Start ASL Articles

Category: Deaf Culture

Signing Group with Laptops
Deaf Accessibility
Deaf Friendly During the Holidays

 By Megan Clancy   When Deaf and hard of hearing people attend family functions or interact with friends and family during the holidays, it can become frustrating since group conversations

Deaf Accessibility
Deaf West ‘American Idiot’ Show Review

By Megan Clancy I had the rare opportunity to see Green Day’s American Idiot in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum presented by Deaf West Theatre in collaboration with

Deaf Culture
Deaf Awareness

This month is Deaf Awareness! We are celebrating by sharing a few necessary topics to help you understand the Deaf Community.  In this article, you will learn about different aspects

Deaf Culture
Deaf Culture | Name Signs

Deaf culture consists of many valued traditional aspects that are significant to the Deaf community, and one of them is name sign. Name sign is a sign that is exclusively

Deaf Accessibility
How to be an Ally for the Deaf Community

What does it mean to be an Ally? An Ally, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is defined as to join (yourself) with another person or group to get or give

About ASL
American Sign Language vs Israeli Sign Language

Did you know American Sign Language is not universal? In the article, “Is American Sign Language Universal”, it talked about whether or not American Sign Language is universal, in other

Deaf Accessibility
CODA Wins An Award for Best Cast

This movie CODA made history with its win for the 2022 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards’ top prize of Best Cast and the actor, Troy Kotsur wins an award for

About ASL
Cued Speech

Cued speech is not American Sign Language. Cued speech and ASL are two totally different forms of communication. People who communicate in ASL usually turn off the voice. Also, ASL

About ASL
April 15th is ASL Day!

There are a lot of holidays we celebrate in the United States. Some of them are national holidays while others are religious holidays. Other countries have their holidays which also

About ASL
Associations by, for and of the Deaf

Deaf Associations are businesses and Deaf organizations that provide services for Deaf people so they can be independent and successful, and there are so many. Have you heard that term

About ASL
Do You Speak American Sign Language?

Have you ever been fascinated when people say, “Do you speak sign language?” Sign language isn’t a spoken language, so it does not really make sense to say “speak” as

Deaf Accessibility
Deaf Travel Part 2

Deaf people can do anything except hear. Anything includes traveling. Did you know that there are a lot of Deaf travelers. Most people wonder, “How do Deaf people travel if

About ASL
Deaf Communities Across the World

My fiancé Vlad and I are Deaf. We recently took a trip to Italy and Israel. We visited Milan, Dolomites Mountain, and Venice while in Italy. In Israel, we explored

Deaf Accessibility
Deaflympics 2022

Deaflympics 2022 Deaflympics occurred between May 1 – May 15, 2022. It occurred in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. There were 73 nations who joined Deaflympics and list of medals each

Deaf Accessibility
Deaf People at the Movies

  It is exciting to go to the movies and watch newly released movies; however watching movies in theaters may or may not be a fun experience for D/deaf people.

Deaf Accessibility
DeafNation World Expo in Las Vegas August 2022

Joel Barish hosted the 4th DeafNation World Expo & Conference at the Bally’s Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 1-4, 2022. About 15,000 Deaf people from around

Interpreting Songs for the Deaf

Signing songs for the deaf is a great way for students to learn a LOT of vocabulary and retain that vocabulary for a long time. If you need to interpret

Deaf Culture Values: Art and Literature

The Deaf highly value the literature and art of their culture. Deaf Culture art and literature is how the Deaf share their values with future generations – their values of

ASL Careers
Deaf-Owned Businesses

  Deaf-owned businesses and American Sign Language (ASL) are spreading and becoming widely popular. There are many Deaf-owned business all over the country. Here are some Deaf business that you

The Best Songs in Sign Language

American Sign Language is a very expressive language. Songs in sign language are therefore equally expressive and many times are more expressive than their purely vocal versions. If you’re interested

Deaf Accessibility
Deaf Travel

There are a lot of Deaf people who love to travel. People may wonder how Deaf people communicate with other people in different states/countries, are able to get around, and

Deaf Accessibility
Masks Cause Misinterpretations for Deaf People

Masks protect people from COVID; however, masks became a nightmare for D/deaf people because they had to deal with communicating when people’s faces were half covered. Deaf people rely on

Deaf Accessibility
More Facts about Deaf Culture

I have mentioned several key aspects of the Deaf culture in the articles, “Did You Know the Facts About American Sign Language, Deaf Culture, and Deaf Community?” and “Deaf Culture

Deaf Accessibility
3 Deaf Performers Perform at the 2022 Super Bowl

(Photo credit NAD Facebook post from 2/13/2022, https://www.facebook.com/NAD1880/photos/a.10152795501263810/10159783398858810/)   This was the big moment. The big moment when three famous deaf performers got the spotlight at the 2022 Super Bowl.

Deaf Culture
Deaf People and Music

by Madelynn Willingham | 7 October 2021 For our last research paper of this class, I decided to investigate how the D/deaf experience music. When people experience music, they typically

About ASL
Deaf Relationships and Dating

There are a lot of interracial dating of various ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, and languages. This concept is very similar to dating within the Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing communities.

