Evening star., 1898-07-12
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considerable fluency. conspicuous fail
ures as speakers in the world IT large.
The utterdnce of these. understood easily
by tea hers and intimate friends. is often
so muffIed. or harsh and so imperfect to
repel strangers. putting the deaf person at
much greater disadvantage than If. re-
naming silent he resorted to writing as a
means Of communication.
The testimony of the intelligent educated
deaf mutas ] met in Europe last year was
unanimous and emphatic on this point, and
they declared most earnestly that the prac-
tical value Of speech, to many of their
number, when they come to engage in their
life work in the world was greatly over
estimated by their teachers
THE expression of this view es-
pecialIy positive in Germany, where the
oral method has prevailed exclusively and
where. quite recently, a petition numerous
Iy signed by educated deaf persons. has
been presented to the government asking
that the sign language be made use OF in
the schools of that country. and that in
struction under the oral method be not con-
tnued with those whose success in speech
is only partial.
The Combination of Methods.
Teachers of the deaf in Germany are
coming to the support of these views as to
methods although only few have dared
to express their opinions openly. But there
is reason to believe that a revolution has
begun that WILL before long. bring German
schools for the deaf into harmony with the
great majority of the schools in America,
where happily. a combination of methods
is effected, under which the capability of
each pupil is carefully estimated. and that
method employed which will be most help
full to th- child.
There are teachers of the deaf in the
United States. who have urged, within the
past few years, that the language of signs
ought not to be used in teaching deaf
mutes. and in few schools attempts have
besp made to carry out this idea.
1T is indeed possible to teach deaf chill
WIfhnnf . M
signs in the class room or the public as
sembly. But the testimony of great num-
bers, who have been so taught is that
their intellectual development has been mar
rowed and retarded by the refusal. on the
part of their teachers, to make use of that
language which is theirs by nature.
My experience with the deaf, and my
lifelong familiarity with their peculiar
language. lead me to accept this testimony
as the statement of general truth, and
to express the hope that the day is not dis
tant when the natural language of the deaf
will have its proper place in every school,
as the German deaf mutes demand. and
many German teachers recommend
The Sign Language.
"Dii the limitations of the present hour
permit it would be interesting to discuss
that language Of signs, which is condemned
in certain quarters as unworthy to be am
ployed in the education of the deaf; but
there is only time for me to call attention
to the fact that to the totally deaf lip
reader the speech of others is nothing else
than series of silent signs. To the totally
deaf the movements of the vocal organs
are only signs for words, never the words
themselves. SO it appears that for the
deaf the natural substitute for the lam
guage of sound, even under the oral meth
Cd. is one of signs, visible to the eye, under
stood by the mind only through the power
of vision. And when teacher, prohibiting
signs of the hand and arm. which are de-
scriptive. often presenting graphic pictures
ideas To ha aYrr sod nd Itybi ich
are used and loved by the deaf the world
over, limits his pupils to the restricted.
often minute and always arbitrary signs
made by the mouth in speaking, is he not
by a process neither wise nor kind, mar
rowing the range of the mental vision of
his subject from the telescope 10 the mi
CrOscOpic2
The denial of the use of the language of
signs to the deaf while in schools takes
away one source of keen enjoyment and
valuable instruction they can i'll afford to
lose, and which cannot be secured by them
in any other way.
Sign Language God-Giyen.
This is the giving of lectures and ad-
dresses to the whole body of pupils in a
school We who hear know what pleasure
comes from listening to eloquent, ear
nest speaker; how the attention is absorbed
and the feelings are stirred.
There is but one way Of Imparting this
pleasure to the deaf in equal force and
through
This is b. employing the natural God
gtvsn language OF the deaf developed as it
has been in our country through many
years Of cultivation and use.
In the college 1t has long been the Gus
tom to give the students lectures in this
language Not only is this done by the pro-
fessors who are naturally adopts in the art
OF g-sturlng, but frequently eminent men
who know not the sign language address
our students through an Interpreter.
Nv thin & short time they have had the
pleasure and profit of lectures from General
Greely, President Whitman and Senator
Morgan, which would have been impossible
had the rule of banishing the language of
signs been adopted in the college.
I am aware that it is claimed for deaf
hp-readers that they attend church and
public lectures and the theater understand
ing what IS said as well those DO who
hear.
That a few of the most expert can ap-
proximate to this. under conditions quite
impossible to a considerable number assem-
bled in one place, is not denied. But moth
ing is more certain than that it is impossi-
BILE for any large proportion of. say. two
hundred deaf persons, assembled in one
place. to follow undsrstandingly one who
attempts TO address them orally.
with the substitution of the manual al
phabet for the language of signs the cOndi-
tons are perhaps less unfavorabIe. But the
eye strain is so much greater. the radius
Of vision so much smaller and the power OF
expression so much restricted and diminish
ed that the advantage lies greatly with the
employment OF the language of signs.
signs Convey as Speech.
Thinking that the question may arise In
the minds of some, Does the sign language
give the deaf. when used in public ad-
dresses. all that speech affords to the hear
ing| 1 will say that my experience and
observation lead me to answer with a de-
cided affirmative. On occasions almost
without number It has been my privilege
to interpret through signs to the deaf ad-
dresses given in speech. 1 have addressed
hundreds of assemblages of deaf persons
in the college and in schools that / have
visited. using signs for the original ex-
preston of thought. / have seen many
more lectures and public debates given
originally in signs. l have seen conventions
Of deaf mutes I'm which no word was spok-
en-, and yet all the forms of parliamentary
proceeding were observed. and the most
earnest and even excited discussions were
carried on. / have seen the ordinances of
religion administered and the full SERVICES