Question

Do you believe that the Deaf have a distinct culture? Why?

Answer 1

I strongly believe that Deaf is a unique and distinct culture which has its own language, value systems, arts and culture. Deaf people do not take their deafness as a disorder or disability, instead, they feel that they are just different from the others. Firstly, the foremost characteristics of a culture, is language, the ability to communicate with other members of the same group. The deaf has their own sign language which they use to communicate with their members and to learn and create new works. The second characteristics of a culture is, the value set. Deaf people consider themselves to be just different from the other group and they feel proud about being a deaf. They normally don’t let others intervene in their group without understanding them completely. The third characteristics, is the norms of the group. Deaf people are normally collective in nature even in the individualistic societies. They also have their own art and literature. Thus considering all these, the deaf could definitely be called a distinct culture.