Deaf culture

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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 do not 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."[1] 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.

Contents

[edit] Background

Merikartano's school for deaf people in Oulu
Merikartano's school for deaf people in Oulu

The use of the cultural label of being Deaf can be a declaration of personal identity rather than an indicator of hearing ability. [2]

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 is 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 will 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.[3] Members of this group use Deaf as a label of cultural identity much more than as an expression of hearing status. Hearing or hard of hearing people may also be considered culturally Deaf if they participate in Deaf culture and share Deaf cultural values; this is sometimes referred as 'attitudinal deafness'.[1]

There are differing opinions over which terms should be used to describe deaf people. Many deaf people find the term hearing-impaired to be outdated and highly offensive, and express frustration that hearing people believe the term to be polite. Many deaf people often prefer to be called either deaf or hard of hearing.[4]

[edit] Language barriers

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Deaf students inside the classroom of a special school for the hard of hearing in Baghdad, Iraq (April 2004).
Deaf students inside the classroom of a special school for the hard of hearing in Baghdad, Iraq (April 2004).

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Terminology

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[edit] The word "deaf"

The word deaf is used differently in different contexts, and there is some controversy over its meaning and implications.

[edit] 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.[3] 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.

[edit] 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 does not 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."[1]

[edit] 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 does not 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.[5] 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,[6] 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),[6] 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 do not 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Children of deaf adults

Main article: Child of deaf adult

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Baker, C.; C. Padden (1978). American Sign Language: A look at its Story Structure and Community. 
  2. ^ See disability for a discussion of the social model of disability as opposed to the medical model of impairment.
  3. ^ a b Ladd, Paddy (2003). Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood. 
  4. ^ Deaflinx, "Identity"
  5. ^ Gallaudet University: Demographics of Deafness
  6. ^ a b Description of Degree of Hearing Loss Versus Potential Effects, HandsAndVoices.org, <http://www.handsandvoices.org/resources/coGuide/05_Lossvseffct.htm> 

[edit] Further reading

  • Barnard, Henry (1852), "Tribute to Gallaudet--A Discourse in Commemoration of the Life, Character and Services, of the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet, LL.D.--Delivered Before the Citizens of Hartford, Jan. 7th, 1852. With an Appendix, Containing History of Deaf-Mute Instruction and Institutions, and other Documents." (Download book: http://www.saveourdeafschools.org/tribute_to_gallaudet.pdf)
  • Gascón Ricao, A. y J.G. Storch de Gracia y Asensio (2004) Historia de la educación de los sordos en España y su influencia en Europa y América. Madrid : Editorial universitaria Ramón Areces, Colección "Por más señas".
  • Herrera, V. Habilidad lingüística y fracaso lector en los estudiantes sordos.[1]
  • Kyle, J. & Woll, B. (1985). Sign Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding Deaf Culture. In Search of Deafhood. Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
  • Lane, Harlan (1993). The Mask of Benevolence. New York: Random House.
  • Lane, Harlan, Hoffmeister, Robert, & Bahan, Ben (1996). A Journey into the Deaf-World. San Diego, CA: Dawn Sign Press.
  • Luczak, Raymond (1993). Eyes of Desire: A Deaf Gay & Lesbian Reader, ISBN 1-55583-204-0.
  • Moore, Matthew S. & Levitan, Linda (2003). For Hearing People Only, Answers to Some of the Most Commonly Asked Questions About the Deaf Community, its Culture, and the "Deaf Reality", Rochester, New York: Deaf Life Press, ISBN 0-9634016-3-7.
  • Padden, Carol A. (1980). The deaf community and the culture of Deaf people. In: C. Baker & R. Battison (eds.) Sign Language and the Deaf Community. Silver Spring(EEUU): National Association of the Deaf.
  • Padden, Carol A. (1996). From the cultural to the bicultural: the modern Deaf community. in Parasnis I, ed. "Cultural and Language Diversity and the Deaf Experience." Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press
  • Padden, Carol A. & Humphries, Tom L. (1988). Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Padden, Carol A. & Humphries, Tom L. (2005). Inside Deaf Culture, ISBN 0-674-01506-1.
  • Pizzo, Rose (2001). "Growing Up Deaf: Issues of Communication in a Hearing World", ISBN 1-4010-2887-X
  • Sacks, Oliver W. (1989). Seeing Voices; A Journey Into The World Of The Deaf, ISBN 0-520-06083-0.
  • Storch de Gracia y Asensio, J.G. (coord.)(2005), Estatuto jurídico de las lenguas de señas en el Derecho español (Aproximaciones), Madrid, Editorial universitaria Ramón Areces, Colección "Por más Señas, La Llave"
  • Storch de Gracia y Asensio, J.G. (2005), "Las teorías de Harlan Lane sobre la identidad sorda. Oscuras remembranzas del nazismo en estado puro", en el sitio web Voces en el Silencio.
  • Storch de Gracia y Asensio, J.G. (2006), "Derecho a la información y discapacidad (Una reflexión aplicada a los lenguajes de los sordos)", en Revista General de Información y Documentación [Madrid-España], vol. 16, núm. 1, pp. 75-103 (accessible at Centro Hervás y Panduro).
  • Van Cleve, John Vickrey & Crouch, Barry A. (1989). A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America, ISBN 0-930323-49-1.

[edit] See also

[edit] From Deafness article

[edit] External links

[edit] From Deafness article