Deaf Culture Report

Deaf Culture Report

Sign language has existed for over 200 years since the early 1800s. The language has evolved through the integration of different signs accrued over time to form today’s ASL. Children born deaf have grown in a society that has forced them to believe that they live in a soundless world because they cannot hear. The children have no choice but to accept it as the norm and to obey their guardians who were listening and without prior knowledge of ASL (Vpro World Stories, 2017). Sound is common in their lives, and as much as their ears cannot perceive sound waves, they have learned to rely on the non-verbal cues: body language and facial expressions from people around them.

People assume that because deaf people cannot hear, they move stealthily like cats. However, this claim is false because they are human and are expected to make sounds when in motion for others to respond (TEDx Talks, 2012b). It is actually the expectation that deaf people are clumsy and make so much noise when moving. They have, however, had to live with other hearing people who are very much not experienced with the hearing impaired and survive. For instance, they have learned and become accustomed to sound etiquette; society does not appreciate behaviours such as chewing food too loudly or scrapping plates while eating. Therefore, the deaf accepted the protocol expected of them and embraced it. Deaf people have heightened anxiety levels compared to hearing people because of their hypersensitivity (AssociazioneMente e Coscienza ONLUS, 2018). They must always remain alert to tell what happens next, as they rely on visual aid. Therefore, a deaf person perceives movement as sound. That is the reason why basic hand movements mean something to them. Hearing people should not assume the meanings of gestures as they try to communicate with the deaf. This assumption is often offensive to them since the gestures we make using our hands may even be abusive and rude towards them. That is why, as hearing people, it is advisable to learn basic ASL to avoid making such mistakes in future.

Sound cannot be apparent only through hearing but also through touch and sight. The society has always seen the deaf as impaired people who cannot survive efficiently in the community without making facilities hearing-disabled friendly. For instance, many assumptions have been made about sign language (TEDx Talks, 2012b). Sign language in the United States differs from other parts of the world. Different people in the world have incorporated unique signs that only those in that part of the world can understand probably because of the diverse cultures and beliefs of those people. This language is the fourth largest globally, and some people’s native language is sign language since they are born in non-hearing families making it compulsory for them to be taught sign language as their first language (TEDx Talks, 2015). Ashley Fiolek felt abandoned and about to give up because of her aspirations to become a motocrosser (TEDx Talks, 2012a). The criticism that emerged from her desire to pursue motocross was expected, but she overcame it unscathed since she broke the norm and defined her life on her terms and rules and not based on societal beliefs. She has several championship titles to her name, which is only possible because she ignored the taunts from people who were stopping her from dreaming big because of her disability. Individuals without hearing should be respected and accorded similar considerations as others.

Society depicts deaf people as an inferior group of individuals because they cannot use their voices in communicating and showcasing their diversities. However, I believe that this mentality should be halted because all human beings are flawed in unique ways. The world should be educated on the hearing impaired and learn from them as the hearing because humanity shares one point of view. Therefore, deaf people should be accepted and loved because they are also human.

References

Associazione Mente e Coscienza ONLUS. (2018, April 15). Sound and fury 2000 (Sottotitoli in italiano) [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhceEJ1R_vY&list=PLkh3mJXBTyUEL9VcbNMjvVQ3gNgYv481T&index=4&t=0s

TEDx Talks. (2012, December 10a). Motocrossing against all odds: Ashley Fiolek at TEDxAthens 2012 [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuGgN-OvhU0&list=PLkh3mJXBTyUEL9VcbNMjvVQ3gNgYv481T&index=14&t=0s

TEDx Talks. (2015, November 19). The enchanting music of sign language. Christine Sun Kim [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Euof4PnjDk&list=PLkh3mJXBTyUEL9VcbNMjvVQ3gNgYv481T&index=3&t=0s

TEDx Talks. (2012, June 30b). Tech for the deaf: How to search for words in sign language: Junto Ohki at TEDxTokyo [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwSh_wvxPKs&list=PLkh3mJXBTyUEL9VcbNMjvVQ3gNgYv481T&index=19&t=0s

Vpro World Stories. (2017, October 5). Anthropology of the Dutch: Being deaf in the Netherlands [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1FPtee2CDE&list=PLkh3mJXBTyUEL9VcbNMjvVQ3gNgYv481T&index=2&t=0s