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Comment by keiferski | Hacker News Reader

Do you think bilingual kids have the same issue? I don’t.

If you spend time around bicultural people or 3rd culture kids you’ll find this is definitely an issue.

Eventually most people figure things out and make the most of it in adulthood, but it definitely makes for teenage/young adult identity crises that monocultural people don’t have to deal with.

I think you’re confusing two things: third culture kids who grow up in multiple places while not feeling at home in any of them; and bilingual kids that grow up in a smaller number of places/one place but still speak multiple languages because of their ancestry, etc.

The former group has more issues fitting in, while the latter seem to be just fine. Certainly plenty of people in Europe speak more than one language natively and don’t feel like they lack a home. And it’s not like there is an actual country where only deaf people exist. So the idea of avoiding bilingualism seems totally absurd to me, especially when probably the majority of the world has some level of bilingualism by default.

I texted this comment to my deaf friend (a graduate of Gallaudet University) and she said; "Not bilingual kids, but certainly immigrants from non-english speaking countries! Just go to any big city and you will see a thriving Mexican, Chinese, or Indian community!" And she suggested you read just one book on the Deaf Community before being so certain. Deaf in America or Inside Deaf Culture would be a good start.

I will add that most people do not understand how divided the Deaf Community is about Coclear Implants. Least of all what you hear is not like what we would hear. It sounds like a robotic voice.

https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/rbtfl/3WBTL0klZP48Y/full

The article talks about the capital-D Deaf community. It’s not just a different language, it’s a different culture.

And people that speak say, Chinese and American English, don’t have two different cultures?

Knowing ASL does not make me Deaf. And knowing Mandarin does not make me Chinese.

Obviously my example was for someone that grew up speaking Chinese and American English natively, as in a person of Chinese descent that grew up in America. There are millions of such people.

I think you're missing the point entirely.

Language does not make the culture. There are many deaf people who are not part of the Deaf culture. There are many people who have heard all their life but are also part of the Deaf culture.

There are many different cultures in the US. Some are more similar than others. There is a Chinese culture in the US - as someone not part of it I'm content to call it one, but I'm sure those in it know of differences that I cannot see.

Language facilitate access to culture. You think that Deaf culture is the only culture you can’t fully participate in without speaking the language?

It is more that there is strong vocal subgroup of the Deaf culture that sees participation in larger speaking community as betrayal.

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