Question:
Dr. Bill,
I was learning sign from another course before discovering your videos series
and that instructor said when signing with someone in the Deaf community, they
would like more fuller answers rather than just yes or no. Is this correct?
- A.K.
Response from Dr. Bill:
Suppose I just typed one word (yes or no) in reply to your question?
Would you feel satisfied?
In this situation (you asking me a complex, culturally laden question) you
probably want more than a yes or no answer. You probably want an "explanation"
or exploration of the topic including examples and comparisons.
I know this is true because another instructor told you something of which you
are questioning the veracity of (whether it is right or wrong).
If I give you a simple yes or no answer without backing it up -- you will feel
unsatisfied in "this" situation.
However, in some other situation where the facts are cut and dried if I were to
expound on my answer beyond yes or no you might consider it a waste of your time
and be annoyed by anything beyond a yes or no answer.
For example, suppose you ask me the question, "Do you want ketchup?"
If you ask me that in a busy situation where you are trying to prepare several
meals for a table-full of individuals and I start waxing eloquent about my
thoughts regarding ketchup and why I might want ketchup or not -- you will
likely become annoyed.
It is very much the same in the Deaf community. Sometimes we want a yes or a no.
Sometimes we want an expanded answer.
However the real issue here is that "an answer" -- regardless of the culture in
which it is being asked -- should match the needs of the person asking the
question.
The more context in the situation -- the shorter the answer can be.
The less context in the situation the longer the answer must be.
If the person asking the question has extensive knowledge of or experience
regarding the topic -- which is to say "more context" -- the person answering
the question should use more brevity (shortness) in their answer.
Thus the issue here is that for a very long time Hearing people have had more
access to context than Deaf people. For example, many Hearing people would drive
to work listening to the news or talking on their phone (while driving) to share
or gain information.
Many Hearing people strike up a conversation with the person in front of or
behind them in a grocery (or some other place) store line -- just because they
can -- thus gaining more information and context about the world around them.
Such "additional context" is hard fought for, hard won, and much valued in the
Deaf Community. We have to work harder as Deaf people to obtain context.
The issue isn't that Deaf people don't like yes or no answers. The issue is that
Deaf people habitually / instinctively crave context and connection that Hearing
people often take for granted.
When a yes or no question is asked in a high-context situation in the Deaf
Community then a yes or no answer is fine.
If a yes or no question is asked in a low context situation (as is often the
case) in the Deaf Community the person responding would do well to provide
context for their yes or no answer.
If however you start providing context for an answer in an already
context-saturated situation you are going to look like an idiot.
Thus the more aware you are of what your conversation partner (or audience)
knows or doesn't know -- the more successful you will be in choosing the depth
and breadth of your responses. Of course this applies to all cultures. It just
so happens that in the Deaf culture you will more often need or want to add
context than perhaps in some other culture.
I will also suggest that now with the penetration of smart phones, social media,
and other forms of connection in the Deaf world we are experiencing an evolution
in that sense of "connection" and context.
More often than ever I will start to "expand" on some answer and my wife (who is
also Deaf) will "wave off" my expansion and inform me that she already knows
about the topic. Our conversations are still fun and interesting -- just with
much less expansion needed than in the past -- simply because we have been
empowered by this incredible electronic network of news and information (in
other words "context") -- thus in a large measure satisfying our thirst for
context.
Notes: