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Intercultural Communication not only affects the Hearing World but it also affects the Deaf World. Knowing sign language is not the same as knowing Deaf Culture. Just like there is a Hearing Culture within the American Culture, Spanish Cultures, Asian Cultures, etc. there is also a Deaf Culture within each of these different cultures. And the Deaf culture differs depending on which country you visit. Some American Deaf Culture characteristics would be:
Attention Getters
Deaf	Hearing
Turn the lights on & off (groups)	Hey! (groups)
Tap on the shoulder, stomp on the floor, wave your hand	Call the persons name
Social Habits
Deaf	Hearing
Eye contact (often)	Eye contact (less often)
Visually expressive	Verbally expressive
Facial expression is key to understanding the language	Vocal inflection is key to understanding the language
Shake hands in the air for applause	Clap hands for applause
Pointing at someone is necessary for the language	Pointing at someone is considered rude

For more information on Deaf Culture check out these sites:

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