Everything about Deaf Culture totally explained
Deaf culture is composed of people who consider
deafness to be a difference in human experience, rather than a
disability. When used in the cultural sense, the word
deaf is very often capitalized in writing, and referred to as "big D Deaf".
Big D Deaf communities don't automatically include all those who are clinically or legally deaf, nor do they exclude every hearing person. According to
Charlotte Baker-Shenk
and
Carol Padden, a person is Deaf if he or she "identifies him/herself as a member of the Deaf community, and other members accept that person as a part of the community." Deaf culture may include those who attended deaf schools,
children of deaf parents, and some sign language interpreters.
The primary languages of those who identify themselves as Deaf are
signed. Deaf communities also often possess social and cultural norms that are distinct from those of surrounding hearing communities.
Background
The use of the cultural label of being Deaf can be a declaration of personal identity rather than an indicator of hearing ability.
As deafness is a relatively rare condition, relationships within a Deaf community can extend over great distances to bring people together, primarily the use of signed languages. Signed languages are distinct from local spoken and written languages.
Within Deaf culture, it's asserted that the label is one of identity, not audiological status. It is seen by them as akin to an ethnic division. It describes shared experiences in the world, not only those directly related to sight and sound (the increased awareness of one over the other) but also the cultural experiences that often inevitably follow from that. The term deaf then, used by many of those who are within the category, has little to do with an ability or inability to hear. Because of all this, and many other sociological forces, you'll find some who identify themselves as deaf with much more ability to hear than many who self-identify as hearing or hard of hearing. In print, you can sometimes ascertain that the word is being used to reference the cultural identification because many people now capitalize the word when using it as a cultural label.
People who are part of Deaf culture typically use a
sign language (such as
American Sign Language) as their primary language and often emphatically see themselves as not disabled, but rather as members of a cultural or language
minority.
Language barriers
Worldwide, Deaf people are divided by language barriers, just as hearing people. In the case of the English language, which is the primary language of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, the dominant
sign language differs in each of these areas—
British Sign Language,
American Sign Language, and
Auslan, respectively. Each of these languages has a distinct grammar and vocabulary; making them mutually unintelligible.
Mainstream recognition of Deaf culture
For much of history, deaf people were expected to adapt to hearing culture as best they were able or to be hidden or invisible. Recently, especially in the
United States and the Nordic countries (
Sweden,
Norway,
Denmark,
Finland and
Iceland), the existence of a Deaf culture has been increasingly recognized. (Charlotte Baker, 1980)
Deaf President Now: The
1988 student strike at
Gallaudet University, in
Washington, D.C., was a watershed moment in the awareness of Deaf culture by the dominant American hearing culture.
Deaf President Now student organizers and allies forced the university, which, after all, served an all-deaf and hard of hearing population, to select its first deaf president. Perhaps more importantly, the movement helped frame the struggle of deaf people within the context of a civil rights movement. Having a leader who can fully understand and relate to this principle was considered vital to the Deaf population.
Cultural Centres: The
Dorothy Miles Cultural Centre, based in
Guildford,
England, exists to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing people through social, cultural and educational activities. The Centre also offers courses in
British Sign Language (BSL) which are accredited by the
Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People. DMCC runs drama workshops involving professional actors and organises sporting events, including an annual cricket match. There is also widespread availability of BSL courses from other providers across the UK. Nearly all terrestrial television is
closed captioned.
The
Deaf Culture Centre opened in 2006 in central
Toronto. A project of the
Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, it features a museum, art gallery, and gift shop. It also houses archives and provides facilities for research. Visitors can sample state-of-the-art visually rich technology highlighting Deaf historical artifacts and literature. There is also an ASL/LSQ interactive website/television and multimedia production studio.
Terminology
The word "deaf"
The word
deaf is used differently in different contexts, and there's some controversy over its meaning and implications.
Scientific usage
In
scientific and
medical terms, deafness generally refers to a physical condition characterized by lack of sensitivity to
sound. Notated as
deaf with a lowercase
d, this refers to the
audiological experience of someone who is partially or wholly lacking
hearing. In
legal terms, deafness is defined by degree of hearing loss. These degrees include profound or total deafness (90 dB - 120 dB or more of hearing loss), severe (60 dB - 90 dB), moderate (30 dB - 60 dB), and mild deafness (10 dB - 30 dB of hearing loss). Both severe and moderate deafness can be referred to as partial deafness or as hard of hearing, while mild deafness is usually called hard of hearing.
