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"Nothing about us without us": Perspectives of Global Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Community Members on Sign Language Technologies

Katherine Atwell, Saki Imai, Danielle Bragg, Malihe Alikhani

TL;DR

This paper tackles the marginalization of Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in sign language technology development by conducting a global, multilingual survey across five continents. Using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, it examines how identity, policy, and power shape opinions on SLTs, revealing that support for SLTs is often conditional and heavily dependent on Deaf leadership and cultural alignment. The findings highlight concerns about hearing-dominated research, translation accuracy, and potential replacement of interpreters, while identifying tangible benefits in accessibility and inclusion when SLTs are designed with the community. The study offers actionable recommendations for researchers, technologists, and policymakers to center DHH voices, ensure ethical design, and safeguard against unintended marginalization. It advances a Deaf-centered paradigm for SLTs, with implications for governance, policy, and cross-cultural collaboration in sign language research and technology development.

Abstract

There is accelerating interest in sign language technologies (SLTs), with increasing attention from both industry and academia. However, the perspectives of Deaf and Hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals remain marginalized in their development, particularly those outside of the West and in the global South. This paper presents findings from a global, multilingual survey capturing community views on SLTs across a wide range of countries, sign languages, and cultural contexts. While participants recognized the potential of SLTs to support access and independence, many expressed concerns about cultural erasure, inaccurate translation, and hearing-dominated research pipelines. Perceptions of SLTs were shaped by factors including sign language proficiency, policy exposure, and deaf identity. Across regions, participants emphasized the importance of DHH-led design, citing the risk of harm when DHH communities are excluded from technological decision-making. This study offers a novel cross-continental, community-informed analysis of SLTs and concludes with actionable recommendations for researchers, technologists, and policymakers.

"Nothing about us without us": Perspectives of Global Deaf and Hard-of-hearing Community Members on Sign Language Technologies

TL;DR

This paper tackles the marginalization of Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in sign language technology development by conducting a global, multilingual survey across five continents. Using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, it examines how identity, policy, and power shape opinions on SLTs, revealing that support for SLTs is often conditional and heavily dependent on Deaf leadership and cultural alignment. The findings highlight concerns about hearing-dominated research, translation accuracy, and potential replacement of interpreters, while identifying tangible benefits in accessibility and inclusion when SLTs are designed with the community. The study offers actionable recommendations for researchers, technologists, and policymakers to center DHH voices, ensure ethical design, and safeguard against unintended marginalization. It advances a Deaf-centered paradigm for SLTs, with implications for governance, policy, and cross-cultural collaboration in sign language research and technology development.

Abstract

There is accelerating interest in sign language technologies (SLTs), with increasing attention from both industry and academia. However, the perspectives of Deaf and Hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals remain marginalized in their development, particularly those outside of the West and in the global South. This paper presents findings from a global, multilingual survey capturing community views on SLTs across a wide range of countries, sign languages, and cultural contexts. While participants recognized the potential of SLTs to support access and independence, many expressed concerns about cultural erasure, inaccurate translation, and hearing-dominated research pipelines. Perceptions of SLTs were shaped by factors including sign language proficiency, policy exposure, and deaf identity. Across regions, participants emphasized the importance of DHH-led design, citing the risk of harm when DHH communities are excluded from technological decision-making. This study offers a novel cross-continental, community-informed analysis of SLTs and concludes with actionable recommendations for researchers, technologists, and policymakers.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 47 sections, 3 figures, 14 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Background and Related Work
  3. DHH Community
  4. Sign Language Technology
  5. Understanding DHH Perspectives
  6. Methods
  7. Recruitment
  8. Survey Structure
  9. Data Analysis
  10. Participants
  11. Limitations
  12. Positionality Statement
  13. Results
  14. Concerns for Sign Language Technologies (SLTs)
  15. Concerns
  16. ...and 32 more sections

Figures (3)

  • Figure 1: Concerns about SLTs by audiological group. The x-axis lists specific concerns endorsed by participants, with number of mentions in parentheses. Bars show the proportion of respondents within each group who selected each concerns.
  • Figure 2: Concerns about SLTs grouped by participants' sign language proficiency. Participants were grouped into low (0-2), moderate (3-4), and high (5) proficiency categories. Bars show the proportion of respondents within each group who endorsed each concern.
  • Figure 3: Perceived benefits of SLTs by audiological group. Bars represent the proportion of respondents within each group (Deaf, Hard-of-hearing, Hearing) who endorsed each potential benefit.