Deaf Acculturation

Transcript for people who don’t know the American Sign Language.

Introduction: 

Welcome to the Deaf Table Talk with Dr. Toby. The previous vlog of Deaf Table Talk with Dr. Toby explained the purpose of sharing the information with you. Even though you do not know, already know, or are reminded of the information. It is for anyone who wants to see the information. I want to start developing the resources regards the deaf church, deaf pastor, and deaf ministry—many issues regarding deaf ministry to help people to be aware of it. I am excited to start it because I want people to know about deaf ministry. 

I want to announce that I already set up a page on Facebook for Deaf Table Talk with Dr. Toby and not under my personal. I want it separate because people can find it there quickly. My personal would have many different and mixed issues on it. So it is easy for everyone to see it in one place. So please click to like the page. I will post many things there.

I will develop a blog page for it but not on Facebook because it will reach many people. I will use both places to share the information. You may wonder why you couldn’t see it or find it. I want you to be aware that all my post regards Deaf Table Talk with Dr. Toby are on a page and not my personal. I will add a blog page later this week and post it on Facebook. 

Today, before discussing an issue, I will use “deaf ministry” for deaf church, deaf ministry, or interpreter service. I don’t want to sign those each time, but if I mentioned deaf ministry, it applied to the deaf church, deaf ministry, an interpreter service, or any issues within deaf ministry since there is a deaf group. They have someone to teach and preach. Some churches focus only on an interpreter service. But I will sign deaf ministry the entire time in the video. A few deaf churches stand alone, and many deaf churches and ministries are under hearing churches. 

During my research on deaf issues, I learn so much that I want to share with you. I would like to give you information for once, but it takes time to share it. I will make several vlogs on each issue regards deaf ministry. It will help you to learn each video because the information is too deep to share that would not be possible to share one time. The report will require to have several videos to help understand clear about the deaf ministry. I need the time to make all information on one thing. Impossible. I want to give you all sufficient information, such as discussing each topic from my research from different books and articles. It will help you to know how to help hearing churches understand the deaf culture. 

Dissertation

I want to focus on my dissertation. So the sign for DISSERTATION is what I signed because it is that it involved research and typing within one book. 

It is about 150-160 pages. I studied Deaf college students and their experience interacting with hearing individuals on campus. 

I found over 200 articles regards deaf individuals’ experiences. However, for my dissertation, I must collect the research within five years, from 2017 to 2021. They will not accept the oldest articles, but they allowed me to use some of them. It is a requirement of the doctorate program. I was sick to my stomach that there were many good old articles, and I asked them if I could use them. They said no, only from the recent articles from five years. It is challenging to collect the research because there are few articles on deaf, only disabilities. 

My topic for the dissertation was very limited to collecting articles on the deaf. I had to expand the articles on disabilities and the deaf since there are many articles on disabilities. Many people believe deaf people are disabled. There are a few deaf in the article, but they are subtle on deaf because they do not know the deaf. Even though they view deaf people as disabled, they write about them. In my view, deaf people are not disabled people. One article mentioned that deaf people are not disabled. However, society views deaf people as a disabled group. So, I had to collect them to expand more information on my dissertation. 

I worked collecting the information after I interviewed 11 deaf students. The sample means the type of testing for the research. The sample size is 6 to 11, such as how many students I need for my dissertation. They don’t want me to collect over 30 because it is too much information or works for my dissertation. They are limited to 6-11. They try to limit the data. The data means information about each individual’s experience to help my dissertation. 

I have already contacted 11 deaf college students for an interview. I interviewed and studied the data for my dissertation. I studied the view of the world. I was thinking about Deaf Christians with the same experience as deaf college students. I am curious and decided to research them after completing the doctorate program. There is no difference between deaf college students and deaf Christians who have the same experience interacting with hearing individuals. I was so astonished that they are the same experience. (I thought it would be different with churches.). I was not surprised by some information, but another information I was shocked. 

We know that the church supposed to be love and support deaf people. They “said” they support them. However, there are problems in the mind of deaf people. 

I will expand on more explanations on the topic. In the next vlog, I will explain more about hearing churches and deaf ministries, such as how they relate and how hearing churches will understand deaf ministries. 

Today, I will explain the deaf individuals’ experience interacting with healing individuals. 

Deaf Acculturation

Deaf Acculturation (fingerspelling). I learned the term during my dissertation. What is acculturation meaning? For example, see the picture (blue cone) with many different color cones. They represent people from various cultures, languages, preferences, and customs. Their routine every day within their cultures. Another example of acculturation is the environment. Like, in the environment of pollution: air and water, increase or decrease animals (endanger), forest (tree), rain, climate change, etc. It is called the environment. Some people signed in English, but I used ASL to clarify what was around here. The environment shows what happens on the earth. 

It is similar to acculturation. What happens around the person, culture, or custom influences the person. The person has his way of life, language, culture, etc. But how the culture affects the way of life, language, and culture? Something that people influence is the person’s experience interacting with people. The person could accept their culture or not. 

