Deaf Culture & Libraries
| home |
| introduction |
| site map |
| Deaf Culture |
| deaf/Deaf |
| ASL |
| technology |
| Deaf Arts |
| libraries |
| links |
| sources |
Deaf culture ° deaf/Deaf ° ASL ° technology ° arts
On
this
website and in much information about Deaf Culture, you may see both
"Deaf" and "deaf," often referred to as the "big D little d"
distinction. These two words actually refer to different
ideas:
It is important to understand this distinction, and to remember that the needs, identity, and preferences of a "Deaf" person may differ from those of a "deaf" person.
- Small “d” deaf refers to the physical condition of deafness, a person who is wholly or partially unable to hear, ranging from the profoundly deaf to those who identify as hard of hearing8. In some cases it might be used to refer only to those who hearing is classified as severe to profound.9 People sometimes also use the term 'deafened' or 'late-deafened' to indicate a person who has lost their hearing later in life.
- Big “D” Deaf refers to a person who sees Deafness as a positive and cultural identity rather than a disability, values the use of ASL or their own local sign language, and participates in Deaf Culture10. Big "D" Deaf can be used by people who range from profoundly Deaf to Hard of Hearing, and according to Carol Padden it translates more accurately as "we" or "us" (Deaf people) and only secondarily refers to hearing loss. 11
- d/Deaf or D/deaf can be used to include both sets of people - those who have hearing loss but are not part of Deaf culture, as well as those who do identify with Deaf culture.
It is important to understand this distinction, and to remember that the needs, identity, and preferences of a "Deaf" person may differ from those of a "deaf" person.