Deaf culture, deaf community
Deaf culture, deaf community

Summary/Abstract: Deaf community is one of the most cohesive, well-structured and active of all communities of adults with disabilities. The deaf community has a strong coherence and a sense of its identity. Members of the deaf community tend to view deafness as a difference between individuals than as a disability. A distinctive view on the deaf community is that is a linguistic or cultural ethnicity, perspective largely accepted by the deaf community. The central element of this ethnicity is the deaf culture, a set of knowledge, experiences, beliefs, a specific language, customs and traditions that are transmitted by sign language. In this paper, the concepts of deaf community, ethnicity and deaf culture are analyzed alongside with their main characteristics. Also, the influence of the rapid advancements in medicine and technology over the structure of deaf communities and modes of communication is taken into account.

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