Adapting Cued Speech for Welsh

Abstract

This paper describes the adaptation of Cued Speech for use with the Welsh language. The background to the development and use of Cued Speech is briefly described, along with the ability to adapt the system for languages other than English. The phonology of Welsh is described, and it is noted that Welsh has two main varieties (northern and southern) that differ phonologically in the number of vocalic units that are used, as well as some differences in the consonantal system. The Cued Speech adaptation needed to be able to account for these dialectal differences. The large number of vocalic units in Welsh, and a number of unusual consonants resulted in modifications to the vowel positions and consonant handshapes. With the formal adaptation of Cued Welsh, deaf individuals have the opportunity to acquire access to the spoken form of the Welsh language. Readers working with Cued Speech and wishing to adapt it to new language varieties will find the example illustrated in this paper interesting and instructive.