Graham Turner: The importance of this year’s census to BSL users

How many people do you think actually sign BSL? It should be such a simple question. We should have a clear, factual answer. But we don’t.

Every figure you see is an estimate. It’s a guess, made up on the basis of dozens of different sources – NHS data, schools’ data, councils’ data, reports from OFCOM, charities and so on.

“About one in a thousand people are born with severe or profound hearing loss. They will probably grow up to use signed language. So altogether, that makes…”. They almost might as well just pluck a number out of thin air, to be honest. 

We all know why it’s difficult to work it out in detail. The question isn’t even straightforward to frame.

If you ask “Is BSL your first language?” then many deaf people will respond that they used English at home as children, because no-one in the family knew BSL – so it’s not exactly their first language.

If you try “Is BSL your preferred language?” then they may reply that they prefer different languages for different purposes. You can’t read emails in BSL, for example.

There are many problems to face in calculating the numbers of signers. (In many ways, the same is true for lots of language communities around the UK. The BBC reported in 2014 that over 300 languages were used in schools in London alone! http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/definitions.shtml. Figuring out the main language of all of those people would also be tricky.)

Fortunately, though, there’s supposed to be an official figure that everyone can rely on. What figure is that?

It comes from the Census. Every ten years, all households in the UK fill in a form, giving basic information about the people who live there.

In England, the Office for National Statistics gathers these together: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own Censuses. With some changes over time, we’ve had censuses like this for over 200 years.

They happen every 10 years: the last one was in 2011. The idea is to have a clear idea about UK demographics – the size and profile of the population (how many are in each household, how old people are, how many are working or studying, and so on).

This year is a Census year. (It was expected to happen across the whole UK, but Scotland chose to postpone to 2022 because of Covid.) The Census people choose one specific date as the time to take their ‘snapshot’ of the population. This year, it’s Sunday 21st March.

When people give their answers, they are all supposed to report the facts about their household on that particular date. The idea is that this means no-one gets counted twice.

But when it comes to BSL, it seems that a lot of people didn’t get counted at all in 2011. Oh, their information was in the Census records – but the fact that BSL is their language was hidden. The most visual, visible language in the whole country – quite possibly your language – was left unnoticed, unreported, unrecorded. Invisible. 

How did that happen? Well, for one thing, it happened because of the way the questions were asked.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the censuses asked people to note their “main” language.

I know what you’re thinking: main language for doing what? If you live with non-signing people, and work with non-signing people – as many, many deaf people do – the language you are forced to use most of the time will be English. 

Reading it, writing it, hearing what you can, lip-reading what you can’t, speaking when that suits you or is necessary in order to get things done. None of this makes English your first or preferred language. In many respects, it’s just another way in which a society shaped to suit the hearing majority makes life harder for, or disables, deaf people. 

What answer do you think the 2011 Census came up with? Maybe 150,000 (Signature’s figure: https://signature.org.uk/what-is-british-sign-language)? Or 100,000 (the Department of Health figure quoted here https://manchesterccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/MDC-Engagement-Report-February-2017-FINAL.pdf)? Too optimistic? It’s surely more than 70,000, though, right (the number SignHealth report here https://signhealth.org.uk/resources/bslhealthaccess/)?  

No. It said that 15,826 people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland name BSL as their main language.  

By contrast, in Scotland, where the question asked about your “home” language – a significantly different angle – the 2011 Census found 12,533 people identified as BSL signers. That’s a proportion over eight times higher than in England. Can you believe it?

I didn’t think you would. But we need to put this right, because this really matters. It matters because everyone has a right to be seen by society. It’s a mark of respect, apart from anything else.

Statistics like these also have a major effect on the way public services are run. Just look at how the response to Covid has been managed with one eye constantly on the data.

If the BSL data can’t give accurate information, the whole way in which society is geared up for deaf people will be wrong.

Every public body in the land – councils, health boards, emergency services, education: the lot – will be planning its work with misleading numbers. Their whole picture of the signing community will be completely, crazily out of focus.

So now it’s up to you. Are you happy for the 2021 Census to give the same kind of false impression as the 2011 one?

The Census people look at the questions each time they run the survey. But they’ve asked the same basic question – about your “main” language – again this time. On the other hand, they’ve tried to improve BSL access to the Census questions (see https://census.gov.uk/help/languages-and-accessibility/accessibility/accessible-videos-with-bsl). 

Deaf people are also making video clips encouraging each other to stand up for BSL. How? Don’t say that English is your main language, they plead: click “Other” and type in BSL instead. “Don’t forget to tell your hearing parents, too, kids!” signs one deaf youth in a social media video. “Maybe they don’t realise that they can answer ‘BSL’ to the relevant question!” This is people power in action! 

A small project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council, part of UK Research & Innovation (it’s number seven in this list https://ahrc.ukri.org/research/readwatchlisten/features/public-engagement-with-the-census-research/) is also lighting a beacon for BSL in the 2021 Census. It’s called Seeing Signing Living, and is run by Heriot-Watt University’s Signs@HWU team and the arts/culture team at Deaf Explorer. Follow the hashtag #WeAreBSL for updates!

It will feature an online festival making signing communities more visible. We’ll champion the power of the census as a pathway to BSL recognition. In the weeks till it closes, the project will encourage deaf people to complete the Census with full BSL data. On 24th and 25th April, we will celebrate the richness of the language and discuss better empowerment of signers. All in all, we aim to inspire the BSL population to make the Census work for the community!

This initiative is actually relevant to some 17 million signers worldwide. In every country on earth, the hearing majority misunderstands and undervalues signers. In every country, data that properly sees the significance of signing can truly transform lives.

A BSL academic since 1988, Graham Turner was appointed Chair at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh in 2005. Now with up to 30 personnel, the BSL team he established has built a global reputation, working with governments and deaf national and international NGOs to deliver public engagement and knowledge exchange outcomes with recognised impact (see https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2017/mar/30/social-and-community-impact-category-award-winner-and-runners-up). Graham’s ‘deep dive’ into BSL in the 2011 Census can be found at https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pfrlsu/documents/Ch3_Turner_second_proofs.pdf.