Essay Example: Comparisons Between Deaf Culture and African American Culture

Culture is the belief among society members and a system of shared behavior. Every different culture is a problematic system that comprises norms, beliefs, values, expectations, and assumptions that impact all thoughts, people, and actions in a culture. It also offers a context within which individuals perceive the domain around them, understand events, and respond to their observed authenticity. Hence culture is shared adapted, learned, and dynamic, and this is accurate for all distinct cultures all over the world. Every culture is described by five hallmarks, which consist: heritage, customs, language, family, and arts. Deaf culture meets the principles of the meaning of culture; thus, it similar to any other culture in the world. If a person compares African American culture to Deaf Culture, it is clear that Deaf Culture is a legitimate cultural group. The Deaf culture legitimacy proves itself by comparing aspects like arts, language, and social organization.

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Art

Art is one of the essential cultural aspects. Through this method of expression, a person can intensely realize how culture has an emotional impact on the individual who made the piece of art. How culture affects a person's thoughts, behavior, and event perception dramatically influences the end product of artwork. Creativity within the deaf culture is typically used to communicate the deaf culture values. The art of the deaf express's oppression, empowerment, and affirmation themes established upon their experiences as deaf persons.

In most cases, deaf art articulates a great sense of support and pride for the deaf culture and community. Deaf artists use their talents to gain respect and acceptance for the deaf society in efforts to inspire the hearing people in the world to agree to take the culture of the deaf to be real. Also, deaf people find pride to be the most significant aspect of their art, and they believe it is essential to do everything to show the hearing world they take part in the high culture that is similar to hearing lifestyles. The De' VIA movement, which started in 1989, focused on increasing the importance of deaf artists and arts (Hill, 2017). The campaign proved deaf artists are capable of producing quality art pieces expressing the aspects of deaf culture and experience.

In this case, their skills and culture in their learning influence the African American culture, deaf culture. During slavery, African Americans were artists where they were brought from their native nations to America, bringing their skills of artistic with them. The skills included wood carving, clay vessels, metalworking, basket weaving as well as hand-sewn quilts. Through the rise of the jazz age, post-war years, industry, Harlem Renaissance, and the modern civil rights movement reflect the political and social change of artwork pieces. The artwork of the deaf expresses cultural aspects that have influenced the people they have grown to become in their lives. Therefore, African American culture is a vital aspect that makes both cultural groups.

Language

Language is another aspect of culture. The style allows different culture members as well as individuals of the same ethos to communicate to share their ideas with beliefs with each other. When it comes to improving designs and a cultural group into present associates as well as future members that may not even be alive, yet communication is an essential aspect. In America, American Sign Language is a primary communication method within the deaf community. Sign language is a communication system using visual signs and gestures. Also, sign language is similar to other cultural groups as the sign visual representation consists of structure and grammar, allowing effective communication for the deaf with the hearing people as well as other deaf people (Bergey & Gannon2016). In Canada and America, deaf people speak American Sign Language while in other nations, deaf persons converse using different sign language variations, making it not universal language; thus, sign style varies depending on specific countries.

On the other hand, African American culture, similar to deaf culture, assists persons to talk with each other to share their concepts and continue their learning onto those around them and themselves. Parts of African American culture mostly use communication using Ebonics (Rickford, n.d.). Ebonics is described as the American Black English viewed as a language in its own factual rather than as a dialect English standard. Scholars consider that Ebonics has advanced from contacts between varieties of African Languages and Colonial English, but there is an ongoing debate about its exact background. However, despite its origins, the Ebonics Africans roots are emphasized by linguists and show the significant role that language plays in its African American history and culture to shape the style. Ebonics is vital in the lives of African Americans, which they are proud of their cultural language.

Paul Laurence Dunbar and Zora Neale Hurston are black writers who extensively in their work used Ebonics, and their pride of style shines through people. However, some individuals deny Ebonics to be real language similar to sign language, where both of them are legitimate languages. Also, some African Americans and white people see Ebonics as a language that signals sophistication and limited education, reflecting on slavery times where African Americans were uneducated. Through the use of these languages, both African American and deaf cultures will pass on the various generations in the future.

Social Organizations

Social organizations are the third crucial component that describes a legitimate culture. In Deaf culture, there are groups of different organizations that support persons cross through deaf individual life. These organizations strengthen the bond and pride as well as creating a sense of community among the deaf. The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is the state's leading constitutional rights organization for deaf and hard-of-hearing people in the United States of America (Leigh, Andrews & Harris, 2016). The NAD trusts that it is vital for Deaf people to get together to communicate and try to generate solutions to problems between the Deaf community.

The NAD aims to promote all Deaf culture aspects, including conversing through inclusion into the hearing world and ASL. Also, the organizations assist the deaf person's congregation and help them create healthy communities for the deaf. NAD aid to reinforce the sense of society among the deaf as well as to demonstrate that Deaf Culture is a legitimate culture in which individuals participate fully and surround their lives. There are social organizations for the African American culture that help in influencing a genuine lifestyle.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) encourages and defends African American culture. NAACP is an organization that makes sure the equality of the educational, political, economic, and social rights of all individuals and to eradicate discrimination based on race. Throughout the United States, the NAACP has more than half-million associates, and they advocate for equal rights between African American societies (Leigh, Andrews & Harris, 2016). Social Organizations such as the NAACP aid to look after the African American cultural values and ensuring fair treatment of the members. The NAACP gather composed seminars to communicate about the concerns near the African American communities. These gatherings suggest a sense of pride and community among the community members who build up the dignity of African American culture. By comparing the African American Culture and social organizations of deaf culture, it is evident a deaf culture is a cultural group.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, by comparing African American culture to deaf culture, it is evident that a deaf culture is a cultural group. Deaf culture is vital as it allows a person to live uniquely and accept themselves. The Deaf culture members have different hearing levels that range from slightly hard of hearing to profoundly deaf. The various aspects of both cultures were similar in many ways making it quite vibrant that Deaf Culture, just like African American culture, there is no doubt about the legitimate cultural group. Comparing the art, language, and social organizations of African American and Deaf culture delivered great sign that Deaf culture is, in fact, a cultural group. The current method of communication is sign language with American Sign Language deliberated as a fully efficient language meeting all conditions of an actual expression; but, there are also other sign languages in the globe. Deaf art cultivates an influential voice, which is an essential portion of evolving a distinct culture. Deaf art builds up connections, reveals cultural space, and aids the deaf to acquire a sense of belonging. Deaf individuals can all connect on a personal level and an individual.

References

Bergey, J. L., & Gannon, J. R. (2016). Deaf history goes public. Sign Language Studies, 17(1), 117-121.

Hill, J. C. (2017). Deaf Culture: Exploring Deaf Communities in the United States.

Leigh, I. W., Andrews, J. F., & Harris, R. (2016). Deaf culture: Exploring deaf communities in the United States. Plural Publishing.

Rickford, J. R. (n.d.). What is Ebonics (African American English)? Retrieved from https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-ebonics-african-american-english