People in the deaf community are much more communicative than people in the hearing community. The reason for this is that they are a much more cohesive and mutually supportive community which lends to a greater sense of familiarity. Deaf people share much more information in casual conversations pertaining to their families, friends, what they've been doing, community news, and events. Deaf people tend to share their backgrounds during introductions or shortly after because there is a strong chance that they have common acquaintances and thus can catch up on what is going on with their old friends by exchanging information.
The following examples help illustrate the differences in communication levels between the hearing and deaf communities. If you were late for an English class, it would be considered polite to come in as quietly as possible and take a seat. In an ASL class, that same behavior would be considered inappropriate. It would be courteous for you to apologize and to provide a quick explanation as to why you were late. Also, if you were in a small group of hearing people and needed to go to the washroom, you would probably just say "excuse me for a minute" and slip away quietly. In the Deaf community, it would be proper to tell someone in the group where you're going and when you'll be back. In that situation, people in the deaf community are also more likely to ask where someone went, and that person will inform the group and the conversation will continue normally.
In my time spent volunteering at the Ottawa Deaf Centre, I have definitely noticed a greater sense of openness. People will come right out and ask questions that may seem a little forward in the hearing community. Some common questions are whether or not someone was born deaf and if their children and parents are deaf. These sorts of personal questions would probably not be asked in the hearing community until a greater sense of familiarity is achieved, whereas asking the same questions to someone you have recently met is not considered too forward.
PLEASE READ: About my Blog...
I am an ASL student at Algonquin College in Ottawa. The program uses the "Signing Naturally" textbooks, which are really quite difficult to follow. This is where my desire to create this blog came from. I wanted to create a resource that would act as a supplement to the textbook to fill in the blanks, and maybe just explain things in a different way to hopefully help my fellow students. I also wanted this to be helpful to people who want to learn ASL but who don't have the textbooks, so I have tried to re-explain key things from the text.
If you are a student, the posts have been labeled according to the level of ASL and the unit of the book. If you are not using the book but simply want to go through the posts in order, follow the labels entitled "Post".
I have found that there are many different signs that are used, and they vary from person to person, and from teacher to teacher. So I have included any differences I have learned, but this list is by no means comprehensive. I am sure I am not aware of all of the variations, so I have just posted what I know. Please do not use this site to override anything that you know. I am only just learning and am by no means a pro. That said, I am more than happy to hear any comments or suggestions, so please let me know if I have posted anything that is incorrect, or if you would like me to do something differently. This blog is intended to help you, so if there is a way it could be more helpful, I sincerely want to know!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
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