The telephone and quick messages

Communication between deaf people had long consisted of meetings in person or sending letters and postcards. If they wanted to make a phone call with a hearing person, they required assistance, which made deaf people dependent on others.

This problem was solved with the textphone, which was developed in the United States in the 1970s and quickly adopted in the Nordic countries. It featured a normal telephone with an integrated keyboard and screen to show sent and received messages. The textphone allowed for rapid communication, much like a phone call, between two people without the need for a middle man. Conversations between normal phones and textphones became possible by placing the call to a relay centre, where messages were converted from writing into speech and vice versa.

In Finland, textphones were trialled in 1979 with positive results. In 1980, the textphone was approved as an aid as outlined in the Invalid Services Act (Invalidihuoltolaki), and gradually associations and individual deaf people began to obtain the devices. The first textphone relay centre began operating in Finland in 1981. In 1982, around one hundred textphones were in use, and the Kuurojen Lehti magazine began to publish a textphone directory as a supplement.

Deaf people quickly adopted the textphone, as it helped them to take care of day-to-day errands. The number of textphones increased sharply. The device brought a new sense of community as it provided an alternative to face-to-face meetings and letter-writing. However, communication took place in the written language and therefore required reasonable proficiency in Finnish or Swedish.

The textphone was an essential part of deaf people’s communication until the turn of the millennium, when new communication technology such as text messages and e-mail slowly superseded it.

Other methods of communication were also taken into use in the 1980s. In 1989 a trial began to investigate the opportunities to use e-mail (which was at that time known as telebox) and information banks. In addition to e-mail, the Internet followed soon afterwards, bringing cross-border networks for deaf people immediately within reach.

Videophones were also of interest to the deaf community. There was hope that they would become more common as they would allow for sign language to be used during a call. The potential for videophones was investigated and trialled from the late 1980s. The aim was to use the videophone to improve deaf people’s social contacts, allow direct contact with authorities and people working with the deaf, and to procure interpretation services. In 1999 there were 21 videophones in 17 households.

When mobile phones were introduced, they were quickly adopted by the deaf community precisely for their text messaging features. For the same reason, communicators were also popular with the deaf. When the price of mobile phones fell, they too became increasingly common amongst deaf people. Text messages facilitated contact with both deaf people and hearing people in a number of ways. The development of mobile phones has also brought a multitude of ways to keep in touch and to take care of day-to-day errands. The most important features include the option to make video calls using sign language.