Communication and Cooperation Pragmatism: An Analysis of a Community of Practice by Non-deaf and Deaf to Study Sign Language

Abstract

The Deaf community lives in a historical period of affirmation of social rights they have been denied for over at least a century. It is important that Computer Science research be based on the needs and specificities of people, to develop systems that respect and take into account their differences, in order to inform design and to deliver tools to mitigate the communication barriers and to promote knowledge access and social inclusion: for the Deaf, this means more systems in Sign Language. This article studies the knowledge creation process of a Community of Practice of non-deaf and Deaf members around the domain of Libras (Brazilian Sign Language). The main goal is to investigate whether traditional theories of collaboration (acts of speech, pragmatism, cooperation principles) hold in an environment where the language of choice is not spoken, but, rather, a Sign Language. Results show strong evidence in favor of such premise, and suggest further studies to enrich CP, collaboration and Sign Language studies. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.