Early childhood linguistic socialisation and identity of Hungarian minority deaf in Romania

This study examines how early language socialisation shaped both Deaf identity and ethnic-linguistic minority identity among ethnic Hungarian Deaf adults in Romania as they retrospectively describe their pre-school years. Drawing on a mixed-methods, life-course design that combines survey data from 89 participants with qualitative follow-up from 30 participants from Oradea’s Deaf community, we analyse how family communication patterns and early language exposure – particularly the presence or absence of sign language – affect remembered identity development before formal schooling. The findings reveal a marked contrast in accessible communication conditions: Deaf children raised by hearing parents were commonly described as growing up in spoken-language environments with little or no pre-school sign exposure, whereas those raised by Deaf parents more often recalled accessible sign-based interaction from infancy. At the same time, this contrast should not be framed as a simple moral divide between hearing and Deaf families. Many hearing parents acted within hhistorically oralist service conditions and had limited access to sign-language guidance, Deaf mentors, or early intervention support. Ethnic identity transmission also differed by family hearing status: hearing families often relied on spoken Hungarian as a cultural conduit, while Deaf families more often incorporated Hungarian heritage into sign-mediated interactions. Using Social Identity Theory together with an intersectional “double minority” lens, we discuss implications for inclusive education policy, emphasising the need for early bilingual and accessible language support, culturally responsive family interventions, and minority-language-sensitive early childhood provision to nurture both Deaf and ethnic identities.