CREATING AUTHENTIC DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHARACTERS: A WRITER'S JOURNAL
Introduction
Creating authentic characters in your writing is essential for engaging storytelling, and this includes characters who are deaf or hard of hearing. To craft a character that accurately represents this community, it's crucial to do your research, gain a deep understanding of their experiences, and portray them with sensitivity and respect. In this journal, we'll explore how to write a deaf or hard-of-hearing character, including key information and preparation steps.
Understanding Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Characters
Research: Start by researching deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals' experiences, challenges, and culture. Read books, articles, and personal stories, and watch documentaries or interviews featuring members of the Deaf community.
Consult with Experts: Reach out to members of the Deaf community or experts in Deaf studies to gain insights into their experiences. They can provide invaluable guidance and help you avoid common misconceptions.
Diversity Within the Community: Understand that the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities are diverse. Some individuals communicate using sign language, while others rely on lip-reading, cochlear implants, or hearing aids. Be aware of these differences when creating your character.
Character Development
Backstory and Identity: Consider your character's background. Were they born deaf, or did they become deaf later in life? How do they identify within the Deaf community? Understanding their identity and experiences will shape their character.
Language and Communication: Decide how your character communicates. Are they fluent in sign language, or do they primarily rely on lip-reading and spoken language? Their communication style will influence their interactions with other characters.
Cultural Awareness: Explore the cultural aspects of the Deaf community. Understand the importance of Deaf culture, including its history, art, and values. Incorporate these elements into your character's life when relevant.
Writing Tips
Dialogue and Communication: When writing dialogue for a deaf or hard-of-hearing character, be mindful of their unique communication style. Use visual cues, body language, and facial expressions to convey emotions and context.
Access to Information: Consider the challenges your character may face in accessing information. This could involve issues with closed captioning, subtitles, or accommodations in educational or work settings.
Social Interactions: Depict social interactions realistically. Show how your character navigates conversations, group dynamics, and social events within their community and with hearing individuals.
Preparation
Sensitivity Readers: Consider hiring sensitivity readers who are part of the Deaf or hard-of-hearing community to review your work and provide feedback. Their insights can help you avoid stereotypes and inaccuracies.
Learn Sign Language: If your character uses sign language, take the time to learn at least basic signs. This will not only enrich your writing but also demonstrate your commitment to accuracy.
Beta Readers: Seek feedback from a diverse group of beta readers who can assess the authenticity of your character and offer constructive criticism.
Engage with the Community: Attend Deaf community events, workshops, or online forums to immerse yourself in the culture and better understand the perspectives and experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.
Creating a deaf or hard-of-hearing character that resonates with readers requires dedication, empathy, and thorough research. By following these steps and embracing the rich culture and diversity of the Deaf community, you can create a character that is not only authentic but also promotes understanding and inclusivity in your writing. In addition, when writing dialogue for your deaf or hard-of-hearing character, remember:
It's important to clarify why, when writing dialogue for a deaf character, you should continue to use structured English grammar and not sign language structured grammar.
Maintaining Structured English Grammar:
Readability: Writing in structured English grammar ensures that the text remains accessible and comprehensible to all readers, including those who may not be familiar with sign language or Deaf culture. It avoids potential confusion that could arise from using sign language grammar in written text.
Universal Understanding: English is a global language, and adhering to its grammar rules allows for a wider audience to understand and engage with your story. Sign language grammar varies between different sign languages, making it less universally applicable in written form.
Respect for the Medium: While sign language is a rich and expressive mode of communication, it is primarily a visual and gestural language. Attempting to replicate sign language grammar in written text can be cumbersome and may not fully capture the nuances of sign language communication.
Balance of Realism and Readability: Striking a balance between authenticity and readability is crucial in storytelling. Maintaining structured English grammar while depicting a deaf character's interactions helps convey the character's experience without compromising the reader's ability to follow the narrative.
As an illustration, consider the following text:
Dialogues with Descriptive Sign Language:
Sarah greeted John with a warm smile, her hands moving gracefully as she signed, "Hi, how are you?"
John returned the greeting in sign language, his expressions mirroring his words. "I'm good, thanks. Did you see the new movie?"
Sarah's eyes lit up as she signed back enthusiastically, "Yes, I loved it!"
In summary, using structured English grammar when writing dialogue for a deaf character is a practical and respectful choice that ensures your writing remains inclusive and accessible to a broad audience while still authentically representing the character's identity and experiences.
