In 1965, Deaf Culture was first recognized as a real culture. That was only forty years ago. William Stokoe, Carl Croneberg, and Dorothy Casterline were the ones who introduced the culture of the Deaf to the world. They wrote the Dictionary of American Sign Language and included information about the thriving culture of the Deaf. Before the Dictionary of American Sign Language was published, people involved in the medical field and deaf education only saw deaf people in terms of their deafness or hearing loss. They never would have though that Deaf people had their own culture.Carol Padden defines a culture as: learned behaviors of a group of people who share a language, rules for behavior, traditions, and values. Deaf culture fits this definition just like every other culture in the world. They have a language, values, rules for behavior, and traditions.
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The members of the culture of the Deaf also value the literature of their culture. These are stories and cultural values that are passed down through signed communication. Deaf culture also has its own art, stories, poetry, theatre, jokes, games, and books. These avenues teach about Deaf culture and Deaf pride.
Rules for Behavior
It is not rude to stare in this culture. Not staring is actually rude in this culture. When someone is signing to you, if you break eye contact, you are very rude.
Facial expressions are required when you are signing. Some non-manual behaviors are part of ASL grammar.
When you introduce yourself in Deaf culture, you use your full name. Deaf people also ask each other for information about where they’re from (what city they grew up in), what school they went to (what residential school they attended), etc. The Deaf community is very small, so they try to find these commonalities with each other early in their introductions.
Deaf people also label themselves in different ways. People in hearing culture tend to label deaf people by their hearing loss–hard of hearing, hearing impaired, etc. In hearing culture, being hard of hearing is seen as better than being deaf. These labels are viewed the exact opposite in the culture of the Deaf. Deaf people call themselves one thing and one thing only when they are part of this culture–Deaf. The term “Deaf” has nothing to do with the degree of hearing loss. Using the term “hard of hearing” is actually viewed negatively in the culture of the Deaf. Using it makes it look like you think you’re better than everyone else (because that’s how it’s viewed in hearing culture). Using the term “hearing impaired” insinuates that you think there is something wrong with deaf people and that they desire to be “fixed.” This is actually the opposite of what members of the culture of the Deaf believe; they are Deaf and proud! The terms “deaf” (“little d”) and “Deaf” (“big D”) are also used and have much different meanings. “Little d” refers to someone who cannot hear while “big D” refers to someone who is part of Deaf culture and shares the language, values, behaviors, and traditions of that culture.
Sign language can be very interesting to learn, especially since it is not similar to any other language, however it helps people in need to express themselves. If you want to find out more about sign language all you have to do is follow this link: review Victoria Kelso’s page