Deaf Perspectives
After much research and many hours trying to find written documents or even YouTube videos on this topic I was alarmed to see that there was not much directly related to language. There were hundreds of videos directly regarding Tina & Paul, the couple mentioned on the "On YouTube" page, as well as stories about Deaf teenagers struggling to complete everyday tasks such as going to the Doctors office alone. I've heard many stories and seen many video's over the years, I've heard and watched many lectures on the matter but after my research I still feel there is not a great amount of Deaf perspectives posted on the net. That I guess, just goes to show you that Deaf people are still indeed a minority. There are hundreds of articles written by non Deaf professionals, interpreters, doctors, audiologists, CODAS (children of deaf adults) but again, very few by Deaf natives.
Perhaps the reason for the lack of Deaf professional and non professional views is tied back to the whole point of this website; language oppression. Although society has come a long way from times when Deaf children where made to sit on their hands, to present date; there are still a number of issues regarding communication and in turn leading to education. Perhaps it has nothing to do with education at all but the simple matter of Deaf individuals feeling that their voice, their opinions, feelings, angers, speaking out on their own behalf, is still very far out of reach and not widely accepted.
One interesting quote and view that stood out to me was actually written about Deaf people in Sweden in The Deaf Way by Carol Erting, a book about Deaf Culture. This particular section was about Swedish Sign Language however, I feel these views could be applied to any Deaf person around the world.
"Before the movement toward deaf awareness, many of us had not realized the importance of our language...we declared our right to exist as deaf people and, as such, to be treated with respect" -The Deaf Way (2002)
The article goes on further to describe oppression linked to ones mental capacity based on knowledge of the popular spoken language. The idea that Swedish (or in our case English) was superior to Swedish Sign Language (or ASL). This is the idea that one is only as smart at the amount of Swedish (English) one understands. Of course this is a garbage idea, now after years of research we understand that those allegations simply cannot be true.
Perhaps the reason for the lack of Deaf professional and non professional views is tied back to the whole point of this website; language oppression. Although society has come a long way from times when Deaf children where made to sit on their hands, to present date; there are still a number of issues regarding communication and in turn leading to education. Perhaps it has nothing to do with education at all but the simple matter of Deaf individuals feeling that their voice, their opinions, feelings, angers, speaking out on their own behalf, is still very far out of reach and not widely accepted.
One interesting quote and view that stood out to me was actually written about Deaf people in Sweden in The Deaf Way by Carol Erting, a book about Deaf Culture. This particular section was about Swedish Sign Language however, I feel these views could be applied to any Deaf person around the world.
"Before the movement toward deaf awareness, many of us had not realized the importance of our language...we declared our right to exist as deaf people and, as such, to be treated with respect" -The Deaf Way (2002)
The article goes on further to describe oppression linked to ones mental capacity based on knowledge of the popular spoken language. The idea that Swedish (or in our case English) was superior to Swedish Sign Language (or ASL). This is the idea that one is only as smart at the amount of Swedish (English) one understands. Of course this is a garbage idea, now after years of research we understand that those allegations simply cannot be true.