Deaf culture

Oscar-winning deaf actor Marlee Matlin, who appeared in this year's Best Picture winner "CODA," has been elected to the Academy's board of governors, the organization said on June 23.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that awards the annual Oscars, said Matlin was part of a new slate of governors who will take office for the 2022-23 season.

The Simpsons premiered its first ever episode that featured American Sign Language (ASL) and a deaf voice actor on April 10.

Entitled "The Sound of Bleeding Gums," the episode saw Lisa Simpson befriend Monk, the deaf son of her saxophonist mentor Bleeding Gums Murphy, as he wanted to get a cochlear implant.

Ljubljana – The right to use and development of the Slovenian sign language was enshrined in the Constitution on Thursday as MPs endorsed the step unanimously. The latest constitutional law also sets down that a free use and development of the deaf-blind language is governed by law.

Proposed by the government, the law was adopted conclusively on Thursday to make what many consider a breakthrough in deaf people's rights. According to the new law, deaf people in Bulgaria are entitled to free translation services, the cultural and language identity of their community is recognized and an attitude of respect to them will be encouraged in the broader community.

Turkish Red Crescent helped a 7-year-old deaf-mute Afghan child to regain her ability after she lost hearing during an explosion near her house.

Sign languages emerge through a natural process in deaf communities just as verbal languages do, after a language community is formed, according to a linguist.         

People from all walks of life should learn sign language as need for the language may arise in any setting, according to the head of an advocacy group for the disabled.

The Hellenic Federation of the Deaf has called on former deputy education minister Costas Zouraris to apologize over the use of the phrase "deaf-mute" to describe the Greek-Russian president of PAOK soccer club, Ivan Savvidis, who stormed on to the pitch with a gun during last Sunday's abandoned league match against AEK Athens.

Some 30 Turkish Airlines (THY) flight attendants completed a six-day program on "international hearing impairment language training" offered by the company in a bid to offer a better service for passengers with hearing impairment on June 15, Doğan News Agency has reported.

A total of 61 health students have begun working in state hospitals across Istanbul after completing a 10-week course on sign language as part of a project entitled "Health without boundaries." 

The initiative was jointly carried out by Marmara University and Turkey's Beyazay association.