New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1879-09-03
biography and ARTIFICIAL spesch.

biography and Artificial Speech.
THERE was recently very Interests
ing exhibition In New York Of the
means Of education and the progress
made BY deaf mutes In one 81 the IN.
situations containing I've hundred pu-
pills. One hundred Of them, embrac.
ing several Of the youngest and some
Of the most advanced. were introduced
to the audience ii exercises on the
blackboard and sign language, and,
strange t0say, some Of them ID speech.
The fact Is not generally recognized
that the deaf and dumb are dumb
simply because they are born deaf.
The organs If speech are subject to in-
spection. and being perfect, except
perhaps in very rare instances, are
ready for action If they could get hold
of vocal sounds for imitation and re-
production. In former times deafness
was supposed to be an insuperable
bar to speech, but modern study and
ingenuity are likely to break down the
barrier to the tongue and teach the.
deaf to speak. The late exhibition
gave some startling examples Of this
speech culture long deemed to be inn
possible. The fact that deaf mutess
occasionally laugh very naturally upon
sufficient prov0cati0n doubtless first
suggested that an idea Of sound and
IT, ,n. , ser. 81. IS :: 49, - oo a.s -
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and Iaarned Tha cuo.t;or - =. - ' ;ssga
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limited so,nt;or - 10 .far,r .t; o. "
Can snaach ~ t.noht ~: ., 1asrnaj ~ ~
cent tkronoh TIA 6ai;nm M ~ he.r;rr,
'Co taach deaf mntas tn ra.d .nd .v-;{a
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r. lean ovsr sra nenatr..a hes,oaj ~ ~
sonnjS a.. 80 ro;1 "a GnS d''o ~. Jv .s;. .no
to~r,,a :, .o,,na. H. ~ . s.aa =. "m
nnt re- :. az s.tnn s do toa+ - o AZ
covarv aud cnitnrS Ao''' - "'s-
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At the exhibition referred to, the In.
structor. Mr.. Currier. explained his
methods and gave several startling ex-
amples of success in this direction.
His process il, conveying an idea to the
pupil Of the movement Of the lips. and
the action Of the other vocal organs, by
means Of written and pictured signs,
thereby opening to these organs cor
responding play to that Of the hands
In mute language. Thus . sense of the
power Of the vocal alphabet 10 con-
veyed, and the organs, initiated into
their natural action, produce spoken
words. These inductive characters
were written by the instructor, forming
words and sentences, and Young Girl.
deaf but no longer dumb. translated
and articulated them with wonderful
clearness and accuracy. Never having
heard q sound. she has found voice
through this curious system of object
teaching. Another pupil, 3 boy, who,
beside being deaf, has no hands, and
therefore cannot use the regulation
sign language, has by the same system
been taught to understand the motions
Of the lips a. far as his vocabulary
goes, and gave examples Of his own ar
ticulation Of this artificial speech.
Several Rotations by Geographic
signs formed another interesting
feature Of the exhibition. One young
lady thus recited in signs several
verses OF Moore, which another
lady pupil repeated after her vocally
in the artificial language. Some of the
older boys wrote photographed
sketches on states, which were read 70
the audience. One stated that he was
the grandson of an English veteran of
Waterloo, who is still living In En-