It is impossible to summary on one video of deaf acculturation. The reason for it I have so much information to explain deaf acculturation, such as explain how deaf individual experiences it. The word acculturation has a list to define it. I picked four sections from acculturation. The four words are assimilation, rejection/separation, integration, and marginalization. It displays the deaf individual’s experience. I will explain to each of them what deaf people must go through. 

Assimilation

Assimilation means a person accepts the dominant culture and aside his own culture to participate in the dominant culture, such as deaf individuals participating in hearing culture. When deaf individual involves with hearing culture, they tend to follow the hearing culture and less deaf culture. For example, when deaf people interact with hearing culture, they accept their culture, language, and custom. I will give you some examples. Deaf people interact with deaf people through their culture and language. But how do they interact with hearing people? By writing notepads, texting through the phone, or using a sign language interpreter to communicate with each other. Deaf people tend to interact with hearing people at work, the grocery, or any place. When they meet, deaf people tend to say they can’t read their lips, etc. 

Deaf people’s assimilation is with hearing people by accepting their culture and language so they can interact with hearing people. Deaf people must put aside their culture and language because hearing people do not understand them. It is a perfect picture (on the screen.) Persons with red represent hearing culture. When I participate in hearing culture, I aside my culture and language to interact with hearing people. 

Some deaf people prefer to be part of the hearing culture, but their identity remains as a deaf person and part of the deaf culture. This is what is called Assimilation. 

Rejection

The first is Assimilation. The second is Rejection or Separation. This is a perfect picture (see the screen). Deaf people and hearing people keep their distance from each other due to different cultures. They can’t interact with each other due to different cultures and languages. They don’t accept each other cultures. 

Hearing people think deaf people are not normal due to not being able to hear as hearing people. They feel that deaf people are not one of them because of their deafness. They allow deaf people to participate in their culture but don’t accept their culture and language. Hearing people require deaf people to use spoken language instead of sign language (American Sign Language (ASL)). They control our language. How? Make us speak, use cochlear implants, and not use interpreter services because they prefer us to use spoken language to fit their culture. Hearing people reject deaf culture and language. 

It is the same as deaf people who reject hearing culture. They stand up for their culture and language against hearing culture and are separated from them. 

Integration

The third is Integration. Notice I signed (both hands, handshape 5) integration. It means both cultures and languages can be integrated. We don’t remove cultural language if we interact with a different culture. It is only about writing notepads and using interpreters to communicate with hearing individuals.

With integration, we will have an interpreter with me to interact with hearing people. They accept it. They are willing to interact with us if we have interpreters. Sometimes, they get an interpreter when they want to talk with us. We will work and support each other. Occasionally they check on us to ensure we are okay. Hearing people learn sign language to communicate with us. We learn some spoken language to communicate with them as well. Hearing people, and we interact very well. 

Integration is what we will keep our identity and culture. Hearing culture allows us to interact with each other. We communicate and work together very well. 

Marginalization

The last is Marginalization. It is almost the same as Rejection, but the only difference is that rejection will accept people into their culture and not the person’s culture. However, Marginalization rejects a person and a person’s culture and language. People who marginalize others oppress, look down on and reject deaf people. They don’t want deaf people to be part of hearing culture. Such as, hearing people believe deaf people are not ordinary people as hearing people. When they find out that deaf people cannot hear or speak, they reject them and treat them as a disability group that they don’t want to deal with them. It is the same as deaf people when they find out that hearing people do not know ASL and do not understand the culture, and they reject them. 

The picture is a good illustration of how deaf people feel from hearing people. When hearing people see deaf people, they discuss negatively against deaf people because deaf individuals are not normal. 

Conclusion

Let me summarize to understand deaf acculturation and a deaf person’s experience in interacting with hearing people, such as how culture and language expose deaf people. Let me outline each section. In assimilation, as I mentioned, the deaf person puts aside his culture and language to participate in the hearing culture even though the hearing culture doesn’t accept the deaf culture. 

In rejection, hearing people reject deaf and language, but they want deaf people to participate in their culture fully. 

In integration, hearing and deaf cultures accept each other. For example, hearing people are willing to learn sign language or use an interpreter to communicate with deaf people. Deaf people accept them because they know that hearing people accept them. 

In marginalization, Hearing individuals do not accept deaf people due to their deafness and reject them entirely because they believe deaf people can’t do anything like them. 

Through my research and study, I learned that deaf people have a rich experience of being marginalized and rejected. Through my research, most of them mentioned deaf people experienced being marginalized and rejected. 

In the next vlog, I will discuss deaf people’s experience in hearing churches. How do we deal with them if we feel marginalized by them? What is their view of deaf ministry? Then, I explained about deaf acculturation. How does the hearing church influences deaf people? I will discuss more in the next vlog.

Thank you for watching! God bless you, and I love you!