STEREOTYPE OF A HEARING PERSON IN SIGN LANGUAGES
Thank you, let me start. My topic is Stereotype of a hearing person in CzSL.
In the morning, Ms Va?ková also discussed the topic of stereotypes.
She mentioned e.g. CzSL signs for the Roma, gypsy.
I'll now discuss stereotypes from the perspective of the Deaf.
First, I want to show you how stereotypes are used in CzSL.
My research is in its beginning stages, I chose stereotypes as my thesis topic.
I only used a small sample but I want to share my findings with you.
Stereotypes linked to a hearing person:
It means that our Deaf community, when in contact with the hearing,
perceive them from a different perspective.
We live together in the same place, we perceive each other in a certain way,
we have certain concepts in mind,
and we use stereotypical designations about each other.
These designations can be negative.
Those are much more numerous than the positive ones.
We'll talk about it later. There are also positive designations.
At the picture, we can imagine what this stereotype of a hearing person means.
It means I perceive the hearing according to their appearance,
what they look like, what they wear, how they behave, what they are like.
And also according to their personality, how I feel about them in general.
I was thinking how to divide my results into categories.
I decided to use categories according to the psychologist Pr?cha.
And I chose three of his terms for my main categories
that are well suited to the stereotype of a hearing person in CzSL.
There are different kinds of stereotypes.
If we have sample material, we can either focus on the group's culture,
on their language or on typical personality traits of these people.
Storytelling is a significant tradition typical for the Deaf culture.
It represented a rich source of material I used for my research.
Through storytelling, the Deaf explain very well
what they think about the hearing.
The typical example is: The Deaf say about the hearing
that they just sputter and speak all the time.
The stereotype is that of the "sputtering people".
That's how we really perceive it.
When I want to communicate with a hearing person,
the hearing person is trying to articulate as much as possible.
That's exactly the stereotype. I put her/him into my group (a).
That's the one who's sputtering at me, the hearing person.
I was thinking where to get the material for my research.
Because sign languages do not have any written form.
So I don't have this advantage of spoken languages.
I can't use phraseology, we don't have any terminology in dictionaries.
There are only few sign language dictionaries.
Therefore, I had to use different material available to me.
I filmed the Deaf and used their intuitive self-reflection.
I analyzed the videos and drew my conclusions from the analysis.
Looking at the slide, one category by the psychologist Pr?cha
could be a "projected stereotype", it's called projected autostereotype.
I'm looking into how our Deaf community thinks the hearing perceive us.
I'll give you an example.
We think that the hearing think we are dumb, that we can't do anything.
That we are primitive.
That we are complaining all the time, we are stupid and have no language.
That's what we think they think about us.
And vice versa. That's the second example in this group.
What we think about the hearing.
We think they have power over us, they try to manipulate us.
They want to sell us hearing aids, interpret for us, thus make a profit.
I'll now focus on the second point, a simple heterostereotype.
It's the approach of the Deaf community towards the majority hearing society.
That's what we think about the hearing.
E.g. the Deaf think the hearing are those esteemed, clever people
who know everything, fix everything, who know how to deal with everything.
They are like gods for us. We trust them and we admire them.
Or they are those normal ones, compared to us, the Deaf.
The third point is a projected heterostereotype.
It means we, the Deaf, think the hearing take advantage of us.
We think they judge us, they think something about us.
We, the Deaf, think the hearing perceive themselves
as people who can deal with anything.
I'll give you an example.
We think the hearing boast they do their best for the Deaf,
They say: "We help the Deaf, we want the best for them."
"Thanks to us, they can realize their potential."
That's what we think they think about themselves.
And we think the hearing are sure it's perfectly fine what they're doing.
They don't realize it's not always fine. They never ask us whether it is or not.
I took these 3 categories and researched further the stereotype of the hearing.
Cognitive linguistics can look at the stereotype from 2 perspectives.
The first perspective is the ethnic and physical characteristics.
And the second perspective considers the people's jobs.
The Deaf share the same experience.
Because they encounter the same barriers and share the same language: CzSL
in the Czech Republic, they have the same life experiences.
The Deaf have different experiences than the hearing.
This appears then in their communication, in storytelling etc.
Let's analyze this material.
We discover stereotypes are present in CzSL.
The sign language may seem like a primitive language.
Signing may not seem a proper language, compared to spoken languages.
It may then seem a signing person is not a proper person.
That's how we think the hearing majority perceives us.
It is linked to the fact that people use either a spoken or a sign language.
The hearing think "Oh, poor Deaf" because they cannot speak.
That's why the Deaf are of lower quality and value than the hearing.
We have to bear in mind what the basis for categorizing stereotypes is.
We can say there are stereotypes of the hearing linked to their jobs.
The Deaf usually meet the hearing in the role of an interpreter,
or a hearing doctor, a speech therapist, a teacher etc.
