WP? A8L 1PL uLAl A LCLL C8Cu?

ln 2003 Lhe World PealLh CrganlzaLlon esLlmaLed LhaL 278 mllllon people had a moderaLe Lo profound
hearlng loss.
1
erhaps 73 of Lhese people--especlally Lhose wlLh laLer-ln-llfe hearlng loss--are
lnLegraLed lnLo Lhe ma[orlLy culLure where Lhey llve. 1hey usually are funcLlonal ln Lhe ma[orlLy language
used ln Lhelr counLry. 1hls large number of people wlLh a hearlng loss ls noL parL of any dlsLlncL ueaf
people group. Powever, Lhe World lederaLlon of Lhe ueaf esLlmaLes a consLlLuency of 70 mllllon ueaf
and hard-of-hearlng people around Lhe world.
2
1hls subseL of Lhe global deaf populaLlon ls llsLed as
varlous dlsLlncL ueaf people groups because Lhey meeL Lhe crlLerla for whaL consLlLuLes a people group.

WhaL are Lhose crlLerla? Cenerally-accepLed deflnlLlons of a people group lnclude Lerms llke eLhno-
llngulsLlc group," common self-ldenLlLy," shared culLural paLLerns among varlous members," and
unlque." 1he !oshua ro[ecL deflnes a people group as a slgnlflcanLly large soclologlcal grouplng of
lndlvlduals who percelve Lhemselves Lo have a common afflnlLy wlLh one anoLher."
3
So, ln addlLlon Lo
Lhe obvlous people-group dlsLlncLlve of a shared language, Lhere are oLher conslderaLlons LhaL help
deflne eLhnlclLy. A shared hlsLory, common cusLoms, Lhe ldenLlLles of clans and famllles, marrlage rules
and LradlLlons, and covenanLs and lnherlLance paLLerns are all lndlcaLors LhaL ldenLlfy a people group.
Mlsslon sLraLeglsLs descrlbe a people group as Lhe largesL group Lhrough whlch Lhe gospel can flow
wlLhouL encounLerlng slgnlflcanL barrlers of undersLandlng and accepLance."
4


Many ueaf communlLles do meeL Lhese crlLerla for belng classlfled as a people group. llrsL, !"# %#&'
("&)# & *&+,-&,#. 8esearchers esLlmaLe LhaL 160-200 slgn languages are ln use around Lhe world. 1hose
slgn languages have a common llngulsLlc core. Classlflers, non-manual markers, lconlc slgns, and slgn
language synLax and grammar are elLher ldenLlcal, or close enough Lo be recognlzed clearly, among ueaf
people ln any counLry and locaLlon. 1hese people conslder Lhelr hearL" language Lo be slgn language
regardless of how proflclenL Lhey may be ln readlng and wrlLlng Lhe ma[orlLy language. 1helr lndlvldual
slgn languages may lnclude a few lnfluences of Lhe ma[orlLy language ln Lhelr counLry, buL Lhe slgn
language ls enLlrely separaLe from, and noL dependenL on, LhaL ma[orlLy language.

1hls use of a dlsLlncL language dlsLlngulshes Lhe ueaf from oLher groups wlLh physlcal challenges, such as
bllndness or moblllLy lmpalrmenL. eople who are bllnd or moblllLy-challenged do noL have a separaLe
language. 1hus Lhey do noL meeL Lhls crlLerlon for recognlLlon as a people group.

Second, !"# %#&' ("&)# & ./00/+ .-*!-)#. 1hey percelve Lhemselves as ueaf, flrsL, and Lhen Lhey wlll
recognlze Lhelr naLlonal ldenLlLy ln a secondary way. 1hls culLural ldenLlLy lncludes common facLors llke
shared educaLlonal experlences aL ueaf schools, marrylng ueaf people, a soclo-pollLlcal neLwork
cenLered on Lhe ueaf communlLy (locally and lnLernaLlonally), and a shared experlence of dlscrlmlnaLlon
wlLhln every culLure. 1he reallLy ls LhaL Lhe ueaf around Lhe globe, wherever Lhey exlsL ln communlLy
(and ofLen ln lsolaLed slLuaLlons), share a common worldvlew. 1helr susplclon of hearlng people Lyplcally
lends lLself Lo an us versus Lhem" aLLlLude.


1
World PealLh CrganlzaLlon webslLe-- hLLp://www.who.lnL/medlacenLre/facLsheeLs/fs300/en/lndex.hLml
2
World lederaLlon of Lhe ueaf webslLe-- hLLp://www.wfdeaf.org
3
!oshua ro[ecL webslLe-- hLLp://www.[oshuapro[ecL.neL/deflnlLlons.php
4
eople Croups webslLe-hLLp://www.peoplegroups.org/faqs.aspx

1hlrd, !"# %#&' 1#).#23# !"#0(#*3#( &( & 1#/1*# ,)/-1. Many books, arLlcles, and posLlngs have been
wrlLLen abouL Lhe ueaf, Lhelr culLure, Lhelr ldenLlLy, Lhelr language, and Lhelr unlqueness as a people.
AlLhough Lhelr eLhnlclLy ls deflned Lhrough a dlsablllLy raLher Lhan a blood llneage, Lhey see Lhelr
communlLy as regeneraLlve Lhrough Lhelr common characLerlsLlcs.

lnLernaLlonal Mlsslon 8oard (lM8) caLegorlzes Lhe ueaf globally as a people group and noL as lndlvldual
segmenLs of Lhe ma[orlLy populaLlons of each counLry. lM8's Clobal 8esearch ueparLmenL esLlmaLes
LhaL Lhere are abouL 36 mllllon ueaf people ln Lhe world Loday who meeL Lhe crlLerla for a dlsLlncL
people group as descrlbed ln Lhe paragraphs above. 1helr dlsLlncL language(s), culLural ldenLlLy, and
aLLlLude Loward hearlng people are barrlers Lo Lhe undersLandlng and accepLance" of Lhe gospel, so
Lhey are LreaLed as dlsLlncL people groups. 1he dlfference beLween Lhe ueaf as a people group and
lndlvlduals wlLh a hearlng loss ls lndlcaLed by Lhe use of a caplLal u" (for a people group ldenLlLy) and a
lower case d" (a reference Lo a person wlLh a hearlng loss). 8ecause mosL counLrles use a dlsLlncLlve
verslon of slgn language, Lhe ueaf ln each counLry usually are consldered a separaLe people group.

ln concluslon, lL ls lmporLanL Lo noLe LhaL an effecLlve mlsslologlcal approach for reachlng Lhe ueaf
needs dlsLlncL sLraLegles LhaL uLlllze ScrlpLure ln Lhe hearL language (slgn language), non-prlnL meLhods
of evangellsm and church planLlng, and an aLLlLude LhaL faclllLaLes empowermenL of Lralned ueaf
bellevers. 1hls approach ls noL merely a Lweaklng" of hearlng-culLure sLraLegles and prlnL-based
sLraLegles for reachlng people and planLlng churches, lL musL lnclude culLurally-approprlaLe meLhods
LhaL allow ueaf bellevers Lo recelve Lralnlng Lo serve ln every faceL of mlnlsLry among Lhelr people
group.