#deafie talks

[inmirova]

In an ideal world, it would be a program for Deaf teachers, the government could even put it under vocational rehab if they wanted to! Unfortunately, even some Deaf schools don't employ many Deaf teachers and a lot of teaching jobs end up going to interpreters or just hearing & non-signing people instead. But you're right and I love what you said, we can hope 🩷

idk man. i just think itd be really cool if sign language classes were mandatory throughout primary school. yeah because it would make communication with deaf kids and autistic/nonverbal kids much easier. and those kids would be accessible to the others so they cold make friends and have healthy relationships. yeah. and kids would eat that shit up man. like their own little secret language? they love that.

[catfindr]

ive talked several times on here that u shouldnt be naming animals using slurs but another thing id like to add to that is that its really fuckin weird to name ur animals something like 'deafy'

real ass name i saw while scrolling through petfinder and just

why.

[bodhrancomedy]

Hey, hey, listen, listen. 

If I did a list of classic novels turned into musicals and rated them with worst and best song would anyone watch that? 

Because I’ve just discovered the hysterically bad Wildhorne Dracula musical and I just need to talk about it and compare it to the much better musical version of Frankenstein. 

It’s Deaf Awareness Week, let this autistic queer Deafie rant to you about musicals and my musical dreams. 

[justyouraveragechipnolastname]

Huh,

I think my og likes musicals! Maybe wisp likes that Will Wood guy?

That sounds like a lot of songs! Your og must really like music 0:

Wow, ratmouse has really bad taste in music. So do I, though, so I can't judge.

[carmillas-girlfriend]

Does anyone give a fuck about my Gentlebeard Deaf AU?

Stede and Ed meet when they're the only two people who show up at a local Deaf Coffee. Ed thinks Stede is a skilled signer (for being Hearing and not even CODA or SODA) but tells him that it's better to look in a person's eyes when signing instead of at their hands. Stede corrects and looks at Ed's eyes and face for the remainder of the conversation and Ed is completely in love with those fucking Hazels for the rest of the afternoon.

They keep meeting at Deaf Coffees and Ed guest speaks at some of Stedes terp classes and discusses Deaf culture with the rest of the class but keeps stealing looks at the hazel eyed guy.

Stede volunteers to terp and set up at Signing Santa in the winter (Fang is Santa lol) and sees that Ed is this year's storyteller (!!!!!!) Ed is so good with the kids!! And tells the funniest story!! Ed is talking after with his friends and Stede and Ed has always been a Voice-Off Deafie the entire time Stede has known him but Ed laughs for the first time in front of Stede and Stede just melts. He's totally smitten with him now.

Ed has a serious case of Deaf Bluntness and when he finally gets the guts to ask he signs to Stede "YOU GAY YOU?" And Stede is so tight chested like holy shit this is happening and he signs, "YES." And Ed just goes, "OKAY. YOU-ME DATE?" And Stede malfunctions but collects himself to sign "YES." And Ed is playing it cool so he says, "TRUE BIZ."

But they date and Stede needs to learn to have sex with the lights on because Ed wants to dirty talk in the sack.

But they date and Ed shows Stede all of his super super old hearing aids from when he was a literal infant child and his old ass FM Device from the fucking Stone Age. And he's holding all of them with deep reverence like they're precious artifacts and Ed signs, "HAHA. I (boy)-LITTLE. I GO RUN FOREST. HEARING AID-THROW."

Stede learns how to clean Ed's hearing aids!!!!!! HE LOVES CHANGING THE BATTERIES FOR HIM!!!!!

They go out to grocery stores and coffee shops and all around town together and Stede stares down all the Hearies that openly stare at them when they sign together because he knows Ed hates attention for just communicating in his native language.

I will probably add more to this but please rotate Deaf!Ed and Terp!Stede in your brain with me please.

[justyouraveragechipnolastname]

Hello?

I have no purpose, so i guess i’ll talk to some of the other dopples on here?

