it's not really a paper, just a bunch of stuff that i've learned thus far that i am putting together, but heres what i've got (no arguments please
):
Section 1 Intro, Glossary, Sources
American Sign Language (ASL)-A visual/gestural language used by Deaf people in America and parts of Canada that has its own semantic and syntactic structure.
Cochlear Implants (CI)-A surgically implanted device made of microelectrodes that deliver electrical stimuli directly to the auditory nerve when implanted into the cochlea so that a Deaf person can hear.
Deaf Culture-Culture consisting of Deaf Pride, Deaf clubs, and sign languages.
Deafies-Short for deaf people.
Deaf Pride-Not conforming to the hearing world. Not relying on cochlear implants, hearing aides, or other devices made by hearing people. Deaf Pride also pulls away from learning methods devised by hearing people such as oralism. See Deaf President NOW protest.
Fingerspelling-Handshapes assigned to each of the letters of the alphabet used to sign words that have no sign, such as names and places, and should be used as a last resort.
Hard of Hearing (HOH)-May be able to hear certain sounds, but not all. The difference between being considered HOH and Deaf is mainly due to personal preference/Deaf Pride.
Hearies-Short for hearing people.
Hearing Aides (HA)-A compact electronic amplifier worn in or behind ear to improve hearing.
Lipreading-Understanding speech through mouth shapes.
Loan Sign-A 3-5 letter word usually fingerspelled due to natural flow/rhythm, even if it already has a sign.
Name Sign-A person given a sign using either the first letter in their name or a distinguishing characteristic such as a mole.
Oralism-A deaf person taught primarily through speech and lipreading using little or no sign.
Pidgin Sign Language (PSL)-A combination of ASL and English, not SEE.
Sign Exact English (SEE)-A sign language created by hearing people where sentences are signed using the same structure as English, even if the words do no exist in ASL. Some Deaf see this as offensive and feel hearing people have no right to create a signed language.
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS)-Messages are exchanged between a TTY and a regular telephone by special operator. The operator will type the messages said by the hearing person to the deaf person, then read off the message typed by the deaf person to the hearing person. Toll free and open 24/7, 365 days a year.
Text telephone (TTY)-A device using tones to send a typed message over the phone. A telephone headset is set on special acoustic cups built into the device; some models may be equipped to be connected directly to the phone line. Deaf, HOH, and speech impaired can use these to communicate with each other. Also called Telecommunication Device for Deaf (TDD).
Section 2 History
Before the 1500’s, most people believed that intelligence and speech were connected; therefore, if you couldn’t speak you were considered unintelligent. Even Aristotle believed that those who were born deaf were incapable of reason and completely senseless. Many believed that it was completely impossible to teach the deaf any knowledge whatsoever. In many cases, this also caused the Deaf to be considered not human, and was thus mistreated.
In a religious sense, Deaf were not allowed to take part in any temple rituals. However, there were also rules that protected the Deaf from being cursed. St. Augustine thought that the sins of the parents came down upon their children causing deafness. Deafness was considered a hindrance of faith, but the Deaf could learn and therefore receive salvation.
During the time of Emperor Justinian, a simple and clear code was written called “Corupus lurus Civilis” or the Justinian Code. This code denied all deaf people the right to own property, create contracts, or write a valid will. This, of course, was a result of the earlier belief that the Deaf were incapable of human thought.
Then, finally, Girolamo Cardan became the first to challenge Aristotle’s idea that Deaf could not reason. He discovered that the Deaf did not have to learn how to speak before they could learn. He also accepted a report written by Rudolph Agricola on a deaf-mute that had learned to write. Rudolf was a Dutch humanist who believed that the deaf could communicate through writing. He further wrote that speech was separate from intelligence. These kinds of breakthroughs began to grow more and more numerous as people realized that the Deaf did have intelligent thought.
