Protecting and Interpreting Deaf Culture | Glenna Cooper | TEDxTulsaCC

Deaf advocate Glenna Cooper shares her personal journey as a Deaf child of hearing parents who were told to avoid teaching their daughter sign language. Glenna shares insight into Deaf culture, including why it's not considered rude to tell someone their new hairstyle isn't flattering. You'll also learn about a cutting edge movement in interpretation that pairs Deaf with hearing interpreters.
Glenna Cooper is Assistant Professor and Department Chair for American Sign Language Education, English As Second Language, and World Language at Tulsa Community College. She was one of a few Deaf nationally certified instructors to provide Deaf Culture training to emergency responders in 40 states. Although she is Deaf, ASL was not her first language. Instead, she learned to speak and lipread English first which presented many challenges.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@i.love2aslvideos90]

As a CODA, Child of Deaf Adults, when she fingerspelled C-O-D-A, it was not interpreted and the audience missed out on learning about how hearing children of Deaf parents became came the first interpreters for the Deaf community.

[@mysanityizgone4576]

Good catch! I missed it myself

[@3nertia]

Thank you!

[@fuzbcuz7613]

Thank you for sharing!

[@MiamiBeachDrew]

I had to go back, because I missed that too. Thank you!

[@samalsrei5089]

I didn‘t miss it, even though the word CODA was not mentioned. It was explained!

[@Elaini.Young24]

I love the interpreter's affect in this presentation. It's very on point and matches so well with the consumer's facial expressions.

[@radasez]

she had a script but she did very well

[@danlimkin8265]

My point Actually

[@ire1398]

I teach/mentor/train ASL-English interpreting. I am impressed. If I was doing a diagnostic she would be in the category of “very effective”.

[@ire1398]

@@radasezit can be harder with a script because you can only look one place at a time. There is a very definite skill to effectively working with one. It’s GREAT prep. I have interpreted several plays with Deaf actors. I found it easier to interpret a Deaf comedian than I did the plays (although I LOVE both)

[@jamespratt7627]

My mom and dad are deaf. God bless the deaf 💕

[@alannagarner2923]

The five stages of good bye had me laughing so hard. My grandmother and uncles are deaf and so my entire family has embraced the deaf community and this is really true. The interpreters we interact with will stay hours and still talk from their car.

[@otrerawhycraft6341]

amazed at the inaccuracy of the subtitles for the speaking narrator in a video about deafness

[@saraspringer9489]

I just changed my major to ASL and this is going to be my first ASL teacher. I'm so excited!

[@Daddynomnoms]

Did you like the class? Are you still learning sign?

[@saraspringer9489]

@@Daddynomnoms I loved the class and yes I am still signing 🙂

[@Daddynomnoms]

@@saraspringer9489 congrats!! I just finished ASL 3 last semester, and I watch Daily Moth news to stay fresh:)

[@nmartuzas]

I wish the people operating the cameras would not use the wide view when the presenter is using ASL! This video is high quality, but signs are too small to understand on my phone half the time.

[@kayleemiddlebrook7305]

I agree, I like watching the presentation without dubs to see how much I understand, but I couldn't because of the awkward camera angles.

[@InTeCredo]

All you have to do is to watch it on desktop or notbook computer and click on full screen icon. I see everything what she signed just fine.

[@slowfire2]

Some people only have a phone.

[@eiterpet]

I know it's not ideal, but why not activate the subtitles?

[@jeremytasl4881]

I'm enjoying her speech and then the camera pulls away. What?! It's a visual language.

[@maybpandacat5989]

I'm a hearing person, trying to learn ASL (for my hearing baby, but he's 6 months and I know that his speaking journey may be facilitated by communicating via ASL in the interim). I am utterly horrified to learn about the forced lip-reading "education", and not allowing the use of sign language to communicate in 1880. It makes me admire the efforts made by the Gallaudet professor to push sign language to be established as a language unto itself, rather than a direct translation. I can speak both English and Thai, so I already know that traversing the barrier between languages can be difficult. While learning ASL, I'll keep in mind that it's a process of learning a new language - not just translating English with body language. I can only hope to not be offensive in my efforts to learn ASL, since I have no actual link to the deaf community other than wanting to communicate with my hearing baby.

