First published in 1987. This book is intended as an introduction to the field of communication and deafness, with particular reference to cognition and the various forms of language used by hearing impaired people. It is aimed at an audience comprising teachers and student teachers of the deaf, speech pathologists and students of speech pathology, social workers and students of social work, psychologists and students of psychology and, to some extent, the parents of deaf children and deaf people themselves. It attempts to provide a concise summary of the topic and, indeed, as well as being for the audience just described, it will be useful to anyone with an interest in the psychological, sociological, and linguistic ramifications of hearing loss.