juniper’s Reviews > Reading Between the Signs Workbook: A Cultural Guide for Sign Language Students and Interpreters > Status Update

“Culture has been aptly compared to an iceberg. Just as an iceberg has a visible section above the waterline and a larger, invisible section below the waterline, so culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited.”

i have always loved the iceberg analogy / viewpoint!

“What followed was a stimulating discussion in which I explained to Tom my difficulty in carrying out what is considered ‘appropriate’ behavior for hearing people during introductions; that is, mentioning names of well-known Deaf people one has had connections with in order to show he or she can be trusted. Because of the ingrained disapproval of ‘name-dropping’ in American culture,”—

One of the themes of our chapter on Deaf culture was the importance of information sharing, which is exemplified in many cultural behaviors, including introductions. I finally made the connection!

“You mean I should have told you about Carol the first day when we met in your office?” I ventured.

“Yes!” came the strong reply.”

“Our cultural inheritance of values, attitudes, and beliefs, which, although we may not want to admit it, still influences our daily behavior and the way we interact with others.”

“‘The real job is not to understand foreign culture but to understand our own…all one ever gets from studying foreign culture is a token understanding. The ultimate reason for such study is to learn more about how one’s own system works.’

— Edward T. Hall
The Silent Language”

Excerpt From
Reading Between the Signs
Anna Mindess