Deaf Culture

Where a community of people come together, they develop a language and a culture. In this way, language and culture are intertwined. This is also true of Deaf communities, all around the world, wherever there is a Deaf community, there is a signed language and Deaf culture. These differences in culture can lead to misunderstandings between Deaf and hearing people. The three groups below give you an insight into what is regarded as Deaf culture.

Items & access

  • interpreters

  • mobile phones with vibrating alerts

  • good lighting

  • volume control

  • captioning

  • wooden floorboards

  • hearing dog

  • FM

  • vibrating pagers

  • open plan house

  • Loop

  • Flashing light alerts:

    • doorbell

    • alarm clock

    • baby cry

    • smoke alarm

    • duress button

    • telephone

Behaviour

  • tapping on shoulder

  • waving

  • signing space

  • physically expressive

  • distance between people

  • eye contact

  • long goodbyes

  • more observant

  • physical contact common

  • visually oriented

  • stomping

Customs, beliefs & traditions

  • equal access issues

  • language

  • minority group

  • Deaf gain

  • networking events

  • Deaf humour

  • theatre

  • information sharing

  • strong sense of community

  • storytelling

  • history of oppression

  • art

  • poetry