This is weird…. uh I’m Dopple Leafy, or I guess Deafy is easier. I use She/Glitch/Wisp like my og

I like just roll with it? Not as much as my non dopple self but yeah. Enough.

Chip is my favorite, as you could probably tell and i dont feel any way towards Gillion or Troy Lougferd at all which is cool.

Failed Deafy account finally has a purpose.

This is an RP account for my dopple since i can’t break post limit with her

All of what is said above is silly btw :3

I miss playing dnd

This is my side account my main is justyouraverageleafykinnie’

Tags:

#deafy says nothing in particular: me saying stuff

#deafy reblogs her mutual in particular: uh exactly what it says, whenever i reblog a mutual

#deafy lore: i guess i should do this whenever i have a lore moment, lore tag

[concerningwolves]

Hi! I read your post about writing deaf characters. I'm writing fanfiction where the main character is deaf and hoped maybe you could help with a really specific question.

If someone who were signing had a flat affect, or otherwise their face could not be seen, is there another way to convey the information typically conveyed through facial expressions? How much information would be lost without the communication through facial expressions?

In addition, I was doing research on the best ways to convey sign language through writing and someone suggested GLOSS. What are your opinions on people who convey sign language through GLOSS?

Importance of the face in sign language & using GLOSS to convey signed dialogue.

Hi! Thank you for this question – I'm always excited to talk about the nifty ways that sign language conveys tone :D I'm just sorry it took me a while to answer, because I needed time to find some old resources that were way back in the depths of my blog.

TL;DR Summaries:

The face/facial expression is an integral part of sign language because it conveys meaning similar to tone of voice.

That meaning can be conveyed in other ways, like body language and signing space. From a hearing POV, signing might get louder in high-emotion contexts.

Gloss has its uses in academic and non-fiction writing, but it isn't always suitable for dialogue in fiction.

How the face conveys tone (and what happens when it can't):

Where the face is most important is in the idea of "facial punctuation": In BSL, for example, an o-shape with the mouth is like an exclamation mark and a raised eyebrow is a question mark. Those are two basic, yet integral, examples of how facial expression is part of the sign language syntax. Another example is how fluent or "native" ASL speakers can omit signs in favour of facial expression indicators – instead of the "YOU NAME WHAT?" combination that textbooks teach, signers will ask "YOU NAME?" and use furrowed eyebrows to convey the concept of "what". (In other words, facial expressions as tone indicators!)

The face is also important because it adds necessary context, such as mouthing words that have the same sign so clarify their meaning in that moment. This is why there was a lot of difficulty when COVID hit: not only do a lot of us deafies need to lip-read, but for sign-speakers, it would've been like trying to talk to someone who constantly muffles their mouth with their hand or someone who talks while chewing their sleeve. Sure, you can technically hear what that person is saying, but the meaning easily gets confused and information lost.

[Other ways to convey tone in sign language and using gloss for dialogue under the cut]

Other way to convey tone in sign language

But! The face isn't the only part that conveys tone. Sign language is cool because although it's thought of as a language that's spoken with hands, it actually uses the entire body. This includes the concept of "signing space":

Signing space is ... the three-dimensional space in front of the signer, from the waist to the forehead and from one side of the body to the other, where signs can be realized. Signers use this space to represent physical space and to represent conceptual structure. ... It's used to convey abstract information like time and order. The signer also uses this space to position the entities that are evoked in the sentence (e.g. people, objects, buildings and places) and to demonstrate their semantic relationships. — from the Wikipedia page on signing space

So, what does that mean for describing sign language?

A d/Deaf POV character would take note of how someone else uses sign space. "Non-native" sign speakers (those who learn it later in life, like me, as opposed to speaking only SL), tend to use a slightly larger than necessary sign space, similar to how you sometimes over-enunciate/over-emphasise or raise your voice when speaking an unfamiliar second language. People who've grown up only speaking a SL would find the use of sign space more intuitive, and so use the space more naturally.

