Carolyn McCaskill, a professor in Gallaudet University Department of ASL and Deaf Studies, explains how deaf African Americans show their shared identity through their unique sign language.

Sign language, like spoken language, has regional variations (people sign more slowly in the South, for example), as well as features that reflect gender, age, socioeconomic status and, it turns out, race.

At 15, McCaskill transferred to an integrated school, where she saw white students using one hand rather than two to convey terms such as “why” and “don’t know” and employing entirely different signs for everyday words.When she went home, she switched again to reassimilate to her own black culture, recalled McCaskill, who was on the panel.

McCaskill’s code-switching remains a common experience for deaf black students, who often change to accommodate whites. Read more: https://wapo.st/2SKw7Gx. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: https://wapo.st/2QOdcqK

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