Nuremberg butcher teaches himself sign language, bridging the gap with his deaf regulars
Yevgeniy Klibanov, a 39-year-old master butcher in Nuremberg, has spent a year teaching himself sign language to chat with his two deaf regulars about the weather and their families.
The butcher and his customers
Yevgeniy Klibanov is a master butcher at an E-Center supermarket in Nuremberg's Röthenbach district. He loves talking with customers while slicing sausage and weighing meat, but for a long time two of his regulars were left out. Both men are deaf. About a year ago Klibanov decided to change that and began learning German Sign Language in his free time.
One of those customers is Hedi Doudeche, 73, who lives three houses away from Klibanov. When Doudeche steps up to the meat counter now, he greets the butcher with a broad smile and a few signs. The two men can finally hold small conversations.
We talk, we laugh together. That creates closer contact.
Learning sign language
Klibanov taught himself with a smartphone app. After his children, aged six and eight, go to bed, he drives to his allotment garden, drinks coffee and practises. He estimates he now knows about 95 words and phrases, and he plans to attend a course at an education centre soon. For now, he learns most by interacting with his deaf customers.
He is not afraid of making mistakes. When he came to Germany from Uzbekistan in 2001 as a teenager, he learned German word by word and never worried about errors. "It always worked out," he says. Building a sentence in sign language feels similar, he explains: "Somehow I piece it together when I want to say something."
A wider context
About 80,000 deaf people live in Germany, according to the German Deaf Association. In Bavaria, the figure is around 10,000, yet the state has only about 200 qualified sign-language interpreters. Daniel Büter, an expert with the Bavarian association, says the shortage shows how large everyday barriers remain.
Shopping is fortunately an area of daily life that requires very little direct communication. All the same, what Klibanov is doing is hugely valuable. It is a great example of genuine participation at eye level. Such personal exchange takes away everyday pressure and creates a welcoming culture.
Büter adds that this kind of private commitment is, unfortunately, rarer in Germany than in countries like the United States.
Language and connection
German Sign Language has a comprehensive vocabulary and its own grammar, distinct from spoken German. Klibanov acknowledges the challenge but is undeterred. Büter notes that apps are good for building a basic vocabulary, but they cannot replace personal conversation and real contact. Fluency requires direct interaction with deaf people and professional courses.
For Klibanov and Doudeche, even a few dozen signs have made a difference. If they meet on the street by chance, they now have something to say to each other. What began as a butcher’s quiet project has grown into a small but tangible bridge between two neighbours.
