Perfis linguísticos de surdos bilíngues: um estudo exploratório

Abstract

This study aims to describe, in exploratory form, aspects connected to the language history of the participants and the domains of use of Libras and Portuguese. In order to achieve that, contributions were explored from bilingualism studies, specially the view of bilingualism focused in usage, considering the Complementarity Principle, as well as studies about intermodal bilingualism. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 bilingual deaf individuals. The analysis of the interviewee’s profiles points to important factors, namely, the period of occurrence of deafness, the age of contact with Libras and the form of contact and the development of orality possibilities. The analysis also indicated that Libras and Portuguese have different functions for the deaf, as stated by the Complementarity Principle. However, there are some issues to be considered regarding the possibilities of using the modalities involved.