Over the summer, I went on an American Sign Language (ASL) programme in Gallaudet University, the world’s only college-level liberal arts institution for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing. I spent a month with the community in Washington DC. They are one of the most prominent American Deaf communities around. It was in this background, where ASL was the main language of communication and where Deaf culture was predominant, that I had the opportunity to fully take in Deaf culture and engage with this unique language beyond its technicalities. There were so many aspects of Deaf culture I’d never thought about until I was there–things like flashing lights instead of doorbells; the reliance on video call rather than text messaging (because ASL gloss (when written in text) is still distinct from written English); loud blasting music not for the sound but for rhythmic vibrations… It was incredibly fun and humbling to witness and share the diversity of sign languages and deaf cultures around the world. I’d learnt Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) in Singapore, and with ASL being one of the two languages SgSL emerged from*, this deeply broadened my understanding of both sign languages. Gallaudet as an institution was also deeply supportive of inclusion and cross-cultural understanding. Numerous people I met expressed that they were happy to have hearing people learn more about Deaf culture and sign language (the same as when I learned SgSL in Singapore). It was really incredible to immerse myself in the world of ASL and Deaf culture such that I constantly learnt and experienced new things all the time—in and out of the university campus.

*The other being Shanghainese Sign Language (and yes, they are all distinct! There is no universal sign language.)