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Lesson 37:  DEAF CULTURE

Thus there are two different kinds of deaf people in this world.  The deaf people (lower case "d" deaf) have a medical condition of a severe hearing disability but do not identify themselves as belonging to a separate cultural group.  Their culture is the same as that of the hearing people in their homes and the community.   The lower case "d" deaf almost always are brought up in the oral tradition and do not normally learn or use a sign language.

The upper case "D" deaf, on the other hand, strongly identify with other like-minded Deaf people and thus belong to a separate cultural group from those of the hearing members of their family and their community.  For Deaf people, their deafness is not a disability but simply as a physical characteristic that defines their identity much like someone's skin color or hair type may, in part, help determine one's cultural affiliation.  The use of a sign language is the most important characteristic of being Deaf.

We use the lowercase deaf when referring to the audiological condition of not hearing, and the uppercase Deaf when referring to a particular group of deaf people who share a language – American Sign Language (ASL) – and a culture.  The members of this group have inherited their sign language, use it as a primary means of communication among themselves, and hold a set of beliefs about themselves and their connection to the larger society.  We distinguish them from, for example, those who find themselves losing their hearing because of illness, trauma or age; although these people share the condition of not hearing, they do not have access to the knowledge, beliefs, and practices that make up the culture of Deaf people. (Padden, D. &   Humphries, T. (1988). Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture.  Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press.)

Deaf culture is a way of living built up by Deaf people and passed on from generation to generation.  In the hearing community, the cultural values and customs are typically transmitted from parents and other members of the family and the community to a child.  However, most deaf children are born to hearing parents who have no exposure to Deaf community and culture.  A Deaf child, therefore, derives his/her cultural values and customs, not from the hearing members of the family and the community, but from contact with the Deaf members.  Therefore, acculturation -- the process of adopting the cultural values and social patterns of a group different from the one the person is living in -- begins much later for a Deaf child when he/she begins to have regular and extended contact with other Deaf people.

Historically, Deaf culture has often been acquired within schools for the deaf and within Deaf social clubs, both of which unite deaf people into communities with which they can identify. Becoming Deaf culturally can occur at different times for different people, depending on the circumstances of one's life. A small proportion of deaf individuals acquire sign language and Deaf culture in infancy from Deaf parents, others acquire it through attendance at schools, and yet others may not be exposed to sign language and Deaf culture until college or a time after that.   (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaf_culture)

A community of deaf people shares certain common values, perceive the world around them in a similar way, and have developed various customs, traditions, and institutions that identify them as a distinct social group.  They share a certain world view because of their shared experiences in schools, in their neighborhoods, and in their workplaces.    Interestingly, Deaf culture, in the U. S. belongs to those who are culturally Deaf (whether or not audiologically deaf) and who use ASL to communicate. There are some hearing people in the U.S. -- typically living near a school or college for the Deaf -- who interact extensively with Deaf people, are fluent in ASL, and have adopted the world view and the traits of the Deaf people.  These people are not deaf (do not have a hearing loss) but are accepted as members of the Deaf community.  They are, in other words, culturally Deaf but not audiologically deaf.  

Hearing children of deaf parents (children of deaf parents almost always have normal hearing) are often bicultural and bilingual.  They learn the sign language, such as the ASL, from their parents and they learn the spoken language of the community through exposure to neighbors, extended family, and through radio and television.  Similarly, they learn the values and traditions of the Deaf culture from their parents and the values and customs of the hearing community from the extended family and the community institutions such as the places of worship and schools.  A large number of competent interpreters for the Deaf (those who interpret signing to hearing people and spoken words to Deaf people) are the bicultural and bilingual hearing children of Deaf parents.

SOME FEATURES OF DEAF CULTURE

The use of the telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD or TTY) to talk on the phone.

The reliance on closed captioning of TV broadcasts and movies to enjoy these forms of entertainment.

The strong sense of belonging to the school for the Deaf they attended.   "Where are you from?,"  in the Deaf community, usually means "Which deaf school did you go to?"  In this sense, their ‘home' is not the home they were born in but their cultural home, which is usually the Deaf school.

