Deaf culture and history

Deaf history: Sign me up!

The history of deaf people in the UK and around the world is a rich one, full of trailblazing individuals, systemic struggles and calls for community. And with stories of rebellion, resilience and cool inventions, it’s anything but boring.

Throughout history, deaf people have contributed a lot to the world – across both hearing, deaf and Deaf communities. Learning about deaf history can help you explore your deaf identity, understand deaf culture and find a sense of connection and community. 

Although we’ll do our best to give you a good overview in this section, we strongly encourage you to reach out to others in the deaf community. Whether that’s through local groups or online communities, you’ll be able to learn a lot – and have some interesting discussions that can even change the world (like those who came before you)!

The history of sign language

Like many languages, British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL) have evolved over the years. Learning about history through experts such as Peter Brown (Limping Chicken) can teach you a lot about history, but a few fun points include:

• In the 1700s, Thomas Braidwood established the UK’s first Deaf school. He and his students used early forms of what would become BSL.
• Home sign systems, usually invented by a deaf child to use with their own family, might have spread and developed as more deaf people came together.
• There is evidence of sign language use dating as far back as the Iron Age!

Thanks to the hard work of campaigners, BSL is now recognised as an official language in England, Wales and Scotland. And the Sign Language Bill is making great progress in Northern Ireland!

But just like most languages, there are several regional dialects (The Conversation). This is because there may have been limited contact between deaf communities in different regions of the UK. In fact, researchers have found that there are around 17 different signs for ‘purple’.

Deafness and education

Deaf schools created new opportunities for deaf people to interact – both during and after their education. During the 18th century, the Enlightenment (which was a time period where the use of reason was celebrated) brought more attention to deaf people. 

Two main schools are credited with developing methods: The Institut National des Jeunes Sourds (INJS) in Paris generally used sign language to teach, and a German school founded by Samuel Heinicke promoted the use of oralism (which focuses on speech and lip-reading). These two approaches serve as the roots to a debate that continues to impact deaf communities today.

Particularly in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the oralist method was seen as a way to assimilate (or ‘blend in’) deaf people. The number of deaf teachers in schools declined, and sign language was discouraged or even banned. 

In 1880, the Milan Conference decided that signing in schools wasn’t allowed. Some even went so far as to say that sign language was primitive – which isn’t true at all!

Deaf rights movements

Thankfully, deaf people continued to use sign language and keep the community strong, even with the bans. Dedicated campaigners worked tirelessly, and research showed how the use of sign language enhances language abilities in both deaf and hearing children. These factors paved the way for sign language support in the UK today.

Individuals, groups and charities have marched, protested and pushed politicians to protect things like the right to vote, work and access healthcare for deaf people. 

Thanks to that hard work, more deaf rights are protected and celebrated, supported by things like United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, or UNCRC (BBC), the Equality Act 2010 (Just for Kids Law) and the official recognition of BSL. 

But we know there’s still more to challenge and work towards. You might like to explore more information related to your rights as a deaf person. And if you’ve got an idea, we encourage you to get involved and even start your own campaign (like Daniel's sign language GCSE campaign).

Deaf culture

Deaf culture often includes people who see themselves as part of a cultural, sign-language-based group. There are many aspects to deaf culture, such as history, art and the use of sign language for communication.

Deaf culture has remained vibrant and rich, even after many countries encouraged ‘assimilation’. This meant they tried to make deaf people act more like hearing people, and it often involved attempts to discourage or stop the use of sign languages. 

In deaf culture, you might come across things like:

• Sign names: Sign names are given by other deaf people, and they usually come from something that identifies the person because of something like the way they look, their hobbies, their interests or even the sound of their name – but it’s important that sign names are respectful.
• Signed songs: Although they’re not a recommended way to learn sign language, signed songs can be a creative and fun way to engage with music. Signed songs are performed in sign language instead of singing the words using your voice. A skilled translator will create a BSL version that works with the music.
• Visual storytelling: Storytelling is a big part of deaf culture. Stories and jokes are often passed down from older deaf people to younger members of the community. Visual Vernacular (VV) is a type of storytelling that is unique to the deaf community, and it uses elements of physical theatre, poetry and mime to tell a story in a visual way.

