3 - Ethnicity and Socialization in a Classroom for Deaf Children

Abstract

This chapter discusses in two parts the ethnicity and socialization in a classroom for deaf children. The first part proposes a theoretical framework for viewing social, linguistic, and cultural aspects of the American deaf community. Two kinds of social forces that have led to the constitution and maintenance of ethnic boundaries around deaf people as a group are focused on in this. The first of these forces originates within the group itself and emerges from attitudes and values surrounding the use of ASL and notions of appropriate behavior for group members. The second force emerges from the interaction of deaf people with the mainstream society in their attempts to achieve access to socioeconomic benefits of that society. In our view, the dynamic tension between these two forces constitutes a deaf group that shares numerous characteristics with what are called ethnic groups. It is argued that both kinds of pressure for group constitution are made evident through symbolic use of language of the sort that is described. The second part of the chapter discusses the emergence of some elements of ethnicity among four-year-old deaf children. It is suggested that symbolic use of language has important implications for the socialization of deaf children and proposes that evidence of the complex social and linguistic situation can be found in the linguistic interaction of deaf students with each other and with their teachers.