DEAFNESS, LANGUAGE, IDENTITY - THE YOUNG DEAF PEOPLE

Since about twenty years, in France, we are present at the progressive reintroduction of gestural language, or French Sign Language (LSF), deliberately neglected or prohibited in the past, into specialized education of deaf people. Often, this recognition of specific language came with assertion of identity by deaf protestors, setting against medicalization of sensorial defect (deafness as a handicap) increase of cultural particularity. Present investigations conducted with 15-25 years young deaf, in specialized institution, integrated in hearing scholar environment, in the provinces, aim to prove that ideological confrontations of old linguistics quarrels often give way to pragmatic standpoint, among new generation and their teachers where coexist, at different degrees, oral and gestural language. However, weakness of young deaf professionnalisation and scholar nevel require a valuation of linguistic and educational policy of specialized institutions.