Translanguaging in Hong Kong Deaf Signers: Translating Meaning from Written Chinese

Research on translanguaging practices of Deaf people have shown their creative multimodal resources to communicate (Kusters 2017; Holmström and Schönström 2017; Moriarty Harrelson 2017). These findings have enlightened disciplines like sociolinguistics and bilingual education and can be equally important for policy makers who make decisions that impact Deaf people's lives.

Historically, Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL) has not played a crucial role in all aspects of society. It can be considered a "language of limited diffusion" (Johnston and Napier 2010), meaning that HKSL has not developed a rich vocabulary in various specialized domains. In recent years, Deaf people in Hong Kong have been advocating for more public services in HKSL. Their efforts are undermined by societal perceptions that HKSL has a modest lexicon.