Deaf Culture

A detailed Summary of Deaf Culture

The deaf culture is difficult to grasp for the average speaking individual. It's not a series of remedies for everyday life such as phone calls or the doorbell, it is a complete way of life stemming from attitude, demeanor, and social interaction. The most obvious difference in hearing and deaf culture is expression, i.e. signing. The subtle differences in the way one conveys them self in speech versus signing arise from how it is phrased or signed. For almost two centuries, sign language has been formally taught in America, yet being deaf is still associated with being dumb or handicapped when that is not the case at all. Deaf people are noticeably more articulate when conversing with another individual using facial expressions and conveying entire ideas in but a single sign.

Most of the deaf population seems to be extremely friendly and willing to converse will anyone they can. Even with my limited knowledge of ASL, everyone I met at the ice cream social at Ben & Jerry's helped me through conversation and cheerfully taught me knew signs. One guy I met pointed something interesting out to me about the way deaf people hug each other. He said that hearing people hug in an "A-frame" fashion whereas deaf peop

When hearing parents have a deaf child, they are often misinformed about the options they have for that child. Many times they are told they must learn to speak in order to be "right." Even more shockingly, they are told not to use sign with their children. Doctors used to fear that this would hamper any efforts to teach a child to talk when in fact quite the opposite is true. 80 to 90% of children born deaf will never learn to speak (Spradley 259). The deaf children would throw wild tantrums stemming from the shear frustration of not being able to communicate even the simplest ideas to their parents, like wanting a cookie, to be picked up, or even to tell their parents they love them (Spradley 81). But now signing is widely accepted and even taught to the hearing at colleges across the U.S.

There are many solutions (outside of just a visual language) that help those who are only partially hearing. This includes such items as hearing aids, FM systems, auditory trainers, and vibrotactile devices. The most common of these is the hearing aid in which a small device is fitted around or inside the ear to assist in hearing by amplifying all sounds. It cannot, however, "zero in" on any single noise or voice, making it little help in crowded areas or when speaking to someone who does not clearly articulate themselves (Spradley 159). This gives deaf people something new to adapt to that hearing people don't have to deal with. It is visual cue that hearing people see and instantly begin to draw conclusions about that are usually unwelcome to many deaf. Another innovation is the cochlear implant. This is a tiny device that is fitted inside ones head through a hole drilled in the skull (Peters 1). This device in only suitable for 1% of the deaf community and has limited results on those who are eligible and have received it. Using an array of electrodes inserted into the cochlea, this bionic ear transmits the sounds and voices of everyday electronically to the brain, which then interprets them as sounds (Peters 1). Although this medical marvel has helped some of its recipients, it can still have disastrous results, such as the loss of any remaining hearing. So until a device is created that works on everyone, there will always be a need of such systems as ASL.

ASL is the most widely used form of sign language today, and is said to be the third most used language in all the U.S. The vast popularity of ASL is the closest form of a universal sign language we have toda

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Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

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