In this study we are analyzing how people change their language practices to accommodate to new computer technology, as well as how they shape new technology to fit existing language practices. We are focusing on computer-mediated video telephone communication, and language strategies evolving out of a recent innovative technology providing video telephone connections between deaf conversational partners for the first time. We are looking at solutions mutually developed between participants as a result of the challenges of a new medium, the different ways that the deaf callers organize telephone interactions in sign language and most especially how the introduction of a new technology for communication necessitates new practices, including how these practices are negotiated and reproduced. Tools play an important mediating role in human interactions with the environment, and in influencing cognitive operations. The introduction of new communicative tools and contexts provides an opportunity to study aspects of the complex relationship between tools, interactants, and the environment.
Understanding relies on context and new tools alter aspects of context.
In September and October we recruited deaf families in the Austin area for the project study. We chose the deaf subjects based on their unfamiliarity with computer mediated videotelephone technology and we also chose families with deaf parents and deaf children. With grant funds we purchased Dell Dimension computers, computer video cameras, and VCRs and set them up in each deaf family home, plus the Linguistic Anthropology Lab at UT Austin. The Lab is used as a videotelephone site for communication between project team members and the deaf families, and a way to troubleshoot equipment problems. We established a University of Texas Internet account for each family, and we set up the protocol for video telephone communication through the Internet using Microsoft Netmeeting.