Significance of touch and eye contact in the Polish Deaf community during conversations in Polish Sign Language: ethnographic observations

Sa？etak Some people with hearing impairments belong to a special community: the Deaf Community. They use natural sign language (in Poland it is Polish Sign Language – Polski J？zyk Migowy, PJM) to communicate and they appreciate this form of communication. Using sign language includes specific behaviours such as eye-contact and touch. Sometimes these behaviours are typical of the Deaf Community but atypical of hearing people. Thus, the aim of this research was to show the specificity of touch and eye contact among Deaf people. Ethnographic observation was used as the research method. The Deaf Community was filmed in their natural meeting places (e.g. community meetings, celebrations, family homes). More than 4 hours of recordings were transcribed and analysed. Film analysis showed certain characteristics of eye contact (frequency, making and interrupting eye contact) and characteristics of touch contact (parts of the body touched, frequency of touching, use of touch to make contact with another person). This study provides insights into the differences between Deaf and hearing people, which may help to reduce the mutual distance between the two groups