Page 128 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

American Deaf Culture 113

Jewish stories in which a rabbi outwits a priest and a minister, or
American Indian jokes in which a Native American bests a white
man, Deaf people also enjoy stories in which they turn the tables
on ignorant or mocking hearing people, who end up looking silly
or stupid. Bienvenu has written, “When you analyze minority
cultures,…[you] realize that they all incorporate fighting back into
their humor. It is a common response to the frustration in our
lives, for in humor, the storyteller determines who will ‘win’”
(Bienvenu 1989).
Because of lack of communication and differing values, many
Deaf people may not identify strongly with their family of origin.
Folktales of Deaf people’s experiences throughout the ages, how-
ever, supply a family of ancestors that one can rely on for inspira-
tion, a feeling of connection, or a good chuckle.
In recent years a new form of Deaf cultural expression has
evolved—ASL poetry. Such artists as Dorothy Miles, Clayton Valli,
and Ella Mae Lentz have created pieces that paint vivid pictures
with ASL’s rich capacity for visual expression. Conventions from
spoken/written poetry are easily adapted into a visual vernacular.
Rhyme, for instance, is deftly portrayed using similar handshapes,
rhythm, or movement paths in place of similar sounds. American
Sign Language poetry, by virtue of its visual mode, can achieve
effects impossible in a linear language form, such as portraying
two images simultaneously and exploring their relationship to each
other as they meld and transform. Themes in ASL poetry run the
gamut from the ever-present struggle between the oral and manual
methods of instruction in deaf education to exquisite depictions
of the natural world as seen by Deaf eyes.

Collectivist Values

Loyalty to the Group
Insider/outsider distinctions, as mentioned earlier, are crucial in
determining the behavior of Deaf people. Always conscious of
their minority status, Deaf people feel it is incumbent upon them,
for the survival of the group, to take “the Deaf side.” A puzzle I
have heard posed several times to assess a Deaf person’s attitude
goes like this: Suppose you were on an interviewing panel and
had to decide which applicant to pick for a job. If there were two
candidates with equal skills and experience except that one was

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