Furthermore, it's essential to avoid creating a character who is overly perfect or one-dimensional. In real life, we understand that everyone has imperfections and complexities, regardless of whether they are deaf or hard of hearing. Therefore, it's entirely acceptable to depict your character as a villain with a hearing issue if that aligns with your storytelling goals.
last night the lionesses wore warm up tops with the BSL fingerspelling of their names on them, as a celebration of british sign language and the deaf community!! lovely sight 👏👏
I was thinking about what different Sonic characters' names could be in sign a couple of months ago, since so many people headcanon Sonic knowing sign language, and I ended up making animations for a few!! Here's what I came up with for Sonic!! :D
mp4 version & description for it under the cut!!
[ID:
A video of Sonic The Hedgehog viewed from the waist-up against a green background. Sonic is drawn in a simplistic style, though with tanner patches of skin on his muzzle, ears, stomach, and arms compared to his typical design, and he has curved scars on his chest.
In the video, Sonic is signing his name, comprised of the words ‘fast’ and ‘hedgehog’ in BSL. He signs ‘fast’ by bouncing his index fingers off of each other—his right finger coming down as his left goes up—with the other fingers and thumb curled in. “fast” is written in dark green on the left side of the background as he signs this.
The word in the background changes to “Hedgehog” as he signs the second part. His raised right hand opens up so that his fingers and thumb are all splayed, while the lowered left hand curls into a fist. The left arm moves horizontal in front of his chest, and the splayed right hand lowers to run the heel of the palm across the top of the forearm, to symbolise the spines of a hedgehog. Lifting his right elbow up to move the palm across the other arm obscures the “Hedgehog” lettering slightly.
Sonic's head moves as he signs, spines bouncing up and down and head tilting to the left. While he’s signing, he mouths his name, the first syllable ‘So’ being mouthed during the ‘fast’ sign, and the second syllable ‘nic’ being mouthed during the ‘hedgehog’ sign.
On the right side of the video, next to Sonic’s head, is the artist’s signature—the silhouette of a bongo with the letters BD written inside.
WAIT I NEVER SHARED MY GARY ROACH SANDERSON HEADCANON
*coughs* anyway
I like to think that Roach was a military brat. Like, raised on bases. At least on of his parents was in the army so he grew up on bases and moved around with his parent. He is super cultured but also he doesn’t really have a culture he subscribes to - because he moved around so much. He grew up everywhere and nowhere and has all the quirks that comes along with it.
If you ever ask Roach where he is from he just gives a 100 mile stare. He doesn’t know how to answer that question.
Hear me out. Roach and a rookie getting along because they both know sign language but they have no idea what the other is signing because roach knows BSL and the rookie knows LSM but they both have a mutual understanding to just fuck with the other members.
Speakers of non-English languages of the UK and Ireland wanted!!
Since it’s World Mother Language Day today (February the 21st), I’m thinking of doing a series of posts on the native non-English languages of the United Kingdom and Ireland, with some information and short interviews.
For this, I am looking for both native speakers/signers and learners (with or without parentage/heritage of the language in question) of the following languages:
- Scottish Gaelic
- Irish
- Welsh
- Any sign language of the United Kingdom or Ireland (e.g. BSL)
- Any other minority language indigenous to the United Kingdom or Ireland. By this I mean primarily spoken only within the UK or Ireland as a minority, or spoken very little elsewhere. For example: Cornish, Manx, Shelta, or Anglo-Romani, not languages like Polish or Bengali that are minority within the UK but have a significant speaker base elsewhere. (I am aware that I am fishing for some of these *cough* Cornish *cough*...but you never know!)
- Any language or variety that you speak that you feel is linguistically / culturally distinct from Standard English that you would like to inform more people about. For example: Shetlandic, Scots, Ulster Scots.
I don’t have anything finalised yet, but if you would be wiling to speak to me about some text-based interviews for the sake of qualitative and informative tumblr posts, please send me a message!
(NB: if I have used any names of languages that are not preferred, tell me and I will change them. I don’t know a lot about the non-Celtic and non-Germanic languages here, which is part of my reason for wanting to make this series of posts in the first place.)
this is a petition to add british sign language to the uk national curriculum. if you could sign (uk residents only) or reblog that would be really helpful :)
I like to imagine that the fed workers on quesadilla island have their own dialect of sign language that they created themselves over time. Cuz sign language is so different and is as varied as spoken language is and I think it would be really cool if there was like. Quesadilla Sign Language. or something
Dr Cameron, who is profoundly deaf, leads the sign language project at Edinburgh University, which has just added 200 new environmental science terms to the BSL dictionary.
She described how, in her own scientific career, a lack of vocabulary meant she was excluded from important meetings and conversations.
"I was involved in research for 11 years and went to numerous meetings but was never was truly involved because I couldn't understand what people were saying," she told BBC News. "I wanted to talk with people about chemistry and I just wasn't able to."