Deaf Character Sign Name - What Should I Do?

Question

Hey there who ever is reading this. I have a Japanese character who is deaf in one ear and not in the other. I know he would have a sign name, but I’m not sure I can give him one and if I can what it would be. If anyone can help me with this it would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

A few things you'll need to consider before writing the character, especially if you're a Hearing person yourself and new to the language and culture:

Are they living in America and using ASL, or are they living in Japan and using JSL? If they are living in America, I'd recommend asking someone you know from your local Deaf community for advice on picking a name sign, describing the character to them.

If they don't want to help, or tell you that your character doesn't need a name sign, or tell you that other things about the character are inaccurate, listen to them. Not every Deaf person has or uses a name sign, so it's totally acceptable if your character doesn't have one.

If you don't know any Deaf people, or if the character is using JSL, and you don't know any Japanese Deaf people, you might also need to consider the possibility that you're not fit to write about the character's experiences or culture in any in-depth way. Including diverse characters is wonderful, but if you're still inexperienced with a language or culture, then you won't be able to accurately portray your character's language or culture. If that's the case, I would encourage not giving them a name sign unless a Deaf person suggests one to you, and maybe focusing on other aspects of the character's personality and life beyond their culture and language. If it feels like that would shallow the character and erase a huge chunk of their personality or story, then it means your character requires a high level of in-depth understanding about the culture and language that you may or may not pesonally have.

Feel free to provide more info or ask more questions if you'd like to discuss or clarify any of these points further.

Source: ASL tutor active in local Deaf Community, and fiction author for 8 years.