Just like verbal speakers raise their voice, trip over words, muddle up word order and stutter when influenced by emotion, so do sign speakers. Describing the way someone uses sign space is a good way to do this, and something I haven't seen utilised all that often. Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant and the The Shape of Water novel both do this well; they never explicitly use the technical language, but they take time to describe how the characters sign.

How you describe this would be a bit different depending on the POV's character's fluency in sign language. I will forever love the bit in TSoW where Elisa is getting really upset, and Giles can't parse what she's saying because she's muddling her words and signing too fast for him to keep up with.

She's past him, all but ricocheting off the walls, signing recklessly enough to send columns of old paintings swaying. ... Her right hand wiggles – "fish", he thinks – and she pulls inwards from both shoulders – "fireplace" he thinks; no, "skeleton"; no, "creature" – and then a similar motion, but rounded – "trap," he thinks, or something like it, though he's probably wrong. She's talking far too rapidly. — The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus.

Giles isn't wholly fluent in sign language, or knowledgeable about the technicalities. Someone who is might've had a better time of understanding what Elisa was saying; to me, this reads as Elisa being too upset to properly "enunciate" her signs, and she's signing so fast she's doing the equivalent of tripping over her own tongue. The bit where she is "signing recklessly enough to send columns of old paintings swaying" shows that she's careless with her sign space, essentially shouting. (It is also such a lovely description, so evocative of both how sign language inhabits the speaker's space, and also of Giles' shoebox flat).

If you're writing from the POV of a hearing character, there are also noises to consider. Someone who's speaking quietly in sign language would sign quietly, i.e., controlled movements and careful, noiseless skin contact; someone who's shouting in sign language would sign loudly, with less controlled movements depending on emotion and the slap of skin on skin for some signs. Other noises are breaths, perhaps instinctive grunts, or the sounds of jewellery if the speaker is wearing any.

Conveying sign language with GLOSS

For those who don't know, "'Glossing' is what you call it when you write one language in another. The written information is known as 'gloss.'" (explanation from this page about Glossing ASL, which is also where you'll find more information about the facial expression for "what" that I mentioned above). It's sometimes styled in all caps because sign language Gloss is written in capitals and small caps. This PDF gives a simple but comprehensive explanation of Gloss in ASL, if anyone would like to read more about how it works.

I've had discussions about glossing in fiction before on this blog, and although it's had a mixed result, I personally come down on the side of "Gloss is incredibly useful as a method of transcribing sign language, but I don't think it has a place in fiction". In the context of dialogue in fiction, you can convey sign language better by translating it than you can by transcribing it through gloss.

To expand a bit, here's an example of what gloss looks like, taken from the previously-mentioned page about ASL gloss:

YESTERDAY PRO-1 INDEX-[at] WORK HAPPEN SOMEONE! MAN CL:1-"walked_past_quickly" I NEVER SEE PRO-3 BEFORE.

Which roughly translates to: "Yesterday at work a stranger (some guy I've never seen before) rushed past me".

... Not really the easiest thing in the world to read if you're unfamiliar with it.

I've read sign language dialogue that uses a simplified gloss before, in which case the "glossed" dialogue is pared down to the words only, and the other gloss elements are added to the description. To return to the earlier "What's your name?" example, the dialogue could then look like this:

"YOU NAME?" she signed, furrowing her eyebrows into the question.

Which is easier to understand, but an entire text full of dialogue in capital letters, with words usually appearing in the "wrong" order, still presents an accessibility issue. It's more effective to translate the sign language and then describe what the speaker is doing in the surrounding description. This isn't a perfect way of writing signed dialogue, but you're not going to find a perfect way, because sign language is distinctly different from spoken or written language.

(In Into the Drowning Deep, there's an author's note at the start telling readers that all ASL has been "rendered as if it were SEE (Signing Exact English)" – i.e., translated – for ease of reading, which I really appreciated!)

