Deaf community
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Deaf Culture is social group 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 hearing people. According to Charlotte Baker-Shrek 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 includes anyone who shares its language, beliefs, and behaviors and is often composed of those who attended deaf schools, children of deaf parents, and sign language interpreters.

The primary language of those who identify themselves as Deaf is a signed. Deaf communities also often possess social and cultural norms that are distinct from those of surrounding hearing communities.

Contents

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.

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 Many deaf people find the term hearing-impaired to be outdated and highly offensive, and express frustration that hearing people believe the term to be polite.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]

Terminology

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The word "deaf"

The word deaf is used differently in different contexts, and there is 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.[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.

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]

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.

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.

Cultural expectations

Apart from using sign language, Deaf Culture has typical behaviors and manners that define its social norms.

American examples

  • Sharing - Telling likes, dislikes, stories, and experiences tightly knits the social group. If leaving a group, a person is to tell when, why, and where they are going. Also, if there is an auditory interruption (for example, a ringing phone) that distracts someone who can hear, that person should explain what happened.[7]
  • Honesty - Being honest is generally expected. When describing people, distinguishing features are used. If describing a heavyset person, the signer will show exactly how fat the person is, and no one will be offended by the truth.[8]

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.

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.

Notable children of deaf adults

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> 
  7. ^ Smith, Lentz, Mikos (1988). VISTA, Signing Naturally.
  8. ^ Smith, Lentz, Mikos (1988). VISTA, Signing Naturally.

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.
  • When the Mind Hears - (Hardcover ISBN 0-394-50878-5, Publisher - Random House // Paperback ISBN 0-679-72023-5, Publisher - Vintage) (Download Chapter 1, "My New Family": http://saveourdeafschools.org/when_the_mind_hears_chapter_1.pdf)
  • 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.

See also

From Deafness article

External links

From Deafness article
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