Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Gratisography
Deaf-koda families navigate the intersection between both the hearing and deaf worlds. Their household experiences are a unique blend of language features and cultural behaviors. At camps and conferences where Koda families gather, deaf parents often identify a loose collection of traits exhibited by Kodas, which are an expression of their multicultural identities and deaf heritage. These tendencies and traits are simply referred to as, c/koda THAT!
1. Attention-getting Strategies
Growing up many c/kodas have become so accustomed to the attention-getting strategies that they have used with their parents, that they use it in all facets of their lives. Whether it is tapping their teachers on the shoulder, stomping on the ground, or waving whatever object is around to get someone’s attention, many of these tactics have proven successful tools in everyday life.
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2. Eye-contact
Having an environment that is conducive for signing is important even if the conversation is with hearing friends. Making sure the lighting is bright enough, there are no visual distractions like vases on the table, and eye contact is maintained are some things that can be crucial in having a conversation with a c/koda.
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3. Detailed Conversationalists
When having a conversation with anyone, even strangers they just met, oftentimes all details (A-Z) are given, even ones that may be deemed insignificant. Other c/koda tendencies include being direct and summarizing the conversation’s main points at the end to make sure there are no misunderstandings.
4. An Abundance of Expressions
The saying is that some people wear emotions on their sleeve but for c/kodas their faces can clearly depict any emotion out there. C/Kodas are also known for not being able to hide what they are feeling since they are already showing it on their face.
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5. Coda-Talk
Growing up multilingual/bimodal, c/kodas like many other multilingual individuals have implemented certain phrases that they use in ASL in spoken english form. Codas may use phrases like food store or do-do even when they are conversing with their friends. For more information about CODA Talk check out our ten list.
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6. Volume control
Whispering is a skill that many codas have yet to master, but being loud is something that codas could be considered experts in. Whether it is through their voices or their footsteps, people around can hear them coming from a mile away.
@datkingk Deaf parent’s hearing children likes everything louder ???? #howbizarre #ThinkingAbout #youneedtoknow #educating #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #viral ♬ Oh No – Kreepa
7. Name sign
Another common piece of c/koda culture is having a name sign! Name signs are traditionally given based off of a personal characteristic or attribute, some are more original than others. What’s your name sign?
@oursignedworld First interview with Madi #deafdad #coda #asl #signlanguage #sign #madisigns #deaf #toddlersigning #SeeHerGreatness ♬ Little Things – Adrian Berenguer
8. Captions On, Please!
For many c/kodas it is impossible to fully understand a tv show or a movie without having the closed captioning on. Even after they are all grown and living on their own, many c/kodas have the captions on at their own home because it is such an important staple for them to have.
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9. Undisturbed Sleepers
Growing up, c/kodas have been unintentionally trained to sleep through all types of commotion. Early morning vacuuming or late-night furniture rearrangement, no noise is loud enough to wake a sleeping c/koda.
@isabeaupaolina Living with Deaf parents be like #codalife #coda #codaduets #deaftiktok #fypシ ♬ oklahoma be like.. – nicekidd
10. Location Awareness
For c/kodas letting everyone know where they are going at all times is of the utmost importance. Whether it is leaving the house or going to the bathroom, telling those around them is a must. Side note, when going to the bathroom it might be noticeable that they have a tendency to check for toilet paper as it can be quite unfortunate if one runs out in a deaf household.
If you have any behaviors or c/koda family bing or you think most codas can relate to- please share them with us on Facebook, Instagram or email us at oneKODAheart@gmail.com and we will add them to our future lists!