Thomas Gallaudet wished to become a professional minister, but that wish was immediately put aside when he met Alice Cogswell. Alice was the nine-year-old daughter of Gallaudet’s neighbor, Dr. Mason Cogswell. Gallaudet was asked by Dr. Cogswell to travel Europe to find a way to teach Alice. On these travels he heard that was another family, the Braidwoods, which were also involved in Deaf education using an oral method. Unfortunately, he found the Braidwoods unwilling to share their methods and he did not find good results with them. Gallaudet then came across a Deaf school in Paris, France. Abbé Sicard, head of the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets à Paris (National Institution of Deaf-mute in Paris), invited Gallaudet to come study their methods of education. Here, Gallaudet learned of sign language and was very impressed with the results. He was able to convince one of the graduates of the school, Laurent Clerk, to come and help Gallaudet with the Deaf education in America. The two were able to raise enough money from traveling around America to found the American School for the Deaf. Alice was then able to attend this school among six other Deaf students, even hearing students came eager to learn.
Section 3 Fingerspelling/handshapes/grammar
Mostly pictures and am rewriting some of the lessons from
Student Corner
Section 4 Codes of Behavior
Don’ts• Do not sneak up behind a deaf person
• Never turn away while a deaf person is talking to you
• Never cover your mouth while talking to a deaf person
• If they cannot understand you and ask you to repeat never say “never mind” or “I’ll just tell you later,” these are the two most hated phrases in the Deaf Community.
• Never throw things at a deaf person to get their attention
• Do not pound on the table to get a deaf persons attention, it’ll feel more like an earthquake and is extremely annoying.
• Do not talk with anything in your mouth
• Do not tap a deaf person’s hearing aid. Hearing aids magnify sounds and if you tap their hearing aid it is the equivilent of tapping on a fish tank.
• Do not amaze over a Deaf persons ability to talk excessively.
• After every sentence do not stop and say "do you understand?" or "did you hear me?"
• Do not yell at a deaf person, they cannot hear you and yelling only makes it harder for them to lipread.
• Do not slam the door
• Do not pretend to be Deaf if you are not.
• Do not tap a Deaf persons arm repeatedly to get there attention, one time is good enough until they finish what they’re doing and turn around.
• If a hearing person walks up to talk to you while you’re having a conversation with a deaf person do not just turn around and start talking to them without signing.
Do’s• If two deaf people are having a conversation and there’s no other way but to walk between them, walk straight between them. If you wait till they’re finished, say “excuse me” or try to duck down to walk through it’ll be more distracting to them.
• Talk facing them, it’s harder to lip read from the side
• If you do need to get their attention, tap them and be careful where you tap. Best tap the arm.
• If your at a deaf play, wave your hands instead of clapping
• If you’re at a wedding, wave your napkin in the air instead of banging your spoon against your glass or ringing a bell
• Some Deaf make a lot of noise such as smacking noises, keep in mind that they cannot hear themselves
• If you need to get a group of deaf peoples attention turn the lights off then back on
• If you are having a group conversation and there is one deaf person, please try to include them as much as possible.
• It is perfectly acceptable to point at a person while talking to or about them.
Section 5 Poetry
You Have to be Deaf to Understand
Written at 1971 by Willard J. Madsen, professor of journalism at Gallaudet University. This poem was translated into seven different languages and reprinted in publications, including DEAF HERITAGE, p. 380.
What is it like to "hear" a hand?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to be a small child,
In a school, in a room void of sound --
With a teacher who talks and talks and talks;
And then when she does come around to you,
She expects you to know what she's said?
You have to be deaf to understand.
Or the teacher thinks that to make you smart,
You must first learn how to talk with your voice;
So mumbo-jumbo with hands on your face
For hours and hours without patience or end,
Until out comes a faint resembling sound?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to be curious,
To thirst for knowledge you can call your own,
With an inner desire that's set on fire --
And you ask a brother, sister, or friend
Who looks in answer and says, "Never Mind"?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What it is like in a corner to stand,
Though there's nothing you've done really wrong,
Other than try to make use of your hands
To a silent peer to communicate
A thought that comes to your mind all at once?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to be shouted at
When one thinks that will help you to hear;
Or misunderstand the words of a friend
Who is trying to make a joke clear,
And you don't get the point because he's failed?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to be laughed in the face
When you try to repeat what is said;
Just to make sure that you've understood,
And you find that the words were misread --
And you want to cry out, "Please help me, friend"?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to have to depend
Upon one who can hear to phone a friend;
Or place a call to a business firm
And be forced to share what's personal, and,
Then find that your message wasn't made clear?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to be deaf and alone
In the company of those who can hear --
And you only guess as you go along,
For no one's there with a helping hand,
As you try to keep up with words and song?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like on the road of life
To meet with a stranger who opens his mouth --
And speaks out a line at a rapid pace;
And you can't understand the look in his face
Because it is new and you're lost in the race?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to comprehend
Some nimble fingers that paint the scene,
And make you smile and feel serene,
With the "spoken word" of the moving hand
That makes you part of the word at large?
