Although sign language has been around for many years now, it wasn’t always accepted as a language. Many people thought it was just some form of moving hands with no real meaning behind it. It took many years of hard work before it was considered an accepted form of language. Although sign language seemed to develop around the world during the same time period, Europe was more progressive on this issue than the United States. In order to fully understand the unity of deaf culture, you must go back and understand the roots and foundations laid for the deaf society. We will go back to the early 1600s in Europe and get to present day in the United States. Throughout our journey we must continue to go back to Europe who truly worked wonders in helping our deaf society members get the rights and recognition they have today.
The 1600s
In the 1600s, before sign language was recognized
as a real language and before it was well-known, communication for the deaf was
very difficult. Hearing people looked
down upon them and didn’t consider them to be worth educating. Most deaf individuals were classified as
“mentally defective and insane” (Plann, 1993, p. 7) due to their lack of
education and speech. During this time
frame, most people felt that the only thing separating the animals and humans
was the trait of “speech”, without being able to speak; many deaf people were
called “animals” or “savages (Plann, 1993).
Even though hearing folks had no faith in the deaf, deaf individuals still had faith in themselves. In families where there was more than one person who was deaf, people started to find a way to communicate with each other through the movements of their hands. Signs were shared between families to help with communication among different people. This very informal form of communication helped pave the way for what is now accepted as sign language. Hearing adults began to see a use of these signs and some chose to learn them as well.
In the late 1600s people began to try to educate the deaf (Nomeland & Nomeland, 2012). This was so expensive however, only rich people could afford to have their deaf children taught. Still, there were only a handful of teachers and they were hard to find. The few people that did teach the deaf, focused on teaching them basic signs more as a convenience instead of an actual form of communication. Most teachers focused on reading and writing with a little emphasis on teaching fingerspelling. Fingerspelling is the process of using your fingers to form letters to spell out the words you are trying to say (Vicars, 2008). Some teachers even tried to teach deaf students how to lip-read in order to become more involved in the hearing world.
Even though hearing folks had no faith in the deaf, deaf individuals still had faith in themselves. In families where there was more than one person who was deaf, people started to find a way to communicate with each other through the movements of their hands. Signs were shared between families to help with communication among different people. This very informal form of communication helped pave the way for what is now accepted as sign language. Hearing adults began to see a use of these signs and some chose to learn them as well.
In the late 1600s people began to try to educate the deaf (Nomeland & Nomeland, 2012). This was so expensive however, only rich people could afford to have their deaf children taught. Still, there were only a handful of teachers and they were hard to find. The few people that did teach the deaf, focused on teaching them basic signs more as a convenience instead of an actual form of communication. Most teachers focused on reading and writing with a little emphasis on teaching fingerspelling. Fingerspelling is the process of using your fingers to form letters to spell out the words you are trying to say (Vicars, 2008). Some teachers even tried to teach deaf students how to lip-read in order to become more involved in the hearing world.
The 1700s
The 1700 to the 1800s brought forth great change for deaf individuals in Europe. It was during the industrial revolution and many new buildings were being built, among them were schools. Although there were far more schools for the hearing than the deaf, some deaf schools did exist during this time. One of the first schools that opened that consisted of a formal school based education was founded by Abbé de l'Épée and sign language was consistently used there (Nomeland & Nomeland, 2012). Many Europeans no longer believed that the deaf were uneducable and supported advances in schooling. Books began to be published on methods to teach the deaf and this opened doors for people to look into deaf life. Abbé de l'Épée published the first dictionary for deaf which he also used in his school as a method for teaching (Fisher, 1993).
Laurent Clerc was born in 1785 as a “normal” hearing child (Fisher, 1993). He had no medical complication and was perfectly healthy. However, when he was just a couple years old he fell into a campfire which caused damage to his ears and caused him to go deaf. Although no other serious injuries were acquired, his deafness was life-changing. Coming from a fairly wealthy family, he was sent to numerous doctors to try to cure his problem; nothing seemed to work. When we became twelve years old, his family finally sent him off to live at a school for the deaf. He was taught by Abbé de l'Épée and one of his students, Abbe Sicard. Clerc learned quickly and became a teacher at the school after his graduation. He taught many different levels of classes and worked there for many years educating the deaf and improving upon his teaching methods (Nomeland & Nomeland, 2012).
However, during the same time, the United States was on a completely different level. Hearing people did not see the deaf as worthy of educating and they felt it took too much time away from other students to teach deaf ones how to sign. School systems switched to a teaching method of oralism. If students couldn’t lip-read then they simply wouldn’t be educated. Most of society kept the mindset that the “deaf could only participate in society, develop morally and intellectually, and hold employment if they developed speech” (Erting, 1994, p. xxiii). This meant that almost none of the deaf individuals made any sort of advances in society.
Laurent Clerc was born in 1785 as a “normal” hearing child (Fisher, 1993). He had no medical complication and was perfectly healthy. However, when he was just a couple years old he fell into a campfire which caused damage to his ears and caused him to go deaf. Although no other serious injuries were acquired, his deafness was life-changing. Coming from a fairly wealthy family, he was sent to numerous doctors to try to cure his problem; nothing seemed to work. When we became twelve years old, his family finally sent him off to live at a school for the deaf. He was taught by Abbé de l'Épée and one of his students, Abbe Sicard. Clerc learned quickly and became a teacher at the school after his graduation. He taught many different levels of classes and worked there for many years educating the deaf and improving upon his teaching methods (Nomeland & Nomeland, 2012).
