LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN SOCIAL WORK AND LANGUAGE MINORITIES – THE CASE OF DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING PERSONS
LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN SOCIAL WORK AND LANGUAGE MINORITIES – THE CASE OF DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING PERSONS

Summary/Abstract: Modern society is characterized by multiculturalism, depicted by different languages, ethnic and language minorities, different identities and social and cultural backgrounds. In this environment, cultural and language barriers also appear in everyday communication. The primary task of social work is to provide services that meet the needs of vulnerable groups, including deaf and hard-of-hearing persons who mainly use sign language to communicate. They constitute a special minority group in addition to ethnic minorities and migrants. The topic of this paper is the impact of language barriers on social work, specifically in the work of social workers with speakers of language minorities (with special reference to deaf and hard-of-hearing persons). In the current literature, this topic is underrepresented and there is a lack of detailed analyses of the impact of language barriers on the client-social worker relationship. Furthermore, language and cultural differences can affect the process of establishing a positive relationship between the user and the social worker. Despite the fact that social work is based on humanity and empathy, the question arises whether discrimination occurs in the work of social workers with speakers of language minorities and how it can be avoided. Drawing on recent literature, the paper examines the context of social work with language minorities and provides recommendations for improving communication in this field.

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