Thirteen years ago when I married my husband, Ken, I believed the biggest difference between us was that I was Catholic and he was Lutheran. The fact that he was Deaf and I was hearing seemed inconsequential. The idea that we were entering into a bilingual and bicultural marriage and its potential impact on our relationship and future family did not enter our consciousness. Thirteen years and two children later, I have come to appreciate the significance of living in a bilingual-bicultural family.

Only recently have I reflected upon and analyzed bilingualism. When the editor of this book invited me to reflect upon the experience of living in a bilingual-bicultural family and write about it, I hesitated. I felt uncomfortable proclaiming myself a “bilingual.” I believed a true bilingual was someone raised from birth with two languages or someone who moved from country to country and developed fluency in two or more languages. I also hesitated to proclaim myself a bilingual since I didn't start learning American Sign Language (ASL) until age eighteen. Although I was fluent in two languages, I didn't fit what I believed to be the definition of bilingualism. In addition, in my field of sign language interpreting, making a claim of bilingualism seemed to belong solely to children of Deaf parents.