New-York tribune., 1905-02-05
HINTS ON METHODS OF LIP READING.
Advice to Those Hard of Hearing, to Aid
Them to Comprehend Speech.
TO the Editor Of The Tribune.


sir There is 10 doubt Of tie value OF lip reading
as help to one who is hard of hearing. There is
@lso no DOUBT la my mind that the great nafority-
OF the 250o00o he lowest estuate) OF them In this
country can be helped through this means Notice
that ! say helped not cured nor yet with sight
so trained as to be perfect substitute for hear
ing The degree 10 which they can be heIped
varies depending on aptitude and persistence and
teacher
The Tribune has done me the favor IN the past
OF printing several letters from ne on this subject
wish now not merely TO urge the study Of lip
reading upon those who may be hard of hearing
pll a4So to give some suggestions which in nv ex-
perience as teacher of lip reading and as a lip
reader have been proved very helpful! and which
are SO simple that they may be practsed at homo
with the help only Of friends For q teacher though
eH1inently advisable. is not sine qua non TO one
Who would learn to read the lips. There have been
and are many self-taught lip readers 1 know of
one who Is a carpenter, another a lawyer and still
o'hers-an Armenian woman. blacksmith
mother Of a family. school teacher. etc
AeInembeT that am writing TO the hard Of hear
ing, not 70 the deaf mute TIE methods OF instruo-
ton Tor these two classes OF people must be very
different for the deaf mute has to learn to speak
IS "ell as TO read the lips, and ne also has to
acquire vocabulary. The hard Of hearing
has only 10 learn to read the bps. AIl the tedious
aIcu.atiVe drill which the deaf nuts requires can.
th--elore, De discarded at once.
\ theoretical knowledge Of the position of the
lips for the different sounds is excellent thing.
but directions for acquiring that knowledge can
not Be given in space short Of book. l have seen
Il advised that the letters of the alphabet be prac
tsCd before the mirror Mirror practice is good
thing. but not practice with the letters of the al
pha5et. Suppose. for example. you practising
HI; II you say 'aich." which is the sound Of the
letter you the positions for long "a" and for
CHI but never a glimpse do you have OF the posi-
ton for the sound represented by n For, when
you say hat you certainly do not say 'aich-at
r- - Tv,lo hat
before the mirror; you win derive real theoret-
zeal knowledge therefrom Moreover, Of the self
Taught lip readers mentioned above. not one had
any theoretical knowledge whatever.
Mrs. Alexander Graham Bell. whose fame as
lip reader is widely known. has sald The aim OF
the speech reader should be grasp the speakers 9
meaning a complete whole. and not attempt 20
decipher it word by word" That sentence is the
read the Hps-learn 10 grasp the meaning as Il
The first and most imperative thing, however, Is
to form and asslduously to cultivate the hablt OF
hear lie voice watch the lips, too. If you are only
slightly Cezr, let yo-r eyes and your ears cooper
2te Your eyes WI tel you hluch that your e5iS ,
fail understand. Mercy by cLllNatDS t-is
1i1 5oI e.s 81 n?5cse Whstever many deaf persons
are greatly helped, and some even become expert
smile and a most helpful form Of definite
1Iecf I fi5rdTe5 and ffav words from newspaper
look or magazine and read il once to yoIr5e!-.
Then ask friend 10 read It to you But Ibo,lS the
ral.er slowly. Your purpose here Is 10 follow the
thought. Even though You 90 rot uuGeFstaHu
every word, your enaeayoT must be 10 grasp NAe
meaning whole. ,,
Then your assistant may repeat the selection and
this tine you should interrupt him for al words
Then once more let your friend read the selec-
ton without Interruption ana also more rap4u4!
than before.
As soon as one selection is mastered take up
another. The Bible for those familiar win II VIII
miar parts in this case need not be read Dy your
self beforehand.
As Increasing skill comes practise more and more
rapid reading. full half profile and fun pro-
aIe. Practise also with as many d-ncrent people as
possible.
one thing you should not do-at least, until you
hare acquired considerable skIu-ls 10 have seec-
ton read TO you unless yL- have made yourSelf
more or less familiar with it with the subject
which treats. To co would probably dlscour-
age you. and K would almost certainly create IN
YOU false and harmful mental habits. Ihe SAFE
thing do is practise reading only according 70
the advice given above
II will be well also try 10 have definite prac
tice IN conversation with your friends. But DO not
expect results in q day or week You could not
learn 10 play the piano in that time and lip read
ing takes time practice and effort as well as any
other study. I only one Of many. however, who
can tel you that lip reading is worth the effort.
As Mrs Bell has said The Subtle Art which
may Unable with Cbservant lie TO Heare
what any speaks by the moving OF his lips
is worth and well re9ays every possible effort 10
attain" EDWARD i. NIIC1IE.
New-York City. Jan. 2S 1905.