However, during the same time, the United States was on a completely different level. Hearing people did not see the deaf as worthy of educating and they felt it took too much time away from other students to teach deaf ones how to sign. School systems switched to a teaching method of oralism. If students couldn’t lip-read then they simply wouldn’t be educated. Most of society kept the mindset that the “deaf could only participate in society, develop morally and intellectually, and hold employment if they developed speech” (Erting, 1994, p. xxiii). This meant that almost none of the deaf individuals made any sort of advances in society.
The 1800s to Present Day
It wasn’t until the early 1800s in America that a change began to occur. A reverend by the name of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet began making his own changes in deaf history. One day while sitting outside watching his neighbors play, he noticed a deaf young girl named Alice Cogsworth who seemed to have a lot of trouble communicating with her friends (Nomeland & Nomeland, 2012). Gallaudet went over to the girl and after spending just a little bit of time with her, he taught her how to spell a few words. He quickly realized she had the learning capability of hearing children, and he realized he could educate her. With her father’s approval, he began to work with Alice everyday teaching her how to spell and read. He even learned how to fingerspell and taught her so she could communicate with her family members. After her father saw the improvement in his daughters education, he insisted Gallaudet open a school to teach other deaf children in the area. At first he refused but Alice’s father still believed in him. He decided to help encourage Gallaudet and he paid for Gallaudet to go to England and learn better methods of teaching deaf children (Kannapell, 1994). Once Gallaudet arrived in England he had the privilege to attend a seminar held by Abbe Sicard and Laurent Clerc.
The seminar Gallaudet attended changed his life and would ultimately change the life of many deaf individuals in America. Gallaudet was so impressed by their teaching methods he went to many more of their seminars learning everything he could. Sicard eventually invited Gallaudet to their school to observe classes in progress. Gallaudet accepted and went back to the school with Sicard and Clerc. He stayed there for weeks until his funding began to run low, and then he did something spectacular! Gallaudet talked Sicard into allowing Clerc to return to America with him to help open a school for the deaf (Kannapell, 1994).
In 1817 the United States finally opened its first school for deaf individuals. It was called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of deaf and dumb persons and was located in Hartford, Connecticut. When it first opened there were only 7 students out of the 84 known deaf children that lived in the area ("Oldest school for," 2010). However, with Gallaudet’s patience and Clerc’s knowledge, the school quickly grew. Sign language was the primary form of communication in all classes and students learned how to proficiently read, write, fingerspell, and sign (Bienvenu, 1994). Socializing among students occurred daily which became a very important part to the deaf community (Fisher, 2003).
Although there was finally a school for the deaf in the United States, which did not mean that all the troubles for the deaf society were over. Deaf students in other states couldn’t always afford to travel and attend the school in Connecticut. Smaller deaf schools opened up but they didn’t always provide quality education, nor were the teachers always deaf or hearing impaired. Many deaf students were forced to be mainstreamed into hearing schools were sign language was banned. Students had to learn to lip-read or else they were unable to be educated. Oralism still managed to dominate the school systems (Fischer, 2003). It wasn’t until 1987 when US congress finally stated that the education system had failed many deaf students. Finally interpreters were allowed back into classrooms, and teachers were allowed to teach deaf students sign language (Bienvenu, 1994). It was a long journey to get to where we are today, but along the way, something marvelous occurred.
The seminar Gallaudet attended changed his life and would ultimately change the life of many deaf individuals in America. Gallaudet was so impressed by their teaching methods he went to many more of their seminars learning everything he could. Sicard eventually invited Gallaudet to their school to observe classes in progress. Gallaudet accepted and went back to the school with Sicard and Clerc. He stayed there for weeks until his funding began to run low, and then he did something spectacular! Gallaudet talked Sicard into allowing Clerc to return to America with him to help open a school for the deaf (Kannapell, 1994).
In 1817 the United States finally opened its first school for deaf individuals. It was called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of deaf and dumb persons and was located in Hartford, Connecticut. When it first opened there were only 7 students out of the 84 known deaf children that lived in the area ("Oldest school for," 2010). However, with Gallaudet’s patience and Clerc’s knowledge, the school quickly grew. Sign language was the primary form of communication in all classes and students learned how to proficiently read, write, fingerspell, and sign (Bienvenu, 1994). Socializing among students occurred daily which became a very important part to the deaf community (Fisher, 2003).
Although there was finally a school for the deaf in the United States, which did not mean that all the troubles for the deaf society were over. Deaf students in other states couldn’t always afford to travel and attend the school in Connecticut. Smaller deaf schools opened up but they didn’t always provide quality education, nor were the teachers always deaf or hearing impaired. Many deaf students were forced to be mainstreamed into hearing schools were sign language was banned. Students had to learn to lip-read or else they were unable to be educated. Oralism still managed to dominate the school systems (Fischer, 2003). It wasn’t until 1987 when US congress finally stated that the education system had failed many deaf students. Finally interpreters were allowed back into classrooms, and teachers were allowed to teach deaf students sign language (Bienvenu, 1994). It was a long journey to get to where we are today, but along the way, something marvelous occurred.