NIC Deaf Culture 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Deaf culture, what is the significance of maintaining eye contact during a signed conversation?
- It is considered rude and should be avoided
- It signals attentiveness and respect, as vision is the primary communication channel (Correct answer)
- It is only required when speaking with Deaf elders
- It replaces the need for any physical greeting
Correct answer: It signals attentiveness and respect, as vision is the primary communication channel
Eye contact is essential in Deaf culture because ASL is a visual-spatial language and averting your gaze is equivalent to covering your ears or walking away mid-conversation.
Question 2: What does the term 'audism' refer to in the context of Deaf culture?
- A hearing condition causing partial deafness
- The belief that hearing people are superior to Deaf people (Correct answer)
- A style of ASL used in academic settings
- A policy that promotes bilingual education for Deaf students
Correct answer: The belief that hearing people are superior to Deaf people
Audism, coined by Tom Humphries, describes the prejudice or discrimination against Deaf people based on the assumption that hearing ability equals superiority.
Question 3: How do many Deaf people typically view cochlear implants for prelingually deaf children?
- As a universally welcomed cure that ends disability
- With concern that implantation may deprive children of Deaf cultural identity and ASL acquisition (Correct answer)
- As a technology only relevant to late-deafened adults
- As a procedure endorsed by the National Association of the Deaf without reservation
Correct answer: With concern that implantation may deprive children of Deaf cultural identity and ASL acquisition
Many in the Deaf community view cochlear implants on young children as a cultural and linguistic threat, fearing children may miss critical periods for natural sign language acquisition and community belonging.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'Deaf gain' as articulated by Dirksen Bauman and Joseph Murray?
- Financial compensation Deaf individuals receive for workplace accommodation
- The idea that Deaf people have gained unique cognitive, creative, and cultural advantages from their Deafness (Correct answer)
- A hearing aid amplification setting used in educational environments
- The numerical increase in Deaf population over the past century
Correct answer: The idea that Deaf people have gained unique cognitive, creative, and cultural advantages from their Deafness
'Deaf gain' reframes deafness as a form of human diversity that has contributed unique perspectives in visual cognition, art, and community — inverting the deficit model.
Question 5: In Deaf social gatherings, what is the culturally appropriate way to get someone's attention from across the room?
- Call out their name loudly
- Wave your hand or flash the lights (Correct answer)
- Tap a hearing person nearby and ask them to relay the message
- Remain seated and wait for them to notice you
Correct answer: Wave your hand or flash the lights
Waving or flashing lights are standard Deaf cultural norms for gaining attention at a distance, as auditory calls are not effective or relevant.
Question 6: What role did Gallaudet University play in the cultural history of Deaf Americans?
- It was the first school to ban ASL in favor of oral-only instruction
- It became the world's only liberal arts university for Deaf and hard of hearing students, serving as a cultural and intellectual hub (Correct answer)
- It was established primarily to train hearing interpreters
- It merged with a hearing university in 1988 and lost its Deaf-centered identity
Correct answer: It became the world's only liberal arts university for Deaf and hard of hearing students, serving as a cultural and intellectual hub
Founded in 1864 and chartered by Abraham Lincoln, Gallaudet has been the heart of Deaf cultural, academic, and political life in the United States.
Question 7: What is the cultural significance of storytelling and narrative in ASL within the Deaf community?
- It is discouraged in formal Deaf education because it distracts from literacy
- It is a central art form that transmits cultural values, history, and humor across generations (Correct answer)
- It is only practiced by older Deaf signers and is considered outdated
- It serves purely as entertainment with no cultural preservation function
Correct answer: It is a central art form that transmits cultural values, history, and humor across generations
ASL storytelling — including ABC stories, number stories, classifier narratives, and folklore — is a core artistic and cultural transmission vehicle in the Deaf community.
NIC Deaf Culture 2
In Deaf culture, what is the significance of maintaining eye contact during a signed conversation?