Deaf Glossary

Deaf

American Sign Language (ASL) a native sign language used by the deaf in North America.

BIBI bilingual-bicultural..

CC closed-captioned or closed-captioning; subtitle-like captioning on television.

CODA Hearing children of deaf parents.

BSL British Sign Language, used in the United Kingdom. This differs from ASL, particularly in that the fingerspelling is done with both hands

Clerc Laurent

Deaf refers to a particular group of deaf people who share a native sign language and a culture, who hold a set of beliefs, and who involve in the Deaf Communities.

Deaf Culture

Deaf community

deaf a general term and an audiological condiiton of not hearing.

deaf-blind (Also deaf/blind and deafblind.) Having some hearing loss and some sight loss. Very few deafblind people are both profoundly deaf and totally blind.

Deafie(s) Slang a deaf person(s).

deafie(s) Slang a Deaf person(s).

fingerspelling

GA: an abbreviation for "Go Ahead" used on TTYs.

Gestuno: an international sign language, usually used at international deaf conferences/conventions.

Hands-On Signing This is used by some culturally Deaf deaf-blind people. It is an adaption of signing in that the receiver remains in physical contact with the signer, so they can feel the handshapes and movement of the signer's hands, and feel the fingerspelling.

Hard of Hearing

hard of hearing

Hearie(s) Slang a hearing person(s).

hearie(s) Slang a hearing person(s).

hearing a general term of hearing person/people.

Hearing refers to hearing person/people.

hearing impaired a politically corrected name termed by the hearing.

ISL The Sign Language used in Eire, i.e Southern Ireland.

Langue des Signes Québecois (LSQ)Sign language in French in Quebec, Canada.

Minitel TTY is to North America as Minitel is to France. Minitel is a telecommunication device for the deaf in France.

native sign language natural sign language developed by the deaf people in their own county.

natural sign language native sign language developed by the deaf people in their own country.

postlingually deaf

prelingually deaf

PSE (Pidgin Sign English mixed ASL and English signs

relay center message relayed between a deaf person using TTY and hearing person on the phone through the operator.

Rochester Method a method of simultaneous use of speech and fingerspelling only (no signs) in education;

SEE Seeing Essential English, Signing Exact English;

Sign English

Sign Language A visual, gestural language used by Deaf people, which uses the hands, arms, upper body, head and face to convey meaning. It differs from spoken and written languages in that it uses three dimensions to express relationships, and so it has a completely different grammatical structure to a spoken language. Simultenaity in the language allows a signer to use two signs at the same time, which would be impossible in a written or spoken language.

Simultenaity When signing, a person can form one sign with one hand, and another sign with the other hand at the same time, to make one whole sign which combines the meaning of both. An example from BSL would be "Born Deaf", which actually uses half of the symmetrical sign "born" and the sign "Deaf" at the same time.

SK: an abbreviation for "Stop Keying" on TTYs to end conversations; like "bye"

TT: text telephone

TDD a modern term for Telephone Device for the Deaf; a telephone device for the deaf.

TTY a traditional term for telecommunication device for the deaf (Teletype).

Total Communication

Usher Syndrome An inherited cause of deaf-blindness, this is deafness combined with Retinitis Pigmentosa. Retinitis Pigmentosa is a problem with the retina (at the back of the eye) wich can result in tunnel vision and difficulty seeing in dim light.

Visual Frame SigningFor some deaf-blind people, Eg, those with Usher Syndrome it is necessary to confine one's signing to a small space. This is because they may have "tunnel vision."

If you have any suggestion, addition, or better definition, please email jolanta@deafworldweb.org

With a leading upper-case 'D', Deaf denotes the community (which may include some Hearing as well). With a leading lower-case 'd', deaf denotes the medical pathology of profound hearing loss.

Hearing

The analogue to Deaf. With a leading upper-case 'H' Hearing denotes the community. With a lower-case 'h' hearing denotes the ability to acquire sounds.

Hard of hearing

(HOH) Persons with some remaining ability to acquire sounds who do not use a signed language, typically because they are late-deafened adults.

Oralism

An aggressive, imperialistic school of thought that holds that Deafness is a condition to be treated, rather than a culture to be savored. (My personal bias may have shown through. :-)

Sign{ed} language

Any of a number of methods of communication that depend upon hand, arm, and facial gestures. These languages have a complete grammar that allows description of things past, emotions, etc.

Speech-reading

The practice of getting meaning from a person's lip movements; also known as lip-reading. Used mostly by the late-deafened hard-of-hearing, who have a lifetime of contextual hearing understanding of the language being spoken.

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