Name sign -- all Deaf people give themselves a name sign (or more commonly, another member of the Deaf community gives one a name sign) so that people do not have fingerspell the name every time.

Deaf clubs -- Most large cities with a large enough Deaf community tend to have their own clubs and places of worship where they congregate and interact.

Calling attention -- turning on and off lights (if trying to get the attention of a room full of people) or tapping on arm or shoulder (if seeking the attention of an individual) is the "correct" form of calling attention. Clapping is not acceptable.

The use of assistive listening and other specialized devices (e.g. alarms).

Endogamous marriages (both spouses are Deaf) are very common, estimated at 90 percent among Deaf people.  In contrast, the rate of endogamous marriages is much less common in deaf people.

SOME DEAF INSTITUTIONS IN THE U.S.

The following are some selected institutions of the deaf (dates in parentheses are the dates of their establishment).  This shows that the Deaf community is vibrant with the range of activities, interests, and accomplishments similar to those of the hearing community.

SPORTS: The International Games for the Deaf (1924), often referred to as the Deaf Olympics; American Athletic Association of the Deaf (1947)

ASL LITERATURE: Oratory (formal speaking); Folklore (puns, games, jokes, storytelling, etc.); Digital literature (CD-ROM, etc.) flourishes even though ASL has no script.

ARTS: National Theatre of the Deaf (1966); Deaf Artists, Inc. (1985); Spectrum: Focus on Deaf Artists (1975); Videos.

ADVOCACY: World Federation of the Deaf (1951); National Association of the Deaf (1880).

RELIGIOUS: Episcopal Conference of the Deaf (1881); National Congress of Jewish Deaf (1956).  These two just examples.  Nearly all religious faiths and denominations have their own Deaf institutions.

PROFESSIONAL: American Professional Society of the Deaf (1966); National Fraternal Society of the Deaf (1901).

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DEAF PEOPLE

The hearing community is generally not well informed about Deaf people.  This has resulted in many misconceptions.  Some of them are listed below.

Deaf people can't hear anything.  Nearly all deaf people have some residual hearing and, with the help of hearing aids and assistive listening devices, they can hear many sounds.  However, their ability of understand speech through the sense of hearing alone may be limited.

All deaf people can read lips.  The speech reading ability (understanding speech through lip movements, linguistic context, and facial expressions) is, in part, a natural ability.  Some deaf people are naturally good speech readers while others, even with training, have only a fair ability.

Deaf people are very quiet.  Deaf people make a variety of vocal sounds when engaged in conversation and may even mouth words as they sign.

Deaf people can't talk.  Some deaf people talk as well as hearing people although most deaf people have difficulty with pronunciation to varying degrees.  The type and the severity of hearing loss and the amount of and the age at which the speech training was obtained only partly determine the speech outcome.  Some deaf people with very severe hearing loss are excellent speakers.

All deaf children have deaf parents.  In fact, as stated above, over 90 percent of deaf children have hearing parents.

Deaf children can't attend regular school.  Nowadays, most deaf children attend their neighborhood schools.

Hearing aids let deaf people hear speech.  Modern hearing aids are powerful enough for deaf people to "hear" speech.  However, most deaf people encounter great difficulty discriminating the various speech sounds sufficiently to understand what they hear.

All deaf people wish that they could hear.  In fact, most Deaf people (but not deaf people) would not want to "give up" their Deafness.  They continue to cherish their status as Deaf and view hearing aids or a cochlear implant as a crutch they have to use in order to interact with hearing people.

Deaf people are emotionally disturbed.  Deaf people are no more emotionally disturbed than their hearing peers.  Most deaf people are emotionally well adjusted.

All deaf people know sign language.  In fact, the majority of deaf people in U.S. know very little ASL or none at all.  Of course, all Deaf people in this country know ASL as this is the defining characteristic of being Deaf.

Deaf people can’t drive.  In the U.S., deafness is not a barrier to getting a driver's license.

Deaf people can’t adopt children.  In U.S., all deaf people (whether "deaf" or "Deaf") are allowed to adopt children.

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