Page 127 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

112 Reading Between the Signs

noted Deaf educator M. J. Bienvenu in a videotaped collection
goes like this: A hearing man happens to acquire $100,000. Wor-
ried about its safety, he waits until nightfall, then he buries the
money in his backyard. When he goes to check on his booty in
the morning, he finds the money gone and footprints leading to
his deaf neighbor’s house. Incensed, he grabs his gun and storms
over to his neighbor, bringing along an interpreter. After the man
threatens to shoot his neighbor if he doesn’t reveal what he did
with the money, the Deaf man calmly explains in sign language
that he put the money in an even safer place, under the elm tree
in his own backyard. “So, what did he say?” asks the hearing
man. Shrugging, the interpreter replies, “Sorry, he won’t talk.”
This joke clearly reflects Deaf people’s fears regarding the
unreliability of interpreters and their anger against those who take
advantage of the knowledge gained in interpreting situations
(Carmel 1981).
Other well-known jokes like “Please BUT,” “The Hitchhiker,”
and “The Motel Joke” express such themes as deaf people’s
struggles with English, a hearing person trying to pass as deaf and
getting in trouble, and a clever deaf person overcoming obstacles.
Clearly, Deaf humor relieves the tension of the daily challenges
faced by the Deaf minority, just as African American humor and
Jewish humor help those groups cope with the difficulties encoun-
tered in a white Christian society. Although these jokes have been
told thousands of times, Deaf people seem to enjoy their repeti-
tion, since the struggles they illuminate are ongoing.
Tales of the old days often focus on ingenious ways deaf people
solved practical problems before such modern conveniences as
visual alarm clocks or visual doorbells were commonplace. Can-
nonballs, wooden planks, and pillows were cleverly rigged to fall
and wake the Deaf person so he or she could be on time for work.
In one well-known story, the sound of a heavy iron crashing down
on a wooden plank was so resounding that the entire hearing
population of a small town overslept the week the Deaf man went
on vacation. Legends include stories of Deaf people in bygone
eras such as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. These two genres
give Deaf people connections with their forebears, only in this
case a common language and culture are thicker than blood. Other
oft-shared stories recount embarrassing situations faced by deaf
people in the hearing world, such as an elevator whose doors
opened in the back unnoticed by a panicking deaf woman. Like

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