The Writing System and Attitudes towards People with Disabilities

Abstract

Great interest has been focused on the label of 'disabled people' in many countries. In Japan, recently the label of 'disabled' people was changed to express from kanji (Chinese character) to hiragana (Japanese character). The loaded purpose of this change is to improve the attitude toward disabled people because kanji 'disabled' connoted negative images. This research investigated the effect of writing system of hiragana 'disabled' people on the attitude toward disabled people. Two groups of undergraduate/graduate students answered the questionnaire about the attitude toward disabled people in kanji (usual writing system) or in hiragana (suggested writing system). The results revealed that students who have previous contact with disabled people increased positive images of disabled people, however, this effect disappeared in students who didn't have previous contact. Moreover, negative images of and communication attitudes toward disabled people changed neither student with nor without previous contact. These findings show that the writing system of disabled people in hiragana has limited effect on overcoming a wall of prejudice toward disabled people. This research can provide insight into understanding on prospect and range of the label changes.