"Portuguese Mistakes" Committed by Deaf Students: Observation of Translanguaging Practices as Manifestations of Interactions and Learning

• Grant number: 25/14921-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Ivani Rodrigues Silva
• Grantee: Larissa dos Anjos Grigorio
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/01130-0 - Science Center for the Development of Assistive Technology for Bilingual Education for the Deaf - CCD-TAEBS, AP.CCD

Abstract

In a society predominantly hearing and Portuguese-speaking, the deaf person's identity as an enunciator is intertwined with different languages, such as Portuguese and Libras. However, the separation between distinct autonomous and named linguistic systems does not occur in the formation of the linguistic repertoire of this deaf person, who can be seen as a multilingual individual. This is what explains translanguaging: the speaker constructs a single linguistic system, based on the languages with which they have had contact, and mobilizes their available linguistic and multimodal resources to signify their world and interact with others. This research investigates the concept of translanguaging in a Portuguese language teaching and learning context. Its overall objective is to present and analyze the translingual practices of a group of deaf children aged 10 to 15 years, within the context of Portuguese language interactions and teaching and learning. This aims to highlight the systematic and logical richness behind translingual practices, refuting the idea that non-standard linguistic constructions are deformations of the language. Records will be generated through participant observation, with data collected through video recordings, photographs, and field diaries. Data analysis will be based on other research already conducted in the field of translanguaging and teaching and will utilize the Conversation Analysis method developed by Marcuschi (2007). Thus, it is hoped that this research will contribute to the legitimization of non-canonical uses of languages in transit, to inform the production of teaching materials for bilingual education of the deaf. (AU)