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