Sign Language
Sign language is a form of communication that utilizes hand gestures, body movements, and facial expressions to convey meaning, particularly when spoken communication is not feasible. It encompasses a wide range of expressions, from simple gestures to complex linguistic systems. While primarily associated with the Deaf community, sign language can also be employed by hearing individuals in various contexts, such as when verbal communication is hindered.
Historically, sign languages have been used for centuries, with early examples found among indigenous tribes and documented accounts as far back as the fifth century BCE. Pioneers in the field of deaf education, such as Pedro Ponce de Leon and Abbe Charles-Michel de l'Épee, played crucial roles in developing structured sign languages and promoting their use. The most widely recognized sign language in the United States is American Sign Language (ASL), which evolved from Old French Sign Language.
Globally, there are over one hundred distinct sign languages, each with its own grammar and vocabulary. Notable examples include Auslan in Australia and Nicaraguan Sign Language. Additionally, International Sign serves as a bridge for deaf individuals from different countries during international events. Sign language not only facilitates communication but also represents a vital aspect of cultural identity for many within the Deaf community.
Sign Language
Sign language is a means of communicating through bodily movements, usually of the hands, arms, and face, when spoken communication is not possible. The term sign language encompasses everything from merely shrugging or frowning to a sophisticated language in which hand signs, gestures, facial expressions, and finger spellings are used to convey words.
Sign language is commonly used by the Deaf community but is also occasionally used by those who can hear when communication via speech is not possible. For example, the Plains Indians used a crude sign language in the nineteenth century. Different tribes spoke different languages and could not understand one another. The tribes had many shared elements, such as hunting deer for food and riding horses. They used hand symbols to indicate such elements so that they could communicate.
For centuries, deaf individuals were oppressed and discriminated against. Because they could not understand spoken words, people thought they could not learn. In some places, they were legally considered non-persons and were not allowed to buy property or marry. Pioneers in deaf education such as Pedro Ponce de Leon (1520 – 1584), Juan Pablo Bonet (1560 – 1633), and Abbe Charles-Michel de l'Epee (1712 – 1789) sought to teach deaf people sign language so they could become educated.
More than one hundred sign languages are used throughout the world. The most widely used is the American Sign Language (ASL). ASL developed from the Old French Sign Language (OFSL), which was utilized in Paris during the eighteenth century.
Early Sign Languages
While no one is certain when the first complete sign language was invented, hand signs have been used throughout human history. Early humans likely communicated using a rudimentary type of sign language. Later, when they learned to vocalize, they used signs—gestures and facial expressions—to emphasize their speech. Socrates wrote about sign language and the deaf in the fifth century BCE, and sign language was mentioned during biblical times.
Pedro Ponce de Leon, a Benedictine monk, may have created the first complete sign language in Spain in the 1500s. Ponce de Leon came up with the language because he wanted a way to communicate during mandatory periods of silence. He taught the language to Gaspard Burgos, who could not join the Benedictine order because he was deaf. Using Ponce de Leon's sign language, Burgos was able to communicate so that he could make his required confession. Ponce de Leon also taught the language to other deaf individuals. Unfortunately, he either did not record his methods or the records have been lost.
Juan Pablo Bonet, a Spanish secretary and father of a deaf child, was a pioneer in deaf education. In 1620, he published Simplification of the Letters of the Alphabet and Method of Teaching Deaf-mutes to Speak, which provided the first sign language alphabet and a set of manual gestures, or signs, to represent words. It is believed that the sign language in Bonet's book is based on Ponce de Leon's sign language.
The First Schools for the Deaf
A cleric in Paris opened the first free school for the Deaf in 1771. Abbe Charles-Michel de l'Epee became interested in teaching the Deaf when he was visiting the home of a local parishioner and saw two deaf girls signing. He was amazed at their ability to communicate and wanted to teach other deaf children to sign.
l'Epee studied the natural signs deaf children were using, meaning the signs they had made up. He used these signs and modified the Old French Sign Language (OFSL) so that it could be used to communicate specific words and not just general ideas. This new language became known as French Sign Language (FSL). l'Epee eventually opened twenty-one schools and became known as the "Father of the Deaf."
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1787 – 1851) was an American congregational minister who wanted to find a way to educate his neighbor's young daughter, who was deaf. In 1815, the girl's father raised the funds to send Gallaudet to Europe to study sign language and deaf education. Gallaudet visited l'Epee's school and met Laurent Clerc (1785 – 1869), a graduate of one of the many schools for the deaf established by graduates of l'Epee's original school. Clerc taught Gallaudet sign language and later returned with him to the United States to establish a school for the deaf. They opened the American School for the Deaf (ASD) in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut. Gallaudet's young neighbor was among the first students.
Modern Sign Languages
Like l'Epee, Gallaudet and Clerc studied the natural signs that deaf children used. They incorporated these signs and modified the French Sign Language (FSL) to create the American Sign Language (ASL), which is based on the English alphabet. ASL has a unique grammar that is unlike English grammar.
ASL is one of the world's most-used sign languages, but it is not a universal language; only people in English-speaking countries can use and understand ASL. More than 500,000 deaf people in the United States and Canada use ASL. Many other sign languages are national. For example, the Deaf in Australia use Auslan (the Australian Sign Language), and the Deaf in Nicaragua use the Nicaraguan Sign Language.
International Sign, which was originally called Gestuno, is used at international events for the Deaf, such as the Olympics for the Deaf. International sign enables deaf people from different countries to communicate with one another.
Bibliography
"American Sign Language." National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Web. 22 July 2015. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/asl.aspx
"Deaf Education Develops." Timeline of Deaf History. Sound and Fury, PBS. Web. 22 July 2015. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/soundandfury/culture/dhpop/popup4.html
Fraser, Benjamin. Ed. and Trans. "Deaf History and Culture in Spain: A Reader in Primary Documents." GU Press. Gallaudet University Press. Web. 22 July 2015. http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/excerpts/DHCS.html
"History of Sign Language." DeafWebsites.com. Deaf Websites. Web. 22 July 2015. http://www.deafwebsites.com/sign-language/history-of-sign-language.html
"History of Sign Language." Start ASL. Web. 22 July 2015. http://www.start-american-sign-language.com/history-of-sign-language.html
"Sign Languages." Omniglot. Simon Ager. Web. 22 July 2015. http://www.omniglot.com/writing/signlanguages.php
"Who Invented Sign Language?" Deaf-Edge.com. Deaf Edge. Web. 22 July 2015. http://www.deafedge.com/who-invented-sign-language.html