From Erasure to Recognition (and Back Again?): The Case of Flemish Sign Language

This chapter deals with linguistic ideologies and deaf people's attitudes towards Flemish Sign Language (VGT), in the past, in the present, and to some extent also in the future. In its historical evolution, VGT has developed from complete linguistic erasure (Irvine & Gal 2000) to symbolic recognition by mainstream society and legal recognition by Flemish Parliament, via implicit recognition within the VGT linguistic minority community. This has gone hand in hand with changing attitudes within the Deaf community towards the status of VGT. The 2006 recognition has unmistakably had an empowering effect in the Flemish Deaf community, even though the actual knowledge as to the contents of the recognition decree may be rather meager. At the same time new indications of erasure can be exposed in Flanders, which are leading to serious concerns within the Flemish Deaf community.

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