[@Charlie.1066]

I hope your learning process went well and that you and your kid have more people to sign with now! Its a very good language to know even if you can speak some of (or all of) the time. :)

[@mariedickinson3149]

What a fabulous sharing of culture and history and struggle (and overcoming). I even learned a new sign for "culture"! I attended Gallaudet and work at a Deaf school so I knew most of the history you shared, but it was wonderful to be reminded of it all and increase my appreciation for the Deaf world. Well done!

[@Yobydobie]

After 20 years I’m remembering an elementary classmate who had deaf parents. I was so fascinated by his ability to sign. Jealous, even. I want to learn now in my adulthood. His name was Noah. He was tall and had freckles. Wherever you are, I hope you and your folks are doing well🤟🏻

[@michaelmerryman99]

You are an inspiration. I learned things I never knew about deaf culture - namely, that there IS a deaf culture, and all the nuances ingrained in it. Thank you for raising my awareness!

[@kayleemiddlebrook7305]

Awesome speech, I have been learning ASL for about 2 years, I'm now in my third year, and I remember thinking how unfair it was for Deaf people to struggle to communicate. That's why I want to continue learning ASL, so Deaf people won't have to struggle to understand me. (But my skill isn't great, so they might struggle to understand me anyways :))

[@GrahamLloyd-f6e]

Thank you for this wonderful presentation Glenna Campbell.

[@lienhoa_12]

5:04 this lady's sense of humor is awesome! Man, i found the long dialogue so adorable haha, might copy that the next time i'm late to class.

[@NinaTexas04]

Well-said!! Your speech was awesome. That was an interesting perspective if 1880 in Milan never happen then what will we, deaf, become of this. Great job!

[@danlimkin8265]

There are actually doing Great you know

[@ciannacoleman5125]

I learned a lot in the last 15min, it also gave yet another reason to teach children sign even if they are hearing

[@JoAnn4gracenotperfectionm815]

Wonderful Ted Talks!! The Deaf culture is friendly & funny especially their jokes.

[@danlimkin8265]

That’s so True smile

[@davidmutchock9261]

the more i learn about deaf culture the more it seems stranger to have children learn Spanish or french in school instead of ASL when ASL is just as much a American language as Spanish. why then is it not offered and latin and french are? Nonsense

[@annalarcon4593]

Hope to learn ASL soonest so I could communicate with deaf community. I also want to "hear" their stories by learning their language.

[@clairee4939]

Even though I am BSL but think you’re good motivations definitely learn ASL ♥️ 🥰

[@jilliandiaz7534]

This was so great!! I didnt know about this history either. Deaf and and hearing one world!!!

[@aslnomad5158]

This video is spot-on. Love it.

[@3nertia]

Deaf people are some of the most human humans

[@keriwelchel168]

Beautiful said n I’m looking forward to serve deaf community as deaf interpreter

[@renbaker5124]

I am learning ASL, for a variety of reasons. For one, I have a genetic disease that may cause progressive deafness, and I am already a bit hard of hearing (I'm 17). Also, its a beautiful language and will enable me to connect with more people. Plus, it just makes so much more sense to me. I have audio processing disorder which makes understanding oral language a bit difficult. I'm a visual learner and I have picked up more ASL than I did French in 3 years of formal classes. I have spent minimal time learning ASL on my own. I'm trying to learn more about deaf culture and the history of ASL in addition to the language itself.

[@toymanmark]

this is very educational for me. I am a resident of two worlds. The speaking world and the deaf. To learn that a vote was taken in 1880 to separate the deaf and hearing world. The speaking world is a very noisy place. To wonder what might have been.

