In this chapter, the authors write on the “Multimedia communication technologies and their impact on communication by the deaf in Zimbabwe’s multilingual contexts.” They argue that globally, in Zimbabwe, there are sixteen officially recognized languages. Though the Republic of Zimbabwe’s Constitution states in Section 6 (1) that the Deaf community has the right to use, develop, and preserve Zimbabwean Sign Language as well as to foster, extend, and transmit Deaf culture, members of the Deaf community frequently experience exclusion when trying to access basic services like the legal system, healthcare, and educational institutions. Given the challenges the Deaf community continues to face, this chapter explores how Zimbabwe’s sign-language-speaking deaf community has resorted to the use of social media to suit their communication needs. It discusses the disparity in the use of multimedia communication technologies and investigates the platforms that the deaf can use, the difficulties they encounter, and possible adjustments for their assimilation into the international communication network. According to the study, deaf people can better integrate into society by using deaf-friendly applications like Handtalk, Prodeaf, YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

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