There's also the fact that glossed or literally transcribed signed dialogue can be read as childish, which ... uh. Well. The way we treat speech as a sign of intellectual ability, and how intellectual ability is used to measure a person's worth, is a thorny topic for another time. But in summary, infantilisation of anyone who doesn't speak verbally is an issue, and the "simple" way that glossed SLs are written reads similarly to the way kids talk, which feeds into harmful stereotypes that all d/Deaf people are inherently stupid or infantile.

I hope this helps, and please ask if you have any more questions! <3

[thatdeaffeel]

do you know of any discord groups or like tumblr groupchats for d/Deaf/hoh people? in the last year or so i’ve finally come to terms with my hearing issues, and while my friends let me talk about it, i feel like i don’t have anyone to talk to who like actually understands what i’m feeling if that makes sense

i dont, but that doesnt mean they aren't out there, if any deafies know pls let anon know

[formulapisces]

ANOTHER DEAFIE ON F1BLR! i feel so left out when people talk about engine noises and things 😭 i was born profoundly Deaf, sensorineural, so it’s good to know i’m not alone around here ❤️

WELCOME 🫂 i want to give you the biggest hug.

i’m moderate-severe in both of my ears, so i can still hear the cars but i really heavily rely on closed captions for commentary, lip reading, context, transcripts, etc. if i’m in a quiet room i can listen to things like podcasts etc, but if not, everything sounds all mashed up.

im sorry you feel left out, it must feel so horrible. i actually only lost my hearing last december. (i remember the exact date, december 19). december last year was a terrible time for me, i just had problem after problem after problem. the first few months were a blur but i found out that my hearing wouldn’t recover on my birthday. (february 27 if you want a time frame).

growing up one of my biggest fears was losing my hearing/ one of my senses, and now that it has actually happened, it isn’t too bad 😅. obviously the vertigo, ear infections, aches, and tinnitus, is bad, but one thing i’ve learnt over the past 7 months is how accepting the D/deaf/HOH community is. when i figured that my hearing wasn’t going to get any better without surgery to try repair my tympanic membranes (which i am not getting, there’s far too many risks in my opinion. id rather wait for hearing aids which i won’t get for months) i instantly went searching online for people like me and they’re all so nice :)

my hearing loss started as a sinus infection so mine is conductive, not sensorineural - the pressure built up in my sinuses so much that i practically obliterated both of my eardrums from a single yawn. i ended up losing about half of my hearing. my doctor thought i had eustachian tube dysfunction because my hearing sounds muffled like i’m under water. my hearing has never been the best before the illness too and i’ve struggled with ruptured eardrums before from when i was about 10 and i got scarlet fever and other various colds etc (these should’ve been the first red flags) but my hearing has ALWAYS recovered. accepting and realising that my hearing won’t actually recover has been the hardest part of all of this in my opinion. i think the psychological impact was a lot larger than the physical one, personally. what happened to me is so rare and usually people recover within a few weeks, so i really beat myself up about it happening, blamed myself, etc.

i’m obviously not as affected as some people are and i’m really lucky, but it’s such a struggle sometimes and i feel like nobody understands my rants so it’s just so nice to know someone here can get my frustration 🙂 (and the good things too).

it so relieving to know i’m not entirely alone on f1blr 🤟🤍

[bishiglomper]

As a single-sided deafie, y'all just don't know how I'd kill for a pair of radio dish ears

I have to turn my head sideways at them just to hear people talk at me

When we were in the middle of a full room and people would scream and cheer I'd practically throw my head between my knees to get away from the volume.

All of that could be solved with a pair of furry ears I can twist around and press back 🤣

[1-1-s1ay-2-2]

I lied....it’s not live. Days ago actually. Also, I’m guilty of being weak because I have indeed smoked cigarettes since the ridiculous partaking of this video.

