Page 56 - Reading Between the Sign Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters

Selected Topics in Intercultural Communication 41

ship because a certain attribute sets them apart. A hearing child
growing up in a Deaf family, for example, may be fluent in ASL
and the ways of Deaf culture, have many friends and relatives
who are Deaf, and feel included in many Deaf activities. If he tries
out for the local deaf boys’ baseball team, however, he will be
turned down.
Because identification with the group is of paramount impor-
tance, the worst punishment that can be meted out is ostracism
from the group. An example is the story of a Zia Indian painter
who in the 1920s
was accused by his tribe of providing drawings of the
sacred sun symbol of his Puebloan people to officials of
the State of New Mexico, who subsequently adapted it
as their…logo. [His] behavior was considered so outra-
geously individualistic…that he was cast out by his
people…and he never again won reacceptance by his
tribe…. His fundamental “crime” was that he acted out
of personal conviction. (Highwater 195)

In collectivist cultures people identify with few groups, but
those attachments become a highly defining feature of their iden-
tity and are long-term if not permanent. One’s status in such socie-
ties depends on one’s connection to others through family, birth-
place, friends, and the individuals and groups one associates with.
In China, for example, the concept of self includes one’s family.
Therefore, anything that happens to the family or to anyone within
it happens to every member of the family. Collectivists place a
high value on group harmony and face-saving, so cooperation is
encouraged and confrontation avoided. In Japan a primary goal is
to understand and share the attitudes of others.
Another illustration of collectivism is the preference of mem-
bers of such a culture to engage in many activities together, rather
than to go off alone. The Israeli custom of all the workers at a job
site taking their coffee break at the same time can be viewed by
Americans as an inefficient waste of time. However, as an Israeli
secretary explained to an impatient American, in this situation
efficiency is not the priority. “They’d never agree to go on their
break in shifts. What’s the point of having a break if you can’t sit
around and talk to friends?” (Shahar and Kurz 1995, 102). As col-
lectivists, Deaf people feel strong ties to the Deaf community.
“Most…work at regular non-Deaf jobs, but spend virtually all their

03 MINDESS PMKR 41 10/18/04, 11:22 AM