Neither-Nor: A Young Australian’s Experience with Deafness

14. The Language That Has No Name

14 The Language That Has No Name The Victorian Deaf Cricket team won the Grand Final a few days later. It was the first time Victoria had won the Australian title in thirty-two years. In the rooms showered in champagne, Peter, the captain, called me over for a private talk. He proved to be a shrewd captain and one of the better cricketers despite him being in his late thirties—an age when most have long quit the sport. He had been deaf since birth, had no speech, and never wore hearing aids. The only time I heard his voice was when he wailed in pain after being hit by a cricket ball—a croak-like cry that was the legacy of voice muscles that had never been used. One thing that amazed me was the fact that he could speechread me without any hearing whatsoever. I thought he would rely on my teammate Harry’s translation , but Peter was reading my speech and understood everything I said. The only delay was my own, caused by Harry relaying Peter’s message . Harry interpreted for us. “Paul, we play well, we win well,” he said. “Victoria strong team. You helped win trophy. I am very happy with you. Thank you.” I was flattered. The premiership medallion remains one of my prized possessions to this day. Peter left us to join the celebration in the next room. I asked Harry what Peter did for a living. “He works for a weather station,” was the reply. “With hearing people?” “Yeah.” This probably explained his speechreading ability. “How does he communicate?” “Through writing,” he stated. “He gets lots of money. Much more than most Deaf people.” I’d noticed that. “But he’s culturally Deaf.” The words slipped out. “So what?” said Harry. “I’m culturally Deaf and I earn money.” 103 He reminded me that things weren’t clear-cut, that there were exceptions to the rule. “I’m what some people call bilingual,” he said. “I talk with hearing people and sign with the Deaf.” A bilingual person is not a neither-nor but rather an either-or. They move freely between Deaf and hearing peers and have visas to both worlds, as it were. But this didn’t explain Peter’s job status and uncanny command for the auditory language. I plied Harry for more information. He stated a fact I’d strongly suspected, “Peter is different. Many Deaf people are on the dole.” Mike, the guy I shared a room with, had more hearing than Harry or I, and certainly more than Peter. But why did Mike have a poor speechreading ability? Why did he have so many problems with hearing people? Command of auditory language is one thing and social awareness is another. Being with the culturally Deaf taught me the benefit of forfeiting relationships with hearing peers altogether. Many in this community are protected from the numerous challenges and niggling self-doubt that commonly affect neither-nors during the problematic years of identity formation. Deaf communities give them not just a sense of belonging but social affluence. This makes me an avid supporter of Deaf culture. Yet, many of the culturally Deaf I had met lacked the social skills necessary to perform even a simple conversation with a hearing stranger. It wasn’t deafness alone that prevented conversation. They lacked auditory language skills because they deliberately chose not to practice them. Many Deaf people try their best not to engage with hearing peers. Consequently , their social skills in hearing environments are underdeveloped— as is their social awareness. This is a provocative view and certainly not politically correct, but it needs to be said. Social skills generate social awareness, which is one of the key ingredients to successful speechreading. Anyone who is fluent with a language other than their mother tongue knows that communication is significantly bolstered by the social awareness of the language’s culture. Fluency in French is one thing; knowledge of French culture is another entirely different matter. A culture has to be lived, practiced. The truth is as simple as it is brutal. Mastery demands continual practice. Many Deaf are not alone in this regard. Numerous hearing people are emotionally n e i t h e r- n o r 104 t h e l a n g uag e 105 tone deaf in the society in which they live...