[only-book-lovers-left-alive]

Reminds me of when my professors were set to meet with the new dean for the college. One of them is Deaf and used to run the program before stepping down. The others are all interpreters! The dean walked in and just startes talking knowing DAMN well one of them were Deaf. One of my professors asked where the interpreter was, and the dean awkwardly said that they assumed "it'd be taken care of."

(Pet peeve of most deafies I know? Having to *always* pay for and arrange the interpreter themselves, even if the ADA or other applicable legislation puts the onnus on the employer.)

But... why have the meeting in English if only one person didnt know ASL? If she's Deaf and can't speak, why leave her out when her employer *should* have already taken care of things? The same mistake was not made again.

[deafmatteo]

today on deaf life that hearing people don't notice: i am actually extremely dizzy and nauseous due to my cochlear. there's a high frequency noise that is irritating it but it can't be resolved at the moment so im sitting here in pain.

no meds are helping. water isn't, too nauseous for food, fresh air is the closest thing i can get to relief but im still at work.

[consumedkings-archive]

sometimes I put my mouth right on top of this little guy's head and say 'i love you' because even though he's deaf maybe he'll hear my intentions

and sometimes he rips into the garbage can and jumps all over my clean laundry and i look him in the whites of his eyes and yell "I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU BACK TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY YOU GOBLIN"

so anyway doggy parenthood is going well

[punkdeaf]

*sticks leg up in air* the rise in popularity of podcasts and vines and other such forms of audio storytelling is a cool art form *backflips* but every new art form leaves disabled people scrambling for ways to access the stories because abled folks forget that not everyone can hear and not everyone can understand audio-based arts *does the splits* so please fuckign caption your vines and subtitle your videos and provide transcripts of your podcasts

[zumpietoo]

The hilarious part about this, right off the bat, is they’re acting like somebody being kind to Jug and maybe putting him first for once is a terrible thing! All while convinced he needs to pull himself together so he can go fix Slizzy....

He IS over Slizzy, that’s what last season was about....he stopped being “reckless” when he stopped drinking....apparently you’ve missed a lot of the show.

Alsooooo....ummm....noooo....in fact, that’s fucking hilarious. You really ARE desperately twisting everything now, huh? Plus I thought she was gonna either

A) read Jug’s book and run screaming into the nite, cuz Slizzy is the ultimate

B) totally cuck Jug while he’s learning sign language, cuz Deafie won’t hear her fucking the dude

Umm...yes, we can. And what he “talked up” was how much he doesn’t want to work with his psychotic ex any more than he possibly has to. I will say, given how you keep endlessly revisiting this, it’s really obvious it has you completely unnerved. IDK when I’ve seen this much “doth protest too much”.

It isn’t “the caregiver trope”, but way to make somebody being a good person into a crime, there, asswipe. Cuz, again, you wanted Jug to do that for Slizzy and Tabs to be their mammy, right?

Again, lots in common and if he IS lonely, whelp we all know why.....

So they’re now fucking cuz she pities him and he needs her help? Funny, sure didn’t come off that way....

Dude, it’s pretend----it’s been made abundantly clear once he dried out, he saw things clearly----and even before that he knew he wanted her. He told her he wasn’t over the break up. The entire concept was that he went on his quest to get over that and other things. 

We know they’ve discussed shit and I’d say him repeatedly pursuing her makes it very clear he is. This is your fanfic/wish list. 

Actually, we saw all of that (conversation/concern about her/shared interests), that you ignore it is entirely your problem. No, turns out his relationship (7 years ago) with Slizzy was her endlessly using him, making everything about herself, taking credit for his accomplishments and being a cuntwipe. She later just strung him along/was overtly hostile.

You were completely wrong about the musical. You thought you’d have Hey #3 and a complete reconciliation. God you’re a fucking liar. Nope, everybody did except you Slizzystans. Also, dude, you REALLY need to move on. You’re a broken, boring record....

They don’t have that, they’re pretend and what Jug “deserves” is waaayyyyy better than Slizzy...