Exploratory study of spoken and sign language comprehension among Deaf and Hard-of-hearing adults in Slovenia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore spoken and sign language comprehension among Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) adults in Slovenia. A sample of 116 DHH participants from eleven Slovenian DHH associations completed a series of tasks that were used to measure their comprehension abilities related to spoken and sign language. The instructions were stratified into three groups according to the complexity of the language. Positive correlations were established between the comprehension ability of spoken and sign language. Slovenian DDH participants differed significantly with respect to the following predictors of spoken and sign language comprehension: age at onset of hearing loss, degree of hearing loss, and age of sign language exposure. The findings of this study provide a starting point for further research on the comprehension of spoken and sign language.