1st
L (F–10) 9-10
Understanding
Role of language and culture - Elaboration 7
- exploring the relationship between language and culture, for example by
analysing language used in pathological and sociocultural models of deafness and
the impact that each philosophy and the language used to express it may have in
regard to services for deaf people
- appreciating the complexity of the relationship between language and culture,
for example by discussing distinctions between Deaf cultures and other cultural
minorities, such as the fact that most deaf people are born to hearing parents
and typically access and experience Deaf culture through communicating with
peers and other Auslan users in and out of school, in addition to their cultural
experience in their families of origin
- recognising the cultural significance of symbols and language features used in
Auslan, for example the use of light and darkness in stories, poetry and
performance, as in gaslight stories
- considering cultural explanations for conversational strategies used by Auslan
signers to avoid conflict and to maintain privacy, such as changing signing
space and style, using indirect language such as signing lower or under the
table, fingerspelling instead of signing overtly, or modifying a sign choice
such as menstruation to suit the context
- understanding that Auslan plays an important role in the expression and
maintenance of Deaf culture, that each deaf person has a right to learn and use
Auslan as part of their birthright and as a key element of their membership of
the Deaf community, and that they become custodians and owners of the language
- appreciating the cultural value and importance of festivals and events in the
Deaf community, such as NWDP, as celebrations of language, history, culture and
identity
- analysing ways in which deaf people interpret and exploit the possibilities
and cultural meanings of sound, for example, in games and stories which
incorporate signs for sound and reactions to sound, for example, a door slamming
- recognising that Auslan signs change over time due to shifting cultural values
and changing experiences, for example, the sign for APPRENTICE modified to refer
to TAFE, the shifting values around the sign DEAF^DEAF (culturally Deaf
reference for deaf-mute), and unsuccessful attempts to reframe this with an
audiological focus
- reflecting on the ways culture is interpreted by others, for example by
identifying how stereotypes about deaf and hearing people influence perceptions
- recognising that cultural beliefs and behaviours are embedded in Auslan, for
example, recounts by deaf people of interactions with hearing people might
include language that reflects beliefs about English and ‘hearing-ness’, for
example, an anecdote about a frustrating interaction might be concluded with
hearing, their way
- reflecting on the labels ‘deaf’ and ‘hearing’, considering what they mean to
different people and their implications in terms of status, access, opportunity
and privilege
- analysing ways in which deaf people’s jokes and humorous narratives reflect
cultural values about deaf/hearing relationships and how deaf people navigate
the world, for example the ‘Bob’s House’ commercial
- exploring how advocacy strategies can reflect deaf people’s cultural practices
and values, for example the ‘TTY-in’ used to advocate for the National Relay
Service