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 Home > Deafness & ASL > Communication Technologies

Communication Technologies

Telecommunications

For many years the TTY ("TeleTypewriter" or "text telephone") has been the main means of telecommunication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals, as well as for mute persons. TTYs are also known as TDDs, which is short for "Telecommunications Device for the Deaf". Of the two terms, TTY is more commonly used in the Deaf community, while the term TDD is used in government legislation.

With advances in technology in recent years, other means of telecommunications that have become popular in the Deaf community include IP relay (a.k.a. web-based text relay), text messaging, video phones (VP), email, instant messaging (IM), and chatrooms on the Internet.

A few companies also provide video relay service (VRS). VRS allows people who use video phones and hearing people who use a regular telephones to call each other using a relay operator. A relay operator tells the hearing person on the telephone what the video phone user signs and also signs to the video phone user what the hearing person says on the telephone.

As the use of email, video phones, video relay, mobile devices and other technolgies increases in the Deaf community, TTYs are being used less and less. Interestingly enough, some abbreviations used historically by deaf people typing on the TTY are the same as some abbreviations still being used in texting. Here are some commonly used abbreviations used on TTYs. This is not an exhaustive list of abbreviations used on TTYs.

CD: could. Same as CUD.
CUD: could. Same as CD.
CUL: see you later.
CUZ: because.
HD: hold, meaning wait. Same as HLD.
HLD: hold, meaning wait. Same as HD.
GA: go ahead (indicating it is your turn to talk or type).
GA to SK: go ahead to stop keying (meaning the person is ready to hang up unless you have anything else to say).
MSG: message.
MTG: meeting.
NBR: number.
OIC: oh, I see.
OPR: operator.
PLS: please.
QQ: question mark. (Often QQ is used instead of the question mark (?) because it is easier to type for many people.)
R: are.
SHD: should.
SK: stop keying (meaning the person is hanging up).
SKSK: stop keying (meaning the person is hanging up).
THX: thanks.
TMR: tomorrow. Same as TMW.
TMW: tomorrow. Same as TMR.
U: you.
UR: your or you're.

Of these abbreviations, some of the most important terms for hearing persons who converse with TTY users via relay to be familiar with are GA, GA to SK, and SK. When the TTY user types GA, the relay operator will tell you, "Go ahead," meaning it is your turn to talk since you need to take turns talking similar to using two-way radios. When you are done speaking, say, "Go ahead," and the relay operator will type GA so that the TTY user knows it is their turn to type.

When the TTY user is ready to hang up, he or she will type, "GA to SK," meaning "go ahead to stop keying," and the relay operator will tell you, "The person is ready to hang up." You can either continue the conversation if you have more to say, or simply say goodbye to end the phone call. To end the conversation yourself, after you are done speaking, tell the relay operator, "Go ahead to stop keying." When the TTY user hangs up the phone, they will type SK or SKSK, and the relay operator will tell you, "The person is hanging up."

See also Using Relay.

Face-to-face Communication

Many if not most Deaf people prefer a live interpreter who translates language spoken by hearing people to sign language (voice-to-sign interpretation) and translates what Deaf people sign into spoken language (sign-to-voice interpretation). However, one alternative to using an interpreter made available through technology is real-time captioning, also known as C-print captioning. This is where a person types out what is being spoken, which typed text is then displayed on a screen for the Deaf person(s) to read. The person typing the captions can be on location or listen remotely through a phone connection. This technology has been using for including Deaf people in business meetings and also classes. One limitation to using real-time captions is that it is only one-way voice-to-sign. For the Deaf person to respond, he or she would have to type out or write a reply. Another limitation to real-time captioning is that there is no cultural or linguistic mediation between the spoken English and ASL, which can be a problem if the Deaf person(s) has limited English proficiency.

See also Using an Interpreter.

Movies, Television, and other Video Presentations

All televisions larger than 13 inches sold in the United States are required by the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 to have built-in closed caption decoders. Closed captions (CC) are text on the screen showing spoken language and sound effects that can be turned on and off. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires that most television programming in the United States have closed captions.

Unlike closed captions, subtitles on videotapes or dvds do not always include information for Deaf people such as sound effects, but instead just the dialogue of the movie on the videotape or dvd. Subtitles can also be turned on and off.

Some movie theaters offer limited showings of movies with open captions (OC). Unlike closed captions and subtitles on your television that can be turned on and off, open captions are shown for the duration of the movie. Advertisements and previews shown before movies are not captioned.

See also Regal Cinemas and Captionfish Open Captioned Movie Showtimes

Other video presentations such as those shown at national monuments, museums, and theme parks sometimes offer reflective captions, also known as rear window captioning, where captions are displayed in mirror image behind the viewing audience. People who wish to view the reflective captions can ask for a clear sheet of plastic on a stand, which they set up at an angle to view the reflection of the captions behind them and the video in front of them at the same time. Reflective captions are also being offered increasely in movie theaters as an alternative for businesses to open captions. One reason for this may be because only the viewer of reflective captions sees the captions, whereas with open captions, some hearing movie goers complain about the captions, which is why box office attendants almost always ask customers if they understand that the tickets they are buying are for an open captioned showtime, as to reduce complaints.

© 2012 F. C. Stamps