We then create stereotypes based on these experiences.
They mostly tell us what to do and what we shouldn't do.
Based on this experience we create a stereotype.
Later, when we meet another hearing person,
this stereotype subconsciously appears in our head.
And we suppose this person will behave the same way
as all the hearing people we have met before.
Of course there are also hearing people who try really hard
and we appreciate their efforts.
But they expect us to praise them, to thank for their help automatically.
But very often, we can manage things ourselves and we don't need the help.
Although they think we need it.
Again, it's a stereotype of how they perceive us, what we think they think.
I'll say it one more time, just to be sure.
We often use figurative expressions: you are like a hearing person,
you behave like a hearing person, your Czech is so good.
We say that to well-educated Deaf who are trying to lecture us.
We don't say: "You are one of us, you are Deaf, you understand us." No.
You are rather like one of the hearing. You lecture us, you tell us what to do.
And that's why we consider this Deaf person rather a hearing person.
We put on her/him this stereotypical label of a hearing although s/he's Deaf.
All I've just said is closely linked to the culture.
Now we'll discuss stereotypes in language.
What are the examples of signs for the hearing?
There are neutral signs for the hearing in CzSL.
This is the neutral sign, just next to the ear: a hearing person.
This is the unmarked sign form used in the whole of the Czech Republic.
It is a fixed sign form.
There are also other signs for the hearing.
Different signs are used in different regions.
These signs are no longer neutral, they are marked.
The sign form becomes marked by modifying one of its parameters.
I can modify the movement, the place of articulation or the handshape.
I'll show you an example.
I can modify the handshape in the sign for the hearing - like this.
This new sign is marked in a negative way.
The facial expression, handshape and faster movement I use
show how this stereotype of the hearing is present in my mind.
In my research, I found out the Deaf often use this sign for the hearing.
It means those hearing, those far away, those who aren't part of my community.
I'll use the handshape "5".
It means I'm putting them away from me, it's them, those hearing.
The sign is articulated away from my body, I don't identify with them.
You can see there the "own-foreign" opposition.
In my research I focused on the modification of the sign.
Consider this sign for the hearing.
The sign is articulated near the head, the ear, so it is linked to hearing.
The movement shows how the sound is going towards the ear and into it.
This is the handshape. I was wondering why we use a "D" shape for the hearing.
And why the sign for the Deaf is similar but with 2 fingers, so a "P" handshape.
And why the sign for the blind has the same handshape as one for the Deaf.
It's very interesting.
This handshape that differs from the one in the sign for the hearing
is often seen in signs with negative connotations.
For example, the sign for a plaster has the same handshape.
And a plaster is used to cover a wound, something that hurts.
The same handshape is used in the sign for the blind.
Again, it refers to something that doesn't work, is broken.
So we can say that this handshape has negative connotations.
Facial expressions and non-manual markers are of great importance.
How much time do I have left? Thank you.
I've been talking about stereotypes in language.
And now I'd like to point out that stereotypes are very popular in jokes.
Jokes made among the Deaf.
This proves stereotypes are indeed present in CzSL.
I chose one joke with this stereotype of a hearing person.
It is in CzSL and I have it on a video.
But we don't have much time left so I'll only summarize it.
The main idea is the Deaf mock the hearing.
There are three people on a train, it is a long journey.
There is a Russian, he takes out of his bag a bottle of vodka,
he drinks some and when he's done, he throws the bottle out of the window.
The other two ask: "Why did you do that? It's such a waste..."
He says: "Don't worry, we have so much vodka in Russia, 1 bottle is nothing."
The second passenger is from Cuba.
He takes out a luxurious Cuban cigar, he smokes some of it
and when he's done, he throws the rest of it out of the window.
The other two say: "It's such a waste, you could have given us some of it."
He says: "Don't worry, we have so many cigars in Cuba
If I throw out just 1 of them, nothing happens."
The third passenger is a Deaf person.
He watches the other 2 throwing things out of the window, wondering what to do.
He grabs a hearing passer-by and throws him out of the window.
The other 2: "Why on earth did you do that?"
"With so many hearing people globally, nothing happens if there's one fewer."
We can see the stereotype here.
I'll get back to it.
The Deaf person said: With so many hearing people, he can throw one out.
That's exactly the stereotype, how the Deaf perceive the hearing.
How we perceive the majority society.
We have the impression they abuse us, despise us, think we are dumb.
By this joke we want to show them that we are not afraid of them.
If there are fewer of them, we don't really mind.
This is the stereotypical view of the hearing in CzSL.
I have an impression this stereotype slightly differs from the one
mentioned by Ms Va?ková in the morning.
Because e.g. gypsies are perceived differently in each country.
But if you take into account the Deaf and the hearing,
they have similar experience all over the world.
The Deaf keep in touch, live together and cooperate.
That's why the stereotype is slightly different.