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New Straits Times - Malaysia News Online
The deaf community is unique, complete with its own language and culture. A well-illustrated book reveals these and more, writes YEANG SOO CHING.
WHEN we talk about “disabled” people, what comes to mind? The visually-impaired, the physically disabled or the mentally-challenged? All three right? But there is another category of disabled people whose disability is often “invisible” to us. Deafness is an issue not everyone is familiar with. Hence a lot of myths and misconceptions abound.
A gutsy lady dedicated to the plight of the deaf is about to put things right. She wants to debunk the myths and bust the misconceptions. At the same time, she wants to educate people about a culture that is unique to the Deaf.
Lucy Lim and her team at the Majudiri Y Foundation for the deaf have come up with a book called Understanding Deaf Culture — Malaysian Perspectives, aimed at bridging the gap between the deaf and the hearing.
The book is a result of six months of toil and sweat put in by the foundation staff, volunteers and leaders in deafness advocacy. It is also largely due to the largesse of Ford Malaysia, which gave the foundation a grant of RM15,000 to carry out the project.
Since 2000, through a yearly grant funding, Ford Malaysia has supported conservation and environmental projects spearheaded by individuals and organisations in the country.
Last year, the foundation took up the challenge and submitted a proposal, under the category of Cultural Heritage, to do a book on Deaf culture, from Malaysian perspectives. The grant has been put to efficient use, and Understanding Deaf Culture will soon be launched.
Lim, who is the assistant manager/sign language interpreter at the foundation says, “The book will be very visual, with lots of photographs and illustrations. We hope it will make a significant contribution to the development of Deaf Culture in Malaysia.”
Understanding Deaf Culture takes a serious as well as light-hearted peep into the lives of the deaf, and issues related to their education, communication modes, as well as resources and organisations of/for the deaf. It also provides an insight about the people involved with the deaf, be they immediate family, sign language interpreters or employers.
Illustrations by deaf artists are stand-alone stories by themselves, so detailed and vivid are they. Also included are some inspiring short stories and interviews with deaf individuals.
Through all these, readers will be able to explore the uniqueness of the deaf community.
As is the case with other disabled people, the deaf tend to stick together because of their shared feelings and experiences. Their “grouping” has given rise to a culture of their own, with its inherent sign language. Not only are the hearing unaware of the emergence of this Deaf Culture, even among many of the deaf, it is not common knowledge.
Deaf culture is certainly more than just ‘deaf habits’ shared by deaf friends. For example, the deaf have sign names derived from someone’s personality, his initials or nicknames, or a combination of both.
“The deaf pick a certain characteristic of the person they want to talk about, and use it to sign. A child with two grandmothers, for instance. How does he differentiate between the maternal and paternal grandmothers? So he signs their characteristics, such as ‘fat’ grandma or ‘tall’ grandma. Sign naming can be very visual!” says Lim.
There are fixed sign names for Malaysian Ministers as well as celebrities and people in the public eye. Landmarks such as KLCC and the Petronas Twin Towers have their sign names too. The signs are the same irrespective of dialect or language, adds Lim.
As for sign language, which has been recognised as a language for the deaf in Japan, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia, it is a ‘shared’ language among the deaf, though it may differ across borders.
Unfortunately, the education system in Malaysia today does not include sign language and deaf culture as part of its syllabus for deaf students. This has resulted in the deaf in the country being ignorant about their own deaf culture.
“Malaysian deaf culture is unique in that it also encompasses the deaf person’s ‘other’ culture as a Malay, Indian or Chinese in the country,” says Lim.
One-third of Understanding Deaf Culture touches on comparisons between the hearing and the deaf. Scenarios such as weddings, sports and television-watching are highlighted.
“For instance, in sports, we use whistles, but the deaf use flags. As for television viewing, the deaf need subtitles. Ask a deaf person which TV station he watches most, and he will likely tell you its the Chinese dramas, simply because these have subtitles.”
Understanding Deaf Culture also focuses on support devices for the deaf, such as fitting doorbells with bulbs that light up when someone presses them. The deaf don’t like darkness, so never take away their light, cautions Lim.
“They learn through their eyes. That is why a deaf couple chatting in their own bedroom still needs the lights to be switched on!”
As for myths that need to be debunked, Lim counts, among them, the common belief that the deaf cannot marry each other.
“Research shows that 90 per cent of deaf babies are born to hearing parents, and only 10 per cent are born to deaf parents!”
The deaf cannot study? Nonsense, many of today’s deaf hold Masters degree, Lim says. The deaf can’t drive? Of course they can! Driving is more about reflexes! As for hearing aids, Lim contends they are not panaceas for deafness.
“Hearing aids can only amplify sounds, but not cure the problem. They have to be used with a combination of speech therapy to work well for the deaf. For severe deafness, hearing aids can’t help at all!”
Having worked with the deaf for more than 20 years, Lim knows exactly what support they need. She hopes deaf culture as well as Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (Malaysian Sign Language) can be included in the education syllabus. Currently, BIM training is available at the foundation.
“BIM is equivalent to POL (Pupils’ Own Language). It is not enough for the deaf to learn the coded techniques that are being taught to them now. We want the deaf to master BIM because it is their own language, with a proper language structure and all the nuances of language.”
Further enquiries about Understanding Deaf Culture — Malaysian Perspectives can be directed to the foundation at 03-2274-3766. The website is Majudiri Y Foundation for the Deaf.