[@1lightdweller]

I learned how to finger spell back in the 70's, going to a school where two brothers were deaf, and I wanted to be able to communicate with them as I saw how isolated they were. Now, some 40 + years later, I am trying to learn ASL, as I am now hard of hearing, and find myself with one foot inside the deaf culture now. I see the advantage of what you describe, where all communicate with ASL. But I'm running into a roadblock on my quest for better communication skills. The deaf community appears to have also isolated themselves. I would have thought there would be groups of deaf putting together classes for those like myself and hearing people to go and learn. It's as though the deaf community has gone underground.

[@realmofthemisunderstood166]

1lightdweller there are many deaf people offering tutoring, you just need to look

[@realmofthemisunderstood166]

I promise you, you can find deaf people and deaf events if you look, THAT is how you learn, that’s greatly how I did

[@davidmacdonald9159]

I also think that deaf populations of any size are particularly region specific (mostly around deaf schools). if you're having trouble finding tutors it may be because there aren't any deaf people around. where I come from, I've never met anyone who was deaf but I live in a suburb of eastern mass with no schools for hours.

[@liamhunt3374]

I thought it was terrible how the delegates voted against SL. It really is crazy to think about what the world would look like if that had never happened. What sort of great doctors, inventors, authors, or speakers did we miss out on simply because we would not give them the ability to learn capably and communicate?

[@teresaohira5053]

Extremely well done!! I am going to share you TedTalk with my DHH students

[@carolynerobista7278]

am hearing sign language interpreter and i enjoy deaf culture for their openness and details. I do ksl with alittle asl .

[@chriswixtrom6514]

Thank you for this interesting, lively and informative presentation!

[@danlimkin8265]

I Can actually Go on and on watching this

[@chriswixtrom6514]

@@danlimkin8265 Yes!

[@danlimkin8265]

@@chriswixtrom6514 Nice too meet you I’m Dan limkin From Long Beach California and you ?

[@AngelinaSkylove_719]

This is the problem with some hearing ppl. I can hear but it's not like I'd say to a deaf person, "You can't learn sign language; you need to fit in with the 'hearing community' and you'd be isolated from them..." This is what I don't understand. Why can't there be just 1 community where all ppl can be accepted as they are as person, no matter what the differences are? Why are blind and deaf ppl shunned so often and so little are recognized as People? Some ppl treat/look at the deaf and blind like they're aliens. It makes me sick! If ppl have a problem with you learning sign language/ braille they're isolating themselves from you, not the other way around. I myself am learning sign language becuase for a long time, I've been interested in the language. I've always found it interesting and I'd like to communicate with other deaf/hoh (hard of hearing) ppl and teach others. I also have anxiety issues/disorder and sometimes it's hard for me to even start a convo and, more often than not, keep a convo flowing with someone verbally. It makes me sad and I feel sign language is another gate; an open door to see me through and help me feel more comfortable and confident, especially when I'm trying to speak my mind about a particular subject and I can't come up with the right words I want to say. It's frustrating and sign language is a blessing. Deaf and blind ppl can do just as much as hearing/seeing can, even more than we can do ourselves. Never limit ppl based on what they don't have compared to you/others.

[@AQ-uc4bb]

Love this

[@MiamiBeachDrew]

Did anyone else notice when (story starts at 7:10) Glenna was telling about the earliest use of sign language, the interpreter (at 7:50) said "American" Sign Language. Oops... the story date was 427 BCE.

[@ire1398]

I saw Glenna at a Washington RID conference about 10 years ago. She did a comedy routine. My abs hurt from laughing so much.

[@NVRainbowmaker]

Excellent watch. Highly recommend. 🤟

[@marisac.5303]

Wow! that's all I can say. Very interesting. At my age I might never be fluent but I'm really enjoying learning ASL.

[@chriswixtrom6514]

Great presentation!

