Signing For Dummies (61 page)

They may even see you signing and applaud you with their pinky fingers! In all actuality, they’re just having fun with you — not at you. It’s their way of giving you encouragement; they’re poking fun at you but also sending you a message that your Signing has improved. When they correct your every Sign, they view you as being worthy of the time they spend to do it. When they clap with their pinkies, it means your progress is noticeable, but you’re not quite there yet. Any way you look at it, your Deaf friends see something in you that makes them feel good.

Cracking the code

You may also notice Deaf people silently signing together, but when you enter the room, they begin to use their voices. This action is known as
code switching
. The purpose of this is to include you in their conversation, so it’s really a compliment.

Another problem novice Signers have is trying to keep up with Deaf conversations. The first instinct is to ask the Deaf person to slow down, but that’s actually the wrong way to go about it. The Deaf converse at a pace that is normal for Sign. Your eyes need to get used to following the action. If you get lost somewhere in the conversation, that’s okay. Don’t be embarrassed if someone asks if you understand; repeat what you think you understood. Honesty is honesty in any language.

Patience and practice will be your best friends. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

Questions you shouldn’t ask

Never initiate a conversation about a Deaf person’s hearing loss. Questioning someone about this implies that you don’t view that person as whole, but broken, incomplete, or inferior. You’ll find that the Deaf are comfortable talking about their hearing aids, batteries that need replaced, and ear molds, but it’s best if you leave this subject to the individual who has the disability. If you view a Deaf person with equality and respect, the hearing loss won’t become a subject of any great importance. Often, as you become better friends, your questions will get answered in a passing conversation.

Just to satisfy your immediate curiosity, most Deaf people do not have a total hearing loss. They usually have what’s called
residual hearing,
hearing that remains after deafness occurs, either at birth, after an illness or accident, or because of age. Deaf people have varying degrees of deafness; some are more profoundly deaf than others, so some Deaf people can speak intelligibly while others can’t.

In your time with the Deaf, make it a growing experience; you’re encountering a people with a rich history, a proud people with a bond of community. You aren’t the first person to want to know their language, and you won’t be the last.

Chapter 14: Talking on the Phone

In This Chapter

Conversing on the phone

Relaying through the operator

Paging the deaf

Using a sign language interpreter

For most of us, making a phone call is as easy as picking up the phone and dialing. This hasn’t always been the case for members of the Deaf community, though. Deaf people didn’t get to share in the success of the invention of the telephone until much later.

In this chapter, we look at different communication devices and services that have been invented to be user-friendly for the Deaf consumer. We also explain some devices that are currently used by both Deaf and hearing people. These machines are used to communicate with people next door, across town, or across the country. In both the Deaf and hearing worlds, technology is constantly changing. What we use today for communication may be obsolete tomorrow. Today, videophones and video relay services, tomorrow, who knows? We also clue you in as to how to use them, so that you can be sure to stay in touch with Deaf friends and family no matter where you are.

Teletypes (TTYs) for the Deaf

Although Alexander Graham Bell and his associates ushered the telephone into existence in 1875, the first teletype machine wasn’t invented until 1964 — nearly 100 years later. It was invented by a deaf physicist named Robert Weitbrecht. With this invention, Weitbrecht opened up the world of tele-conversation to the Deaf.

When people refer to teletype machines, they may refer to them as TTYs (TeleTYpe) or as TDDs (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf). The term TDD came after TTY. Both terms are acceptable, but Deaf people themselves are more apt to use TTY over TDD; they view TDD as a term created by hearing people.

The TTY is a combination of a teletype machine and a telephone. The keyboard of the TTY sends a series of beeps with each letter. These letters are printed across a screen above the keyboard. Some TTYs, but not all, come equipped with text paper that automatically records your conversation. TTYs can be purchased through phone companies or through businesses that specialize in telecommunications. Many Deaf people receive TTYs from the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. This agency will purchase TTYs for the deaf consumer to do “whatever services are necessary and appropriate to succeed in employment.” Deaf people are provided TTYs at no cost by some states.

To use the TTY, you place the handle of the phone on the “cups” of the TTY — the earpiece of the receiver always goes on the cup to the right. Dial the phone number of your intended party and wait for it to ring. The light on the TTY machine will flash as the phone is ringing. The party at the other end will start typing as soon as they put their receiver on their TTY cups.

If someone gives you a business card that has “V/TTY” or “V/TDD” next to a phone number, this means that the phone number has both voice and teletype capabilities.

Certain abbreviations are used when conversing on the TTY. Table 14-1 lists some standard TTY terms.