Examples of Deaf culture in New Zealand.
Walking in between two Deaf people who are in conversation is
considered very rude. (However, it is obviously not rude if they are on
different sides of the room).
When a Deaf person wishes to get the attention of another person, there
are a number of different ways they will do it. The following is a list
of some ways. None of these are considered rude in the
- Tap them on the shoulder
- Ask another person to tap them on the shoulder
- Stamp their feet (causes vibrations on the floor)
- Flash the lights in the room
Pointing is considered rude in many cultures, however with the Deaf,
it is totally acceptable and indeed sometimes the only way to get a
The deaf are very abrupt and straight to the point. The language does
not have room for the subtleties that English has. For example if two deaf
people haven't seen each other in a long time, and one has put on weight,
the other may very well simply comment and say "You look so fat".
This is something that
often offends people when they first learn sign language.
In a related note, there are very few topics in conversation that
are taboo. They will talk about things that would make most people
in Western cultures blush.