Thumbs up for sign-language cafe


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3009556.stm

By Caroline Wyatt
BBC correspondent in Paris

Walking past the Cafe Signes on a leafy avenue on the Left Bank, there is
little to suggest it is any different to other cafes in Paris. Until you
take a closer look, that is.

The customers seem to be gesticulating a little more than usual - even
taking into account the expressiveness of Gallic hand gestures.

From the outside, it looks like any cafe in Paris

And the waiters and waitresses are gesticulating back. Yet they are not
arguing, and in fact, the cafe is really rather quiet compared with the
usual noise levels of a busy Paris bistro at lunchtime.

Once you sit down, and are handed a menu, all is explained. This is France's
first bistro where the deaf and the hearing can interact on an equal basis.

Most of the 45 staff are deaf, as are some of the customers, though by no
means all.

Alphabet soup

Those who come here unable to read or understand sign language are given a
quick tutorial: the menu contains pictures of all the main signs needed to
communicate an order.

Interlock your fingers in the shape of a steeple, and you will get chips. An
upwards circular motion with both hands, to denote fizz, will get you a
glass of lemonade.

The menu also lists the whole of the French signing alphabet, a one-handed
alphabet unlike Britain's two-handed sign alphabet.


Staff are happy to help customers learn sign-language basics

Anyone still unable to order can always point or write it down, but most
customers seem to enjoy the challenge, and the waiting staff are happy to
teach anyone who wants to learn.

Valerie has worked at the cafe since it opened earlier this month.

She is profoundly deaf, but uses a mixture of lip-reading and sign language
to take customers' orders.

She says she is enjoying the job, and that most people who come do try to
express themselves in sign language even if they are not deaf.

She shows me how, when the order is ready, the chef simply buzzes a small
pager on her belt which alerts her silently - in stark contrast to the usual
loud shouts from Paris restaurant kitchens.

An equal footing

Although the cafe is open to everyone, it was set up with government backing
and some business sponsorship to train people with hearing impediments for
full-time jobs.


Martine Lejeau Perry says deaf people are often patronised

So far it is going well. The lunchtime I visit, only one table is empty, and
so lively are the conversations that it is hard to tell who is deaf and who
is not.

The "directrice" of the project, Martine Lejeau Perry, says customers with
normal hearing quickly learn to sign, either by imitating the drawings on
the charts or by making up their own signals.

"In France it can be very difficult for those with any disability," she
says.

"People are not accepted as much, and there is less tolerance. Very often
the deaf in France are patronised. The aim here at the Cafe Signes is to put
people on an equal footing."

'Understanding'

Francine Daude, who helps train staff at the cafe, nods in agreement. She
can hear but also speaks fluently in sign language.

"I think this place does help create greater understanding," she says.


There is even more gesticulating than your average French bistro

"Most deaf people and hearing people are actually afraid of each other, and
suddenly the non-deaf who come here find themselves a little in the same
situation as a deaf person.

"They have to learn a whole new way to communicate. It's good to have a link
between the two, and the link is this cafe - a place where you can drink,
eat and have a good time together and begin to discover that the person on
the other side is not so different after all."

Pascal, one of the customers enjoying lunch at a table outside, says that
his sign language is not very good, but it is improving.

He likes the cafe and comes here regularly.

"It's good because it's a step towards greater integration of those who can
hear and those who can't. But the main reason I come here is because it's a
good cafe."