Análisis comunicacional de la comunidad sorda como sujeto subalterno en el ecosistema radial

Abstract

Esta investigación analiza si la comunidad sorda puede considerarse un sujeto subalterno dentro del contexto radial guatemalteco. El estudio examina cómo la estructura mediática, al centrarse históricamente en lo sonoro, ha generado exclusión comunicativa y limitaciones en la representación social de este grupo. La pregunta de investigación guía un enfoque teórico que articula las perspectivas de Gayatri Spivak, Iris Marion Young, Marshall McLuhan y Cornelissen, para comprender la exclusión desde dimensiones estructurales, éticas y estratégicas. El análisis de contenido se centró en las principales emisoras radiales guatemaltecas y sus plataformas digitales, examinando la ausencia de herramientas accesibles —como la interpretación en lengua de señas o subtitulación propia— y evidenciando el carácter estructural de la exclusión. Se propone un modelo de hibridación mediática que combine la dimensión sonora de la radio con componentes visuales accesibles, especialmente la interpretación en lengua de señas guatemalteca (LENSEGUA). La investigación concluye que la inclusión comunicativa no puede depender de acciones aisladas o de buena voluntad, sino de una transformación estructural guiada por estrategias institucionales sostenibles.

This research examines whether the Deaf community can be considered a subaltern subject within the Guatemalan radio context. The study explores how media structures—historically centered on sound—have produced communicative exclusion and limited social representation for this group. The central research question guides a theoretical framework that brings together the perspectives of Gayatri Spivak, Iris Marion Young, Marshall McLuhan, and Cornelissen to analyze exclusion from structural, ethical, and strategic dimensions. Both Spivak, Young, McLuhan, and Cornelissen converge in a view of communication and language as constitutive practices of social reality, where power, representation, and media function as mediating forces that shape how subjects and institutions understand and relate to one another. Spivak provides the concepts of subalternity, representation, and structural silencing; Young contributes with the idea of communicative justice and the politics of difference; and McLuhan offers a mediological understanding of media as extensions of the human senses and as potential spaces for hybridization. Cornelissen bridges these critical insights with strategic communication models aimed at sustainability and institutional legitimacy. The content analysis focused on major Guatemalan radio stations and their digital platforms, highlighting the lack of accessibility tools—such as Guatemalan Sign Language interpretation or in-house captioning—and revealing the structural nature of exclusion. Based on these findings, the study proposes a hybrid media model that combines the auditory essence of radio with visual accessibility components, particularly Guatemalan Sign Language (LENSEGUA). The research concludes that inclusion cannot rely on isolated or goodwill-driven actions, but must emerge from structural transformation supported by sustainable institutional strategies. Hybridization thus becomes an ethical, political, and managerial practice that integrates technology, social responsibility, and corporate reputation, positioning radio as a more human, participatory, and coherent medium for the digital era.