Key Terminology
Most definitions came from the Alberta Education handout for "Students who are Deaf of Hard of Hearing" : (http://education.alberta.ca/media/511693/ecep_deaf_or_hard_of_hearing.pdf)
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language used by members of the North American Deaf community.
Amplification is a process that makes sounds louder.
Auditory–Oral Approach is based on the principle that many deaf and hard-of-hearing children can be taught to listen and speak with early intervention and consistent training to develop their hearing potential.
Auditory–Verbal Approach is similar to the auditory–oral approach in that there is a strong emphasis on maximizing a child’s residual hearing and his ability to use it.
Auditory training is a structured process used to train people to use their residual hearing and amplification technology for comprehending environmental sounds and spoken language. The four levels in the process are detection, discrimination, identification and comprehension.
Bilingual/bicultural education for deaf students describes programs that utilize dual language (ASL and English) instruction and “reflect an empowering environment for Deaf students where Deaf and hearing staff model respect for one another, collaboration in decision making and advocacy for the rights of Deaf individuals within and outside of the school system.
Closed Captioning is a technology that encodes captions within video programs.
Cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. The implant is surgically placed under the skin behind the ear. An implant does not restore or create normal hearing. Instead, under the appropriate conditions, it can give a deaf person a useful auditory understanding of the environment and help him or her to understand speech.
Cued Speech is a visual communication system that uses eight hand shapes in four different placements near the face in combination with the mouth movements of speech to make the sounds of spoken language look different from each other.
Hard of Hearing (HoH) is another term to describe hearing loss.
Personal Frequency Modulated (FM) System is a personal assistive listening device that transmits the speaker’s voice through a microphone to the listener wearing the corresponding FM receiver. The receiver is connected to the listener’s personal hearing aid or cochlear implant. It increases loudness of the speaker’s voice and reduces the negative effects of background noise.
Pidgin Signed English (PSE) is a combination of American Sign Language (ASL) and English since ASL is a distinct language, and (like most other languages) it does not map perfectly to English. With PSE, someone might sign most of the English words of a sentence and use approximately the English syntax. (http://www.nchearingloss.org/pse.htm)
Pragmatics is the study of how language is used in different situations for varying purposes
Semantics is the study of meaning in language, which can occur at the letter, word, phrase, sentence and multiple sentence level.
Sign language interpreters possess post-secondary training and certification to perform the task of interpreting between two languages, such as spoken English and American Sign Language.
Signing Exact English (SEE) is a sign language system that represents literal English. The method is based upon the principle of one word=one sign, with additional dedicated signs to represent prefixes and suffixes. It works toward making “visible everything that is not heard. SEE supplements what a child can get from hearing and speech reading.”
Sound field system is an assistive device that improves listening in noisy or reverberant environments like classrooms. Like a mini loud-speaker system, a sound field system amplifies the decibel level of a teacher's voice.
Speech reading is the ability to gain understanding of speech by watching lips, facial expressions, gestures, contextual cues, body language, as well as lip reading.
Syntax is the order or arrangement of words and sentences within a language.
Text Telephone (TTY) is a special device that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate, by allowing them to type messages back and forth to one another instead of talking and listening. (http://abouttty.com/)
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language used by members of the North American Deaf community.
Amplification is a process that makes sounds louder.
Auditory–Oral Approach is based on the principle that many deaf and hard-of-hearing children can be taught to listen and speak with early intervention and consistent training to develop their hearing potential.
Auditory–Verbal Approach is similar to the auditory–oral approach in that there is a strong emphasis on maximizing a child’s residual hearing and his ability to use it.
Auditory training is a structured process used to train people to use their residual hearing and amplification technology for comprehending environmental sounds and spoken language. The four levels in the process are detection, discrimination, identification and comprehension.
Bilingual/bicultural education for deaf students describes programs that utilize dual language (ASL and English) instruction and “reflect an empowering environment for Deaf students where Deaf and hearing staff model respect for one another, collaboration in decision making and advocacy for the rights of Deaf individuals within and outside of the school system.
Closed Captioning is a technology that encodes captions within video programs.
Cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard of hearing. The implant is surgically placed under the skin behind the ear. An implant does not restore or create normal hearing. Instead, under the appropriate conditions, it can give a deaf person a useful auditory understanding of the environment and help him or her to understand speech.
Cued Speech is a visual communication system that uses eight hand shapes in four different placements near the face in combination with the mouth movements of speech to make the sounds of spoken language look different from each other.
Hard of Hearing (HoH) is another term to describe hearing loss.
Personal Frequency Modulated (FM) System is a personal assistive listening device that transmits the speaker’s voice through a microphone to the listener wearing the corresponding FM receiver. The receiver is connected to the listener’s personal hearing aid or cochlear implant. It increases loudness of the speaker’s voice and reduces the negative effects of background noise.
Pidgin Signed English (PSE) is a combination of American Sign Language (ASL) and English since ASL is a distinct language, and (like most other languages) it does not map perfectly to English. With PSE, someone might sign most of the English words of a sentence and use approximately the English syntax. (http://www.nchearingloss.org/pse.htm)
Pragmatics is the study of how language is used in different situations for varying purposes
Semantics is the study of meaning in language, which can occur at the letter, word, phrase, sentence and multiple sentence level.
Sign language interpreters possess post-secondary training and certification to perform the task of interpreting between two languages, such as spoken English and American Sign Language.
Signing Exact English (SEE) is a sign language system that represents literal English. The method is based upon the principle of one word=one sign, with additional dedicated signs to represent prefixes and suffixes. It works toward making “visible everything that is not heard. SEE supplements what a child can get from hearing and speech reading.”
Sound field system is an assistive device that improves listening in noisy or reverberant environments like classrooms. Like a mini loud-speaker system, a sound field system amplifies the decibel level of a teacher's voice.
Speech reading is the ability to gain understanding of speech by watching lips, facial expressions, gestures, contextual cues, body language, as well as lip reading.
Syntax is the order or arrangement of words and sentences within a language.
Text Telephone (TTY) is a special device that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate, by allowing them to type messages back and forth to one another instead of talking and listening. (http://abouttty.com/)