A dialogue and educating The Other

Abstract

The paper is focused on the reflection of the presence of the Other in the dialogue space. Spoken language is the basis of a dialogue, and its non-lexical elements: accent, melody and quantity (alltogether coined a name “prosody”) provide information to validate a verbal expression as a communication action. Consequently, a deaf person is defined as the Other because us his/her limited prosodic skills. The-state-of-the-art. cochlear implants enable individuals who suffer from profound hearing loss to develop their hearing and language, particulary prosodic, skills, thus enabling them to initiate a dialogue. However, a question can be asked, if this dialogue is based on getting the deaf individuals closer to hearing ones in terms of hearing skills, or whether it is rather appropriate to abandon the “deaf person” stereotype and consider such individuals not as strangers but as part of the hearing community.