Deaf culture and deafness info

Maybe you have stumbled upon me describing myself as a deaf person, but have heard a recording of me speak, or have spoken with me directly. Maybe you are a grammarian have seen me say that I am Deaf, and think: but “deaf” isn’t a proper noun? In the Deaf community, “deaf” with the lowercase-d refers to hearing loss, i.e., deafness as an audiological condition; the word “Deaf” with the capital-D refers to being a member of a linguistic/cultural minority.

General Information

No one seems to want to read books. So, here are three YouTube resources: two by the Minnesota state government and one by Barb DiGi AKA avbria.

Book Recommendations

In no particular order, these are good information about d/Deafness from a general sense. Padden’s is the shortest.

  1. Carol Padden, Deaf in America
  2. Jack Gannon, Deaf History
  3. Harlan Lane, The Mask of Benevolence (an excerpt of Chapter 2, translated into signs, can be found here)
  4. Paddy Ladd, Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood

Film Recommendations

Sign Language Resources

Language is best learnt through interaction with the native using community. For signs, this is residential schools for the deaf, places such as Gallaudet University–although I can personally say that Gallaudet “University” does not prioritize equity for students with additional disabilities; please contact me directly if you really want to know my experiences–and the National Technical Institute of the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I’ve only used the first two directly; I’m familiar with many contributors in True Way, particularly Nathie Marbury.

Fingerspelling and Numbering Resources

Fingerspelling is the manual representation of the majority language’s alphabet and numerals using the digit(s) of the hand(s). In American Sign Language, the proper use of fingerspelling is for proper nouns, technical jargon, or borrowed terms from the majority language. When fingerspelling takes on a more rhythmic/directional quality that looks more akin to a distinct sign rather than a discrete fingerspelled word, this is called a “fingerspell-loan sign”, or more formally, lexicalized fingerspelling. Some examples of signs that have standard lexicalized equivalents are “car”, “back”, and “glue”. In sign gloss, true fingerspelling is only hyphenated; glossed are preceded by the pound/hash symbol. It is thought to be the hardest skill for non-native signers to acquire at a native-level. Fortunately, there are free (or very cheap) resources that can be found very easily with Web access. The following are resources for fingerspelling and numbering in Amemrican Sign Language. Unlike English, which is a common language to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, their respective signed languages have completely different manual alphabets, numbering systems, and signed vocabulary.

The Original Signing Naturally I Curriculum

I am so old that I remember when Signing Naturally I was a single volume and watching it as a traditional videotape. You can find a cheap copy of it and its accompanying DVD on eBay. Here are the most important parts:

  1. Unit 1: Language in Action – Introducing yourself- (both conversations)
  2. Unit 2: Grammar Practice: Question type demonstration, numbers 1-10; number phrases (write the number signed)
  3. Unit 3: Fingerspelling Part 1
  4. Unit 4: Grammar Practice, Numbers 11-20
  5. Unit 5: Fingerspelling Part 2
  6. Unit 6: Numbers 21-30
  7. Unit 7: Ordinal numbers, Fingerspelling part 3
  8. Unit 8: Numbers, multiples of 10 and 11
  9. Unit 9, money numbers
  10. Unit 10: Age numbers, Fingerspelling part 4
  11. Unit 11: Numbers 67-98
  12. Unit 12: Clock numbers

General Fingerspelling Guidance and Practise

What is Deaf Gain?

Deaf Gain is a social construct in opposition to the clinical concept of hearing loss, i.e., in embracing that one is Deaf, one gains tangible benefits. There is myriad research on the benefits of bimodal bilingualism for Deaf babies. Learning signs first does not hinder the acquisition of spoken language, and there is copious research that suggests that strong fingerspellers are strong readers. On social media such as Twitter and Facebook, you may see the hashtag #DeafGain. Of course, the etiologies of deafness are many (see video referenced above) and, the literature suggests that early implantation of children followed by aggressive speech-language pathology in an oral/spoken language that language acquisition is possible. Several conditions that cause deafness such as Ménière’s disease (which both actresses Switched at Birth‘s Katie Leclerc and Tony Award-winner Wicked‘s Kristen Chenoweth have), also cause debilitating vertigo due to the effects on the inner-ear system that can be successfully managed with cochlear implantation. I know many native Deaf signers who can speak. I myself can speak fairly well. I am a proud alumnus of The Ohio School for the Deaf, and I support the right of Deaf babies to grow up bilingual, as Barb DiGi expands on an ASL translation of an essay by Francois Grosjean.

Last Updated: 14. April 2024