Relationships between Sign Language Variation and dDeaf Identity
Research in the United States has explored the relationships between sign variation and the concepts of pathological deafness, represented by lower-case ''d'' in ''deaf,'' and sociocultural deafness, represented by upper-case ''D'' in ''Deaf.'' Pathological deafness refers to deafness resulting from a hearing loss. Sociocultural Deafness refers to cultural, social, and political claims based on an ethnically Deaf identity in opposition to both a pathological view of deafness and to a hearing identity (e.g., Padden and Markowicz 19757). When one refers to the pathological and cultural forms of deafness simultaneously, such as for a deaf person who is also culturally Deaf, the term ''d/Deaf'' may be used.8
There are three levels of social segmentation, which provide a heuristic framework of social diversity within the United States deaf community (LeMaster 1990). They are the ''deaf community,'' the ''Deaf culture,'' and the ''Deaf ethnicity.'' These three terms identify three, sometimes overlapping, groups of people. The most inclusive grouping is the ''deaf community.'' This group is the broadest, including anyone who has an interest in deaf issues. Therefore, it also includes members of the Deaf culture and Deaf ethnicity, among other people who have an interest in deaf issues. The term ''deaf community'' is taken from Padden's (1980: 92) definition of the American Deaf community and modified to make it even more inclusive:
A deaf community is a group of people who live in a particular location, share the common goals of its members, and in various ways, work toward achieving these goals. A deaf community may include persons who are not themselves Deaf, but who actively support the goals of the community and work with Deaf people to achieve them.
(LeMaster 1990: 23)
A wide range of language use including ASL, versions of signed English, oralism, and other forms of communication linguistically marks the US ''deaf community,'' and its membership may include hearing and d/Deaf people. Members of the deaf community do not necessarily also belong to Deaf culture or have Deaf ethnicity.
The second most inclusive group is the Deaf culture, which includes both deaf and hearing people who follow the behavioral rules of the culture and who consider themselves and are considered by other members to be a member of the cultural group. The Deaf culture includes those who learn to behave in appropriate ways, with the most central members being those who are born into a Deaf ethnicity. Linguistically, both the Deaf culture and the Deaf ethnicity are marked by appropriate uses of ASL. An inability to display ASL in appropriate situations leads to the questioning of one's rightful claim to a Deaf cultural or ethnic identity.9 Those who are culturally Deaf are also members of the deaf community; however, they may or may not be ethnically Deaf.
The third and most exclusive level is Deaf ethnicity. As with all ethnic identities, birthright becomes important. In the case of Deaf ethnic identity, one may lay claim to this identity by birth as a deaf person, or through birth into a Deaf family (as either hearing or deaf themselves) with the use of ASL as a first language (Johnson and Erting 1989; LeMaster 1990).10 It is essential to a US Deaf ethnic identity that ASL is acquired with first-language fluency. Therefore, some hearing people may claim a Deaf ethnic identity, although they are not deaf themselves. These are hearing children born to Deaf parents, who use ASL as their first language and who are known as CODAs, or Children Of Deaf Adults. Many CODAs live in Deaf worlds as though they are deaf themselves, and with time, come to realize what it means socioculturally to have hearing in their world. Those who are ethnically Deaf can also participate as central members of Deaf culture (first by birthright, later by choice), and may participate in the deaf community.
How d/Deaf identity plays out in cultures outside of the United States, and even within microcultures within the United States, is only beginning to be investigated.11 Performing one's identity as a Deaf ethnic identity in a pluralistic United States - a country that emphasizes ethnicity for political, cultural, and financial purposes - can make sense. However, binary distinctions of d/Deaf or Deaf versus hearing, while often used in the United States, may not represent reality. Sometimes what is considered to be a binary ''deaf versus hearing'' issue is really more an issue about language fluency or cultural awareness and fit.12 Moreover, culture and language issues within the United States are more aligned along a continuum than segmentable into two binary units. But precisely because deafness is set in opposition to hearing abilities, this binary opposition is used to describe many Deaf culture and language issues around the world. Yet it is important to recognize that these very same binary distinctions in use outside of the United States may not mean the same thing as they do within the United States (Nakamura 2001; LeMaster 2003). We have to keep in mind that the unique histories, cultures, and social sensibilities of each deaf community shape its own language ideologies, uses of language, and sense of community membership. Each community, therefore, requires locally sensitive analysis.
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