Komunikacyjne aspekty tekstów pisanych przez osoby z dysfunkcją słuchu

Książka podejmuje temat bardzo ciekawy poznawczo i ważny społecznie. Może stać się istotnym głosem w dyskusji nad zagadnieniami związanymi z komunikacją interpersonalną, zwłaszcza z tą jej formą, która dotyczy porozumiewania się osób z dysfunkcją słuchu ze słyszącymi. Autorka ma całkowitą rację, kiedy pisze: „Znaczenie komunikowania uświadamiamy sobie szczególnie wtedy, gdy zetkniemy się z problemem jego braku (np. w przypadkach mutyzmu całkowitego lub autyzmu) czy zakłóceń i barier w komunikacji wynikających z dysfunkcji, np. słuchu”. Katarzyna Jachimowska nie tylko doskonale rozumie, jak bardzo komunikacja międzyludzka stanowi skomplikowaną i heterogeniczną sieć powiązań werbalnych i niewerbalnych, ale ma również świadomość – co niezwykle rzetelnie prezentuje w toku swoich wywodów – na jakie trudności w procesie wymiany myśli i słów napotykają osoby z uszkodzonym słuchem. (…) Autorka, dokonując opisów, analiz i interpretacji, czyni to w sposób retorycznie jasny, przekonujący i interesujący zarazem. Można powiedzieć, że realizuje starożytną zasadę: docere, delectare, movere, oczywiście z naciskiem na nauczanie. Z recenzji wydawniczej prof. dr hab. Małgorzaty Karwatowskiej

The thesis is an attempt to describe selected communication aspects of texts written in Polish by the hearing-impaired. The author analyses linguistic media communication via computer with Internet access, a mobile phone with an SMS application and a fax machine. The layout of this dissertation is determined by the conditioning of interpersonal media communication and the research data constituting the foundation of the thesis. The work is lucidly divided into two parts – the theoretical and analytical one. The thesis focuses on such key issues as communication (including indirect interpersonal media communication) and text (including dysfunctional and pathological one). The study concerns the conditions of an effective interaction in a specific communication situation. The dissertation is dedicated to the linguistic analysis of texts in terms of their pragmatic and contextual conditioning. In the work, context is associated with communication situation, which plays a significant role in decoding intentions of the text sender and setting the conditions for successful communication. The author also takes into consideration the socio-cultural aspect of context (including the specification of socio-cultural identity of message senders) to interpret the pragmatic meaning of the examined linguistic behaviour. The author uses in her work two interchangeable terms: the hearing-impaired and the deaf. They are treated as synonyms. The terms are applied to people affected by hearing loss. Such simplification was dictated by linguistic reasons and because of the fact that the study does not deal with medical or surdopedagogical aspects. The research analyses linguistic aspects of texts written by people suffering from hearing deficit with a different type of damage to the auditory analyser as well as with various communication experiences and different ways of direct communication. Their interferential effect is clearly visible in the analysed texts. When necessary, particularly in the theoretical part of the study, the author makes a distinction between such terms as hearing-impaired, hard of hearing and deaf, indicating this way the diversity of the environment and the difficulty with its description. The thesis evaluates the communication abilities of the hearing-impaired and points to the conclusion that people unable to hear well manage to communicate effectively despite some linguistic incorrectness within the text. Texts written by the deaf in the context of interpersonal media communication and analysed in terms of genre turned out to be communicative in the vast majority of cases. The knowledge of genre rules made it possible to establish interaction. The analysed texts are communicative not only because of the text itself but also thanks to the communication situation. The knowledge of this communication situation often decided about the ability to decode the sender’s intention. The effectiveness of communication should be associated with many factors (for example with the efficiency of visual or auditory analyser), but above all one should know and be able to interpret the text in context. The research showed that texts written by the hearing-impaired meet the demands of an effective communication to a variable extent. The knowledge of the text context and the knowledge of the communication conditions appear to be favourable factors contributing to an effective communication. Decoding the intention of the sender is easier for the prime recipient who has the knowledge of manual methods of direct communication with the hearing-impaired and/or has the command of Polish Sign Language. The secondary recipient has to make a greater effort to interpret the text. Recognition of genres in pragmatic aspects makes it easier for the secondary recipient to understand such texts. Undoubtedly, new media, the Internet in particular, contribute to the development of communication skills among people with hearing deficit. The presented analyses show that the young deaf Internet users handle the communication (including the linguistic communication) better than the older deaf united in the Polish Association of the Deaf (the average age in the Lodz branch is 50, while in the Mazowieckie Province 58). Older people do not rather use a computer and they do not take communication opportunities provided by Internet services. The collected and analysed data clearly indicated the differences in the texts written by younger and older generations of the deaf. The younger, who deal with virtual comments and discussions on a regular basis, are more likely to interact. Thereby, they enhance their communication experiences, develop their linguistic activity and strengthen their social behaviour. Expansion of the Internet and its simple and fast communication tools – from e-mails, chat rooms and forums to blogs and social networking sites – enabled the deaf to become actively involved in those ‘natural’ and widespread situations of language use. The Internet has contributed to their relatively free use of available genres. The communication and linguistic efficiency depends in fact on the quantity and quality of language contacts. Network communication is very attractive for the young deaf. Its anonymity facilitates contact and relations, which become common. Multimedia promotes the use of different methods of communication available to the deaf. Internet users’ consent to spontaneity of expression blurs the line between pathological form of the text and the language of the Internet. The rules of Internet communication eliminate to some extent the differences between language efficiency of hearing people and the language of the deaf Internet users. Media communication extends the reach of co-operation between the deaf community and others. A computer with Internet access facilitates going beyond phonic communication and that is particularly important for people with hearing problems. Internet access makes it possible to break the barriers present in reality. In addition, building an online community of people with hearing loss contributes to an increase of their communication awareness. It develops an effective interaction and improves language efficiency. A sense of community has a positive effect on language contacts which the hearing individuals.