2nd L (F–10) 9-10
Understanding
Role of language and culture - Elaboration 7
- analysing language used in pathological and sociocultural models of
deafness, and the impact that each model, the philosophy that frames it 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 stories featuring gaslight
- 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, or fingerspelling instead of signing overtly
- understanding that Auslan plays an important role in the expression and
maintenance of Deaf culture, that each deaf person has the right to learn and
use Auslan as part of their birthright, along with 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
- understanding that sign language literatures recount significant journeys and
events associated with the beginnings of Deaf education and the development of
Deaf communities, and that they embody history and values of Deaf culture, for
example, the Gallaudet and Clerc meeting or US Civil War stories that validate
and reference shared Deaf identity, culture, language and experience
- recognising that Auslan signs change over time due to shifting cultural values
and experiences, for example, the modification of the sign for APPRENTICE to
refer to TAFE, and shifting values around the sign DEAF^DEAF as the sign for
DEAF (culturally Deaf reference for deaf-mute) and unsuccessful attempts to
reframe this with an audiological focus