Deaf Culture Essay

1281 Words6 Pages
Using the definition of culture that I learns in my introduction to sociology class is a learned system of language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors and traditions. I am going to give you an idea of what Deaf subculture, a group that shares some of the cultural elements of the larger society. In this case, the dominant culture is going to be hearing community and the subculture which is the Deaf community. The system of language in the “deaf culture’s distinct feature is American Sign Language (ASL)” (Schein, J. D. (1990). At home among strangers. Washington). Or in the broader term, Sign Language because language varies for geographical locations. Signing has “the major function of languages- conveying time, person, numbers, direction of action, and so forth” (Schein, J. D. (1990). At home among strangers. Washington). Although the hearing community was against the thought that is was, in fact, a language. What makes it difficult for the hearing community to begin thinking of signing as a language, because it is not spoken and is difficult to put in written form because it is a complex visual language? The primary depth of Deaf culture is based on the language which give us other aspects of culture. “Deaf people and their culture is one that stems from… means of communication, especially their language” (Avon, A. A).The key equation in any culture so they can relate their beliefs, values and norms which create a group of similarities is their language. As it is stated above, language holds the most value in Deaf culture. Sign language with the usage of hands, eyes and facial expressions are much respected in the community. “Deaf people use their eyes, their expression, spatial relationships of signs, body movement, and touch...” (Deaf People). This gives them the opportunity to think, express, and solve problems through expressive and visual qualities.
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