Deaf Accessibility
Deaf Gain and Benefits

It is known that Deaf/hard of hearing people have one less sense and encounter many hardships and challenges, but there are a lot of positive elements. It is true that

Deaf Accessibility
Deaf Schools Versus Mainstream Schools

There are two different major types of schooling for Deaf people. Deaf schools also known as Deaf institutes are specially for Deaf students only. This means the communication and teaching

ASL Careers
Deaf People Can Do Anything Except Hear

Deaf people are able to function just like normal hearing people. Hearing people graduate from universities with a Bachelor’s degree and some further their education to getting a Masters or

Deaf Culture Do’s and Don’ts

Learning the nuances of Deaf Culture can be difficult for new American Sign Language students. Below you can find some tips and insights about interacting in the Deaf community submitted

Children of a Lesser God

Children of a Lesser God is a 1986 film that, we believe, brought Deaf Culture and the values of deaf people into the public spotlight. If you have never seen

Deaf Culture
Deaf Culture vs. Hearing Culture

There are major differences between the Deaf culture and hearing culture that people may not realize and it is crucial to keep in mind when interacting with Deaf people. One

Deaf Culture
Deaf Community Entertainment, What’s it like?

One of the most popular entertaining activities in the Deaf community is storytelling and expressive poetry. Since American Sign Language (ASL) is very visual, storytelling contains a lot of exaggerated

About ASL
Is American Sign Language Universal?

  Many people ask, “Is American Sign Language (ASL) universal?” Well, the answer is no, it is not universal. American Sign Language is unique and is commonly used within the

Deaf Culture
The Deaf Inclusion in Sports

By Chloe Colvard | 6 January 2021 In recent years there have been big changes in the sports world to try to include all athletes into sports programs. Inclusivity is

Deaf Culture
The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf

by Anonymous | 2 January 2021 The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (CCSD) is an organization, almost 50 years old, that preserves Canadian Deaf culture and art (in text

Deaf Culture Art / Deaf Art

Deaf culture art is a cultural art that reaches both positive and negative ends of the spectrum unlike any other. You can learn so much about the Deaf simply by

Famous Deaf Actors – Bringing ASL to Life

Truly Inspirational There have been several famous deaf actors in the media that have made significant contributions to the deaf community and hearing society. If not for them and their

Deaf Olympics “Deaflympics”

The Deaf Olympics, known as the Deaflympics, are international athletic competitions for the deaf. The Deaflympics started in Paris in 1924 and have had three official names: “International Games for

Through Deaf Eyes

Through Deaf Eyes is the most informational movie about Deaf people. Most hearing people are completely clueless when it comes to Deaf people, the Deaf community, and Deaf culture. This film

Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas was a deaf undercover specialist for the FBI. She was the inspiration for the TV series Sue Thomas: FBEye, an international speaker, author, and founder of Kennels of

Linda Bove – “Linda the Librarian”

Linda Bove was born on November 30, 1945 in Garfield, New Jersey to deaf parents. She majored in library science at Gallaudet University and received her bachelor’s degree in 1968.

Marlee Matlin – Deaf Academy Award Winner

Marlee Matlin was born in Morton Grove, Illinois on August 24th, 1965. After she came down with the German Measles at the age of eighteen months, she lost her hearing

famous deaf people title
Deaf Culture
Famous Deaf People

No Hearing People Here! Deaf people have been more in the spotlight than you know. There are so many famous deaf people and famous hard of hearing people who have

deaf jokes title
Deaf Culture
Over 50 of the Best Deaf Jokes

Here are some of the best deaf jokes we’ve heard over the years: The Motel A deaf couple check into a motel and go to bed early. The wife wakes

Deaf Culture Values: Deafness

One of the most beautiful aspects of Deaf Culture is the value Deaf people put on their own deafness (their hearing loss). This is known throughout the Deaf community as

Deaf Culture Values: Sign Language

American Sign Language is the most highly regarded asset of Deaf Culture. ASL is the natural language of the Deaf, so a strong goal of Deaf advocacy is to preserve

deaf culture title
Deaf Culture
Deaf Culture Essentials

Learning about Deaf Culture is perhaps the most important part of learning ASL. Deaf Culture was first truly recognized in 1965. The idea that Deaf people had a culture of

The Organization of Deaf Society

by Olivia Honeycutt | 25 September 2019 The entire world is a built for Hearing people. Despite having no real connection to one another, no defining features other than those

Sordo

by Rocio Caceres (7/23/2020) Sordo or The Silent War (English title) is a Spanish movie released in 2019 and directed by Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas. Sordo’s genre falls between a few categories like drama, western, thriller,

Law and the Deaf

By Janet Alberts | 16 November 2020 Every Deaf and hard of hearing individual has the right to communication access. These rights, as well as other laws are protected by

Poetry in the Deaf Community

by Emma Pellegrini | 16 November 2020 It is often noted, and quite strongly from a multitude of personal experiences, that words have power. A power that is stronger than

learn sign language - Start ASL Free ASL 1 Course

Take ASL 1 For Free!

Sign up today! Start learning American Sign Language with our Free Online ASL 1 Course. No credit card required.