[@alertbayDeafboy]

Well signed (said), Glenna! I am sharing your valuable information to Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services for hearing parents of Deaf child(ren) to learn about. Saskatchewan is the most suppressive province in Canada where AGB has been deliberately depriving visual communication and social life from Deaf children. Thanks to the provincial's budget cut recently the organization named Saskatchewan Pediatric Auditory Rehabilitation Centre (SPARC) will be closed on July 1st, 2017. The hearing parents have been experiencing humiliation, being threatened, confusion, and receiving misconception from SPARC for years. Thank you, Glenna!

[@kayleemiddlebrook7305]

That's so sad, I hope your petition goes well!

[@SurprisedPikacheesecake]

i truly believe every kid in the US should be learning Spanish and ASL along with English in school. it would bridge such a huge gap in the country and there's really no reason not to and there's so many pros to being multilingual.

[@jenniferbeck4936]

Speech was awesome

[@tianabalas1378]

Hi I am deaf and this is all true and I never was forced to learn to lip read my grandma died and all I did was ask questions about what happened and the doctor told my mom " is she autistic?." I got really affended when my mom signed to me what the doctor said. my mom told the doctor that I was deaf and we left and I will never forget that day

[@gracemelone3974]

I felt sick when she talked about the delegates voting to forbid sign language.

[@rileywiebe3512]

Hahaha do they shut the lights off so you can't talk/see each other's signs? My family is hearing but we also take a long time to leave places. I was always waiting for my parents at the end as a kids.

[@user-jw7rb8bv2t]

The camera perspective switches aren't visually as accessible as the audio. It was hard to watch Glenna be so zoomed out suddenly... Love the *inclusivity* but wish it was more visually inclusive for those listening with their eyes, not listening with their ears then letting the visual follow ;)

[@samalsrei5089]

Thanks. This talk was great. Thanks.

[@marshallharris3872]

I do wish she had actually said CODA instead of glossing over it. It would have been good for the audience to have access to that. Otherwise I think she did a great job!! :-)

[@aoife.]

7:49 sign language** not american sign language. somehow i doubt the ancient greeks were super into the 4th of july and hot dogs back in 400 bc 😭

[@jeniferromero8929]

I’m doing this for online school

[@jeniferromero8929]

I have to write down what she is saying.

[@flynn7453]

Same but I’m in person lmao

[@jayrico5818]

Love ASL

[@samgold9151]

Can you provide? More Deaf American Sign Language ASL Singers on TED in August 2024

[@hannahrosereviews5073]

Interesting, the only type of Deaf interpreters I've seen are those who know 2 or more country's sign language ( for instance BSL to ASL). I've never seen an interpreter team in the way this wonderful person described it. Also, 1880...very sad.

[@danlimkin8265]

Me Either But this is interesting

[@MohamedMohamed-ex7er]

She is right.

[@mariaelizabeth6066]

Awesome talk but sometimes it is hard to see what she is signing when the camera zooms out which is a tad frustrating

[@gotobassmsn]

If the number of people keep losing their hearing at the rate that experts report. Then one day in a couple of more generations from now we may all be deaf, from the noisy world we live in. Unlike our great great great grandparents time when it was way less noisy than today.

[@vijayradha8898]

I love the interpreter

[@pipermoonshine3281]

no no no..thank you..thank you for sharing your world

[@signwithcj1127]

Can you add subtitles please. The KZbin auto-generated captions is a little bit hinky.

[@chriswixtrom6514]

Look for the three dots under the video in KZbin. Click on the dots. Click "open transcript"

[@signwithcj1127]

@@chriswixtrom6514 I'm not asking for a transcript. I'm asking for Subtitles.

[@chriswixtrom6514]

@@signwithcj1127 Yes subtitles would be best! I just want to let you know that KZbin video "transcripts" are on-screen running transcripts. A running transcript is timed to match the voicing.

[@LivingProcess]

Brilliant 💚🤟🏼

[@lwhitman57]

I know this was a lot of work, but the result is awesome!