If you want to watch signed songs on YouTube, look out for signed songs from deaf performers. Jayne Fletcher (Limping Chicken) is a brilliant signed song performer in the UK.

There are other websites, social media accounts, shows and publications that cover a wide spectrum of experiences and topics. If you’re not sure where to start, these options can help you begin to explore more about deaf culture:

• The Limping Chicken: Dubbed the world's most popular deaf blog, they've posted blogs by hundreds of deaf people since 2012.
• Lumo TV: Formerly called BSL Zone, the British Sign Language Broadcasting Trust (BSLBT) commissions television programmes made in British Sign Language by Deaf people for Deaf people.
• See Hear: This studio-based chat show, which is geared towards Deaf people and others with hearing loss, is the BBC's 5th longest running factual series.

Deaf clubs

These real-life social networks became popular in the 1900s as deaf young people looked for safe spaces for learning, socialising and exploring cultural activities. Today, there’s a wide variety of deaf clubs, local deaf children’s societies, deaf meetups in cafes and deaf sports clubs.

Although online options can be easier to access, research shows that in-person interactions can make a big difference to our mental health. People in the deaf community have been exploring how to better engage with young people, and many of them would greatly appreciate you getting involved and sharing suggestions.

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to reach out to a local group. You can even share your thoughts on what they could do to support a modern, inclusive form of deaf clubs! And if there’s not much going on around you – or if you want to do something different to what’s offered – why not start your own club?

Deaf events

There are also deaf events across the UK (and around the world). They’re great opportunities for deaf people to come together to celebrate their culture, connect and have fun!

Here are some highlights:

• BDA Annual Conference: The British Deaf Association hosts this conference every year, focusing on important issues for Deaf people, from education to rights, and also celebrating Deaf achievements.
• City Lit Deaf Day: City Lit’s Centre for Deaf Education puts on this annual event to celebrate Deaf culture through a variety of workshops, taster sessions and exhibitors.
• Deaf Awareness Week: This week-long celebration across the UK features events and activities that give everyone a chance to learn more about deafness and hearing loss.
• Deaffest: This deaf-led film and television festival spotlights the work of talented D/deaf creatives from the UK and beyond. It's dedicated to championing, celebrating and amplifying D/deaf creatives – such as filmmakers, actors and writers.
• Deafinitely Theatre: This Deaf-led theatre company puts on incredible bilingual performances using British Sign Language and spoken English, helping to showcase Deaf talent and make the arts more accessible.
• Deaflympics: Also known as Deaflympiad, this International Olympic Committee (IOC)-sanctioned event features deaf athletes competing at an elite level.
• Edinburgh Deaf Festival: Edinburgh Deaf Festival is an accessible celebration of deaf culture, language and heritage. Join in for a variety of performances and events over 10 jam-packed days. (Also in Edinburgh, the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival offers deaf-friendly performances in BSL.)

The three Cs: Consent, credit and compensation

Cultural appropriation is when someone from a more dominant culture takes from or does something that is unique to a smaller community in a disrespectful, insensitive way. Making sure to start from a place of care and respect can help make sure cultural appreciation does not become appropriation.

Deaf people might feel that their culture is being appropriated if a hearing person who doesn’t have links to the deaf community uses deaf culture for personal gain – for example, by performing signed songs on TikTok for ‘likes’ without learning about and respecting deaf culture.

The Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative suggests using consent, credit and compensation as a respectful foundation for textile artists, but it is useful in other contexts, too. Doing the work to explore and engage with deaf culture – and being honest about that relationship – can help.

For example, if companies, groups or schools are setting up BSL clubs or programmes, they should be guided by qualified deaf individuals. This is because BSL is a huge part of deaf culture and heritage.