Southern Culture Research Paper

“Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things (Zimmermann, 2018).” Culture is the essence and variety of life that defines how people will go about life as well as how they view it and other things, people, and ideas. There are an abundance of similarities and differences between Deaf culture and Southern culture. Both cultures love large gatherings and parties, yet they communicate in vastly different forms. When meeting strangers, the two cultures have varying approaches that can be taken in different ways. Southern also culture began in the 1500s

Both Southern culture and Deaf culture value interactions and are often a part of large group settings. These often last hours and saying goodbye takes the longest, as it is one of the most important things a person can do in these cultures. One main and noticeable difference in these two cultures is the way they communicate. Deaf individuals use American Sign Language, texting, social media, and video chats to communicate. While some may be similar, like texting, social media and video chatting, Southerners are big on face to face communications with good old Southern dialect. This includes terms like “all y’all, Bless your heart, and over yonder”. Greeting strangers is also a vast difference between these two cultures. When the deaf community meets someone new, they often ask questions like “Who are your friends?, What school did you go to?, and Do you know ___?”. These questions are often personal to find out whether there are similarities between the two people communicating and to quickly learn about a person. If a Southerner meets a Deaf person, these questions can often be seen as overstepping and overtly personal and vice versa can be seen as not personal enough and vague. When Southerners meet someone new they are often welcomed with love and open arms, as almost everybody is seen as family in the Southern culture. Questions asked will be related to who they are as a person to figure out their personality rather than finding out who they know in common. Lastly, both cultures see everyone in their culture as family and as one being. After welcoming someone new, a party or large gathering is often in store and everyone gets to know each other. Whether it is four in the morning or six at night, the community protects and cares for each other with immense respect and