[@samgold9151]

Can you provide? More Deaf Japanese Sign Language JSL Singers on TED in February 2026

[@virginiareynolds6296]

I have to say as a hearing impaired/deaf person who does not sign that I disagree with her on one point: We cannot do everything that a hearing person can: hearing a car coming up behind us when riding a bike, emergency vehicles with sirens behind the car I’m driving, the noise that a bull moose makes when charging me from behind, the speech the pilot or flight attendants give before taking off in a plane…just saying, no, deaf people cannot do everything that hearing people can. Like be a police officer. Or a commercial pilot. And the ROTUS position - when one thinks of a receptionist, one thinks she’s answering the phone, the deaf receptionist was more of a greeter to people coming in and giving tours of the west wing.

[@samgold9151]

Can you provide? More Blind American English Language Speaker on TED in October 2025

[@5281940]

Wow! that is aLOVE IT .....I have to say that I live in the US and I live in Oregon and that I communicate with my deaF friends every day on Skype and it's a wonderful and I don't think that only that is it is a beautiful language but it's a communication tool I have a very open mind and I love to communicate with any and everybody and I wish the Americans they're hearing forgive but think about the perspective of Deaf culture please be kind of one another be kind to one another and help share this good information of American sign language are even in English in American Sign Language deaf people have minds and hearts and have kids and family please please be kind and try to learn the language it's a fun thing to do I know American Sign Language and there's nothing wrong with it at person or the language if something wrong with American people's attitude and opinion your opinion will Define who you are and always will and if you have an open mind and be nice and kind of learn something of sign language which it all could be so cool deaf in American Sign Language it's okay to be deaf

[@jinx4life316]

Thank you so much for saying this I’m learning to be an interpreter I’m taking my first two classes

[@suzannehedderly1331]

That was good!

[@Lala-cd5oj]

Hello? Can you tell me who was your Interpreter? Name Please?

[@samgold9151]

Can you provide? More Blind Japanese Language Speaker on TED in May 2026

[@oldschooltakingyaback]

Chan brought me here.

[@ambermarie6763]

what she's saying was almost verbatim from a documentary by Thomas Holcomb....

[@ambermarie6763]

and she's using stuff from through deaf eyes documentary...

[@cmarin7560]

Lousy photography - I can't see the signing.

[@janardhandeaf4861]

This need interpreter all not more than use because deaf & HH , blind & deaf our sign language equally all any people's learn forbid sign language must best.. Interpreter not use value important..

[@keithmiller252]

Deaf me 🤗 hugs Keith Ohio 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟

[@clairee4939]

Aww Hi Keith Deaf from the UK

[@fuckyouyoutube7921]

Imagine a world without music.

[@heelFLiP249]

Sign language is ableist towards people with no hands.

[@NotaScrimp]

7:48 that wouldn’t be the earliest use of American Sign Language, just sign language. I don’t like this interpreter

[@counseling3863]

I am a professor at a community college. I had motivation to learn ASL but from the your video, I feel that you are not encouraging hearing individuals to learn ASL.

[@josefk5659]

The first documented use of AMERICAN Sign Language was by Plato? Are you sure it was AMERICAN? And if this woman thinks we would all be signing if things went differently in 1880, she is off her head.

[@annstropes2236]

She didn’t sign “American Sign Language” or ASL just “sign”. That was a mistake of the interpreter.

[@coldfact58]

the culture of the cursed

[@realmofthemisunderstood166]

Roy Rodrick shut up, deaf people are not “cursed”

[@coldfact58]

@@realmofthemisunderstood166 Trust me we are the dammed and cursed nothing but a comedy to the rest of humanity. Gods rejects

[@missflower6142]

Roy Rodrick wft no, Haha. What a sad outlook on life.

[@mysanityizgone4576]

@@coldfact58 pretty much. But try to smile, tho.

[@trashy10]

So take away a persons hearing at birth and the become blunt,rude ,a holes. Bring back eugenics

[@whitneyrose1369]

Love this