure of signs and comparing them to spoken language. She also studied the new sign language that was being taught in schools, known as Signed Swedish. However, her analysis showed that Signed Swedish did not effectively represent Swedish language and hindered deaf children's acquisition of Swedish. Bergman's research contributed to the recognition of sign language as the language of deaf people in Sweden and the adoption of a bilingual approach in deaf education.