NIC Deaf Culture 5

Question 1

What is the cultural and political significance of the 1880 International Congress on Education of the Deaf held in Milan?

Accepted Answer

It passed resolutions banning sign language in schools in favor of oral-only instruction, suppressing Deaf culture for nearly a century

Answer

The 1880 Milan Congress, attended mostly by hearing educators, voted to abolish sign language instruction — a decision that damaged Deaf education and cultural transmission for generations.

Question 2

In the context of NIC interpreter ethics, why must interpreters understand Deaf cultural norms around turn-taking in signed conversations?

Accepted Answer

To accurately convey the natural flow and register of signed discourse without imposing hearing conversational structures

Answer

Imposing hearing turn-taking conventions (e.g., verbal overlap cues) on ASL conversations distorts the meaning and naturalness of signed discourse, violating interpreting accuracy standards.

Question 3

How has Deaf culture been shaped by the experience of Deaf individuals in hearing families versus Deaf families?

Accepted Answer

Those from Deaf families (DODA) often acquire ASL natively and have deep cultural immersion, while those from hearing families may discover Deaf culture later through schools and peers

Answer

Because roughly 90% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, residential schools and peer networks become primary sites of cultural acquisition for most Deaf people.

Question 4

What is 'Sim-Com' (simultaneous communication), and how does Deaf culture generally regard it?

Accepted Answer

Attempting to sign and speak English simultaneously; often criticized in Deaf culture as degrading ASL grammar and producing errors in both languages

Answer

Because ASL and English have fundamentally different grammars, Sim-Com typically results in distorted ASL syntax and incomplete spoken English, undermining communication quality in both languages.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the 'Big D' versus 'little d' distinction in Deaf studies?

Accepted Answer

'Big D' Deaf identifies cultural and community membership with shared language and values; 'little d' deaf is audiological — describing hearing loss without implying cultural identity

Answer

The distinction, introduced by James Woodward in 1972, separates audiological deafness (lowercase) from cultural Deafness (uppercase), recognizing that identity is not determined by decibel levels.

(NIC) National Interpreter Certification Practice Test

(NIC) National Interpreter Certification Practice Test

NIC Deaf Culture 5