Knowra Deaf culture Deaf culture Deaf culture is a cultural and linguistic community centered on sign languages and shared Deaf experiences. It includes distinctive histories, social practices, institutions, and forms of identity.
Sign language : A language that uses visual-manual forms, including handshapes, movement, and facial expression, rather than speech. Deaf communities transmit language and culture through signed communication.
Martha's Vineyard Sign Language : A sign language that developed in the historically interconnected Deaf and hearing communities of Martha's Vineyard. Its history shows how local social conditions can support a shared sign language.
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet : An American educator who helped found the first permanent school for Deaf students in the United States. His school became an early center of American Deaf education and community.
Deafness : A degree of hearing difference that may be described medically, socially, or as part of cultural identity. Cultural understandings of Deaf life differ from definitions centered on hearing loss.
Gallaudet University : A university in Washington, D.C., serving Deaf and hard-of-hearing students and using American Sign Language extensively. It has become a major institution for Deaf education, scholarship, and community life.
American Sign Language : A natural sign language used by many Deaf people in the United States and parts of Canada. Its community, history, and institutions illustrate one national Deaf culture.
French Sign Language : A sign language that developed in France and influenced sign languages in several other countries. Its history connects French Deaf education with the development of American Sign Language.
Edward Miner Gallaudet : An educator who founded the National Deaf-Mute College, later Gallaudet University. The institution he established became a major center of Deaf scholarship and leadership.
Deaf gain : A perspective that treats Deaf ways of being and signed languages as sources of human and cultural possibility. It counters deficit-based accounts by emphasizing distinctive contributions and knowledge.
National Association of the Deaf : An American civil-rights organization that advocates for Deaf people and sign-language access. Its campaigns have advanced legal rights and public access for Deaf communities.
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