Sign Language & Linguistics - Volume 1, Issue 2, 1998

The question of whether the American Deaf community possesses a separate culture or is merely a subcultural unit of American society has been a thorny and controversial issue for some time. Language, being a frequent symbol of ethnic identity, as well as a window onto cultural group thought, offers a means for determining the cultural or subcultural status of a group. Following Lakoff & Kovecses’ (1987) framework, one particular aspect of language, that of metaphorical expressions of anger in American Sign Language (ASL) is examined. This analysis finds the American Deaf to possess a pattern of cultural thought in this domain distinct from that of mainstream American society, suggesting that the American Deaf are an independent cultural unit which is simultaneously situated within the larger American society.