The American Deaf culture has labels for identifying its members. These labels reflect both cultural values and beliefs.

Deaf - This term refers to members of the Deaf community who share common values, norms,traditions, language, and behaviors. Deaf people do not perceive themselves as having lost something (i.e., hearing) and do not think of themselves as handicapped, impaired, or disabled. They celebrate and cherish their culture because it gives them the unique privilege of sharing a common history and language. Deaf people are considered a linguistic minority within the American culture. They have their own culture and at the same time live and work within the dominant American culture.

Deaf, hard of hearing, and deafened - Within the Deaf culture these words refer to a person’s audiological status. Notice lower case “d’” is used. People who describe themselves as “hard of hearing” or “deafened” do not see themselves as members of the Deaf culture. Some may know sign language but their primary language is English.

Hearing Impaired - This term often is used by the media and society in general to refer to people with a hearing loss. A more acceptable generic phrase is “deaf and hard of hearing” to refer to all people with a hearing loss. Within the Deaf culture, the term “hearing impaired” often is seen as offensive. It suggests that Deaf people are “broken” or “inferior” because they do not hear.

Hearing - Within the Deaf culture the term “hearing” is used to identify people who are members of the dominant American culture. One might think the ASL sign for “hearing” is related to the group’s ability to hear (e.g., pointing to the ear). However, the sign for “hearing” is related to the ability to “talk.” The act of talking is clearly visible to Deaf people, whereas listening or hearing is not. From the Deaf culture perspective, it is the act of “talking” that clearly separates the two groups.