Cultural usage
Within the
Deaf community, the term
Deaf is often capitalized when written, and it refers to a
linguistic minority whose
primary language is
signed, and who practice social and cultural norms which are distinct from those of the surrounding hearing community. This community doesn't automatically include all those who are clinically or legally deaf, nor does it exclude every hearing person. According to Baker and Padden, it includes any person or persons who "identifies him/herself as a member of the Deaf community, and other members accept that person as a part of the community."
Deaf vs. hard of hearing vs. hearing-impaired
Deaf generally implies a profound loss of hearing; someone with a
partial loss of hearing is more likely to be referred to as
hard of hearing or the qualified
partially legally deaf. People with varying degrees of hearing loss have also been referred to as
hearing-impaired.
The term hard of hearing may be used to describe all degrees of hearing loss up to and including total deafness. It is more likely to be used by individuals who have lost their hearing as an adult, than by those who lose it as an infant or are born deaf. In the case of profound deafness this may be
political correctness, a
euphemism for the simpler and accurate "deaf." Interestingly, this is seen as a euphemism only from the side of the mainstream. The Deaf community doesn't generally aspire to be hearing and sees the hard of hearing label as an indication of a mindset that views them pathologically.
Total deafness is quite rare. Most deaf people can hear a little. However, since
hearing loss is generally frequency-based rather than amplitude-based, a deaf person's hearing may not be usable, if the normal frequencies of speech lie in the impaired range.
People with a moderate hearing loss, of about 36–50 dB,
generally describe themselves as "partially deaf." Others who were born hearing, but who have partially lost their hearing through illness or injury are "deafened." Those with a slight hearing loss (eg. about 16–35 dB hearing loss),
or have lost some of their hearing in old age may prefer an informal term such as "hard of hearing" or "hearing-impaired".
Those with some functional hearing generally don't take part in the Deaf community, and typically work and socialize with hearing people to the best of their ability. People with all degrees of hearing impairment may encounter discrimination when looking for work, while at their jobs, or when socializing with hearing people.
Other meanings of 'deaf'
Deaf is also used as a
colloquialism to refer to a recalcitrant individual or someone unwilling to listen, obey or acknowledge an authority or partner. The third line of
Shakespeare's
Sonnet 29 provides an example:
When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
The phrase "
tone deaf" refers to someone who lacks
relative pitch, or the ability to distinguish between
musical notes.
Children of deaf adults
Children of deaf adults (CODAs) with normal hearing ability may consider themselves, and be considered, culturally Deaf or as members of the Deaf community. In some cases they may need speech therapy due to limited exposure to spoken language. An organization, also called CODA, was established in 1983 and now holds annual conferences. There are also support groups for Deaf parents who may be concerned about raising their hearing children, as well as support groups for adult CODAs.
There are also several camps established for CODAs, such as the one at Camp Mark Seven which hosts two separate 2-week programs for CODAs, one from age 9 to 12 and one for CODAs from age 13 to 16 and it usually occurs during the summer, from the last week of June to mid-August.
Notable children of deaf adults
- Alexander Graham Bell; both his mother and his wife, Mabel Hubbard, were deaf.
- Lon Chaney, Sr., American actor raised by deaf parents, whose upbringing allowed him to better communicate in silent film.
- Louise Fletcher, American, Academy Award, Best Actress for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In 1975, when Fletcher won the Academy Award for Best Actress, she spoke and signed her acceptance speech for the benefit of her deaf parents.
- Edward Miner Gallaudet, founder of Gallaudet University, the world's only university for deaf and hard of hearing students. He is the son of Sophia Fowler Gallaudet and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of the American School for the Deaf, the first school for the deaf in the U.S.
- Richard Griffiths, English actor.
- Stefan LeFors, Canadian football quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos.
- Homer Thornberry, a United States Representative from the 10th congressional district of Texas from 1948 to 1963.
- Keith Wann, with two other Deaf actors, perform regularly in a troupe called Iceworm, to showcase the cultural and linguistic barrier faced between the deaf and hearing worlds in a comedic fashion.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Deaf Culture'.
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