English edit

Etymology edit

deaf +‎ -ism

Noun edit

deafism (countable and uncountable, plural deafisms)

  1. A stereotypy characteristic of deaf people.
    Coordinate term: blindism
    • 1963, Report of the Proceedings of the International Congress on Education of the Deaf and of the Forty-First Meeting of the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf, page 162:
      In other words, to analyze and fully understand "deafisms" is a problem of considerable complexity and consequence. For a decade we have been studying this language phenomenon through analyzing the written language of the deaf in comparison with those who have other types of language disorders and with the normal.
    • 1978, Canadian Society of Forensic Science Journal, volumes 11-12, page 6:
      Therefore, errors of punctuation cannot be considered a type of deafism.
  2. (uncountable) Prejudice against deaf people.
    • 1994, Bruce N. Snider, Carol Erting, Robert C. Johnson, The Deaf Way, page 734:
      The best place to fight Hollywood deafism is in our deaf schools. If we give our children understanding and appreciation of our rich culture and sign language, the students will gain a deaf heritage and become more creative, more aware, and more assertive global deaf citizens.