The deaf community is unique, complete with its own language and culture. A well-illustrated book reveals these and more, writes YEANG SOO CHING.
WHEN we talk about “disabled” people, what comes to mind? The visually-impaired, the physically disabled or the mentally-challenged? All three right? But there is another category of disabled people whose disability is often “invisible” to us. Deafness is an issue not everyone is familiar with. Hence a lot of myths and misconceptions abound.
A gutsy lady dedicated to the plight of the deaf is about to put things right. She wants to debunk the myths and bust the misconceptions. At the same time, she wants to educate people about a culture that is unique to the Deaf.
Lucy Lim and her team at the Majudiri Y Foundation for the deaf have come up with a book called Understanding Deaf Culture — Malaysian Perspectives, aimed at bridging the gap between the deaf and the hearing.
The book is a result of six months of toil and sweat put in by the foundation staff, volunteers and leaders in deafness advocacy. It is also largely due to the largesse of Ford Malaysia, which gave the foundation a grant of RM15,000 to carry out the project.
Since 2000, through a yearly grant funding, Ford Malaysia has supported conservation and environmental projects spearheaded by individuals and organisations in the country.
Last year, the foundation took up the challenge and submitted a proposal, under the category of Cultural Heritage, to do a book on Deaf culture, from Malaysian perspectives. The grant has been put to efficient use, and Understanding Deaf Culture will soon be launched.
Lim, who is the assistant manager/sign language interpreter at the foundation says, “The book will be very visual, with lots of photographs and illustrations. We hope it will make a significant contribution to the development of Deaf Culture in Malaysia.”
Understanding Deaf Culture takes a serious as well as light-hearted peep into the lives of the deaf, and issues related to their education, communication modes, as well as resources and organisations of/for the deaf. It also provides an insight about the people involved with the deaf, be they immediate family, sign language interpreters or employers.
Illustrations by deaf artists are stand-alone stories by themselves, so detailed and vivid are they. Also included are some inspiring short stories and interviews with deaf individuals.
Through all these, readers will be able to explore the uniqueness of the deaf community.
As is the case with other disabled people, the deaf tend to stick together because of their shared feelings and experiences. Their “grouping” has given rise to a culture of their own, with its inherent sign language. Not only are the hearing unaware of the emergence of this Deaf Culture, even among many of the deaf, it is not common knowledge.
Deaf culture is certainly more than just ‘deaf habits’ shared by deaf friends. For example, the deaf have sign names derived from someone’s personality, his initials or nicknames, or a combination of both.
“The deaf pick a certain characteristic of the person they want to talk about, and use it to sign. A child with two grandmothers, for instance. How does he differentiate between the maternal and paternal grandmothers? So he signs their characteristics, such as ‘fat’ grandma or ‘tall’ grandma. Sign naming can be very visual!” says Lim.
There are fixed sign names for Malaysian Ministers as well as celebrities and people in the public eye. Landmarks such as KLCC and the Petronas Twin Towers have their sign names too. The signs are the same irrespective of dialect or language, adds Lim.
As for sign language, which has been recognised as a language for the deaf in Japan, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia, it is a ‘shared’ language among the deaf, though it may differ across borders.
Unfortunately, the education system in Malaysia today does not include sign language and deaf culture as part of its syllabus for deaf students. This has resulted in the deaf in the country being ignorant about their own deaf culture.
“Malaysian deaf culture is unique in that it also encompasses the deaf person’s ‘other’ culture as a Malay, Indian or Chinese in the country,” says Lim.
One-third of Understanding Deaf Culture touches on comparisons between the hearing and the deaf. Scenarios such as weddings, sports and television-watching are highlighted.
“For instance, in sports, we use whistles, but the deaf use flags. As for television viewing, the deaf need subtitles. Ask a deaf person which TV station he watches most, and he will likely tell you its the Chinese dramas, simply because these have subtitles.”
Understanding Deaf Culture also focuses on support devices for the deaf, such as fitting doorbells with bulbs that light up when someone presses them. The deaf don’t like darkness, so never take away their light, cautions Lim.
“They learn through their eyes. That is why a deaf couple chatting in their own bedroom still needs the lights to be switched on!”
As for myths that need to be debunked, Lim counts, among them, the common belief that the deaf cannot marry each other.
“Research shows that 90 per cent of deaf babies are born to hearing parents, and only 10 per cent are born to deaf parents!”
The deaf cannot study? Nonsense, many of today’s deaf hold Masters degree, Lim says. The deaf can’t drive? Of course they can! Driving is more about reflexes! As for hearing aids, Lim contends they are not panaceas for deafness.
“Hearing aids can only amplify sounds, but not cure the problem. They have to be used with a combination of speech therapy to work well for the deaf. For severe deafness, hearing aids can’t help at all!”
Having worked with the deaf for more than 20 years, Lim knows exactly what support they need. She hopes deaf culture as well as Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (Malaysian Sign Language) can be included in the education syllabus. Currently, BIM training is available at the foundation.
“BIM is equivalent to POL (Pupils’ Own Language). It is not enough for the deaf to learn the coded techniques that are being taught to them now. We want the deaf to master BIM because it is their own language, with a proper language structure and all the nuances of language.”
Further enquiries about Understanding Deaf Culture — Malaysian Perspectives can be directed to the foundation at 03-2274-3766. The website is Majudiri Y Foundation for the Deaf.