You have to be deaf to understand.
What is it like to "hear" a hand?
Yes, you have to be deaf to understand
Thoughts of a Deaf Child
Stephen J. Bellitz, Reprinted from Senior News, July 1991
My family knew that I was deaf
When I was only three, and since then fifteen years ago
Have never signed to me.
I know when I'm around the house,
I try and use my voice,
It makes them feel more comfortable;
For me, I have no choice.
I try, communicate their way-
Uncomfortable for me.
My parents wouldn't learn sign
Ashamed or apathy?
I never cared about the sound of radios and bands;
What hurts me most is, I never heard
My parents' signing hands.
Ode to a Deaf Child . . .
Philip A. Bellefleur, Ph.D.
One day I saw a little child as lovely as a flower,
She danced and ran, she jumped and turned ...
I watched her for an hour.
This child of God was all the things I'd want my own to be,
Magnificent of heart and limb a curiosity.
But when God made this little one he didn't give her sound,
He left her in silent world where quiet is profound.
A deep abyss, a lonely world, away from all who hear,
To never know the voice of man in happiness or fear.
And as I watched her hands make pictures in the air,
A silent unknown rhythm that I could never share.
For in this world of silence the hearing rarely go,
Because they lack the picture words it never can be so.
This causes me to wonder about the world of sound,
What is it that we're missing where the silence is profound?
And then I knew the answer, it suddenly was there--
To live and love together means people have to share.
Thus in the world of picture words where pretty symbols flow,
The meanings of I LOVE YOU is there for all who know.
And so I guess the world of sound will stay a world apart,
Until it learns the picture words, it cannot share the same heart.
What is it Like to be Deaf
By Dianne (Switras) Kinnee
What is it like to be deaf?
People have asked me.
Deaf? Oh, hmm, how do I explain that?
Simply, I can't hear.
No, it is much more than that.
It is similar to a goldfish in a bowl.
Always observing things going on.
People talking all the time.
It is being a man on his own island
Among foreigners.
Isolation is not a stranger to me.
Relatives say "hi" and "bye".
But I sit for five hours among them.
Taking great pleasure at amusing babies.
Reading books, resting, helping out with food.
Natural curiosity perks up
Upon seeing great laughter, crying, people upset.
Inquire only to meet with "never mind",
"Oh, it is not important".
Getting such a summarized statement
of a whole story.
Supposed to smile to show the happiness.
Little do they know how truly miserable I am.
People are in control of language usage,
I am at loss and real uncomfortable.
Always feeling like an outsider
Among the hearing people
Even if it was not their intention.
Always assume that I am part of them
By my physical presence, not understanding
The importance of communication.
Facing the choice between the Deaf Camping
Weekend and Family Reunion.
Facing the choice between the family commitment
and Deaf friends,
I must make the choice constantly,
And wonder why I choose Deaf friends???
I get such great pleasure at Deaf Clubs,
Before I realize, it is already 2 am
Whereas I anxiously look at the clock
Every few minutes at the family reunion.
With Deaf people, I am so normal,
Our communication flows back and forth,
Catching up with little trivials, our daily life,
Our frustration in the bigger world,
Seeking the mutual understanding.
Contented smiles, and laughing are musical.
So magical to me
So attuned to each other's feeling.
Truly happiness is so important.
I feel more at home with Deaf people
Of various colors, religions, short or tall,
Than I do among with my own hearing relatives.
And wonder why?
Our language is common.
We understand each other.
Being at a loss of control
Of environment, that is, communication,
People panic and retreat to avoidance,
Deaf people are like the plague.
But Deaf people are still human beings
With dreams, desires and needs
Of belonging, just like everyone else.
more as i get it finallized
