The Deaf as a People Group

The Deaf as a People Group Deaf as an Ethno-Linguistic People Group Orville Boyd Jenkins Compiled from material by Vesta Sauter Developed March 2004 Last edited 27 May 2009

The Deaf as a People Group Deaf as an Ethno-Linguistic People Group

The Deaf as a People Group Deaf as an Ethno-Linguistic People Group • Four basic elements are foundational to understanding the Deaf as a people group: • their language, • their social interaction, • their educational identity, and • their political structure.

The Deaf as a People Group Deaf as an Ethno-Linguistic People Group • Four basic elements are foundational to understanding the Deaf as a people group: • their language, • their social interaction, • their educational identity, and • their political structure. • These four basic elementsor characteristics define the Ethnographic Core of the Cultural Deaf, or Core Deaf

The Deaf as a People Group Aspects of the Deaf Worldview Language - Social – Political - Education

Four basic elements Language • One of the key elements that identify the Deaf as a people group is that of the use of signed language. • The Deaf individuals that have signed language as their heart language will fit into the category often referred to as the “Core” Deaf. • These individuals depend heavily on the national signed language and not on any blend of their language with the national, or access, language of the country. • Although their ability to read and understand the access language of the country may vary, their language is not related to it.

Four basic elements Language • Knowledge of the majority language may offer a little more accessibility to information but it has little or nothing to do with the dynamic found among those who share the national signed language. • The use of the national signed language is the first pillar that supports the concept of the Deaf People Group.

Four basic elements Social • Social Interaction -- this cultural element directly related to the linguistic identity of the Deaf People Group. • The uniqueness of Deaf culture is obvious even to the casual observer but nowhere is it more identifiable than within the social structure of the community.

Four basic elements Social • Deaf Clubs: • Gathering in Deaf clubs on a regular basis • In countries all around the globe • Coinciding structures associated with the Deaf clubs extend into the broader deaf community • (relationships, support systems, decision-making patterns) • A dynamic unique to those who are part of the Core Deaf People Group.

Four basic elements Social • Deaf adults nearly always marry other Deaf although the percentage of Deaf children who have Deaf parents is relatively small. • Still there is the more than just a natural affinity of those who share this language and social foundation.

Four basic elements Education • The Core Deaf, making up the 30 million Deaf worldwide and constituting the Deaf People Group, typically have attended a residential Deaf school somewhere in the country where they grew up. • The common experiences of classroom, dormitory, and almost always, an oppressive system of oralism, builds some sort of bond between Deaf adults who are part of the core group.

Four basic elements Political • As in most people groups the political (social) dynamic is a key part of the foundation for their core values. • Politics in the Deaf community is centered on leadership within that core group. • Typically this has nothing to do with how much or how little hearing loss there is.

Four basic elements Political • An individual may be totally deaf when it comes to their auditory senses but not an accepted part of the Deaf community, and its political structure, because of a reliance on oralism instead of signed language. • The politically involved Deaf person will feel out of place in most hearing settings where there a total political vacuum exists for him/her.

The Deaf as a People Group Worldview The 4 circles of the ethnographic core Language - Social – Political - Education

The Deaf as a People Group The Deaf as a People Group Deaf as an Ethno-Linguistic People Group Ω Orville Boyd Jenkins Compiled from material by Vesta Sauter Developed March 2004 Last edited 27 May 2009

The Deaf as a People Group