The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-05-22
A LABIAL LANGUAGE
HOW THE DEAF MAY UNDER.
STAND.
Explanation of the System by Miss
Pollock Who While Deaf Has Learn
ed to Hear.

1t is not generally known that per-
sons who are either wholly or partially
deaf may be taught to understand
what is said to them by a study of the
science of 'Hp-reading" What lip
reading is, and what it does for the
partially deaf, is explained in a little
pamphlet by Miss Isabel A. Pollock,
daughter of the late Baron Pollock, a
lady who herself suffers from deafness
and who has been enabled to hear" by
means Of lip-reading. Miss Pollock ex-
plains the system as follows:
The art of lip-reading consists in un-
derstanding what others are saying by
means of watching the facial muscles
of the speaker, and those of the lips
and tongue, for the tongue plays quite
as leading part as the lips The eye
takes the place of the ear, and the stu
dent must first accustOm himself to re-
gard all words phonetically as they
sound, and not as they are spelt. When
person who formerly heard has once
grasped the fact that it is the pronun-
citation of the word, not the spelling,
that is of consequence, she or he will
look out for that in lip-reading, and
the nonphonetic spelling will no more
trouble the eye of the lip-reader than
it does the ear of those who hear. Any
one who will take the trouble to watch
his own face and throat in a mirror
will readily see the difference between
labial and cultural sounds, and a quick
eye will detect the fine distinction be-
tween long and short vowels, and that
at once gives a very rudimentary idea
of the possibility of lip-reading. The
method itself, and all the jntricacies of
sounds and combinations of sounds,
and the means of following them by
sight, must be learnt from a properly
trained teacher, who has fully studied
the mechanism of speech. There are
many such now at work in London and
other large towns, and they are fully
occupied in teaching both the totally
and partially deaf in private as well as
in classes.
l can speak from experience of the
tedium of continual silence and the
pain of feeling left out" as | have
been deaf for some years, in conse-
quence of a bad illness, and to me the
power of lip-reading has been nothing
short of new life, and my object in
this paper is to bring to the knowledge
of others similarly afflicted the happi-
ness and usefulness that lie within
their reach. / have come upon
old and young, rich and poor who de-
plOre their Deafness and all its disabil-
tiles, but have never heard of the relief
afforded by this wonderful system.
Many deaf people to whom it is indis-
pensable that they should earn their
own living are enabled by the power of
lip-readng to obtain and retain Vari-
Gus posts after the entire or partial
loss of hearing. Amongst others, a
touching instance occurs to my mind of
a young milliner living in the heart of
Bethnal Green, who, through Illness
became totally deaf, and sought les
sons in lip-reading during her lunch
con hour, and who proves not only an
eager but a proficient scholar. Anoth-
er of a lad who obtained a Government
appointment after the partial loss of
his hearing, as he became an adept lip
reader in English and French. One or
two more instances may be given of
the extent to which this requirement
does away with the evils of deafness.
A friend of mine who rode regularly in
the park one season used often to join
a gentleman of his acquaintance riding
with a young daughter. He had never
seen the girl before, and he talked to
her quite in an ordinary way without
specially looking at her, and he never
failed to receive the right answer or
noticed anything unusual in her con-
versation, and only after many weeks
she told him that she had not heard a
had seen it all. once l was put under
fire by an old gentleman whom l met
at a garden party. He was loud in his
declarations of disbelief in the me.It OF
the oral System" and did not think
it possible to learn such a singular art.
After / had demonstrated with him for
a time, Well" said he, 'let me put
you to the test" and moving away he
talked to me in an undertOne, saying
triumphantly at the end of a long sem
tence-"You did not follow that, did
you?' Every word" said l, as pleas
ed as Punch. "Ah, but you must re-
peat it word by word" he laughed, and
TO his great dismay l did so, and quite
correctly, tool On another occasion at
a crowded party l saw lady who was
standing at some distance from me say
to a friend of mine beside her-"Tell
me who is the friend you have with
your So / was quite prepared for the
speedy introduction that followed. My
new acquaintance, not knowing l was
deaf, talked in an ordinary voice. quite
unconscious that she was talking to so
extraordinary a person as lip-reader,
and that / saw her wordy instead Of
hearing them.