Letter from the Editor: SLS Forum: W(h)ither the Deaf Community?

This issue of Sign Language Studies presents a forum on an important and provocative article that was originally published in the American Annals of the Deaf in the winter of 2004. In "W(h)ither the Deaf Community? Population, Genetics, and the Future of Australian Sign Language," Trevor Johnston asserts that the signing Deaf community of Australia and its language, commonly known as Auslan, face threats to their continued viability from a combination of social, scientific, and technological factors. It is clear that these trends are also under way in other industrial and postindustrial societies. In this issue of SLS, we reprint Johnston's original article along with comments on it from scholars and activists in Australia, the United States, and Europe. The issue concludes with Johnston's response to the comments. We are grateful to Trevor Johnston and to Donald F. Moores, the editor of the American Annals, for making this forum possible.