Do you know the origins of sign language? Basic sign
language began in the early 17th century with Geronimo Bardano. The
physician in Padua Italy told people that he could teach deaf people to
understand written combinations of symbols and have them associate the
symbols with the meaning and the object. The alphabet was first publicized
in 1620 by Juan Pablo de Bonet.Sign language
continued to develop and later in the 18th century Charles Michel de L'Epee
of Paris began the first school for the hearing impaired. The idea was that
the individuals could be taught purely using sign language. He developed a
way to communicate and have them communicate with others. There was a system
of gestures, hand signs, and even finger spelling to get the point across.
Most of the individuals taking the courses at the school were taught to
first recognize the signs and then learn to make the signs themselves. This
meant that they would learn the meaning, see the hand gesture written down
and then learn how to formulate the basic sign.
About the same time there was Samuel Heinicke of
Leipzig Germany trying to devise a method for signing as well. He did not
use a manual method of communication though. Instead he taught speech and
speech reading. In this case the student would learn how to read lips,
formulate the words, and try to speak them. There were two methods for this
way of communication in his school. He had the manual method and then the
oral, which are the precursors to the sign language of today. It also
allowed total communication rather than partial for the hearing impaired.
Total communication is thought to be sign language, gesturing, finger
spelling, speech reading, speech, hearing aids, reading, writing, and
pictures.
It should also be mentioned that sign language can
also be said to have come from the American Great Plains Indians. They also
had a fairly extensive system for signing, it was one of their main methods
of communication. Most often the Indians could hear, but they chose symbols
and signs to communicate with other tribes that didn't know their language.
This is one of the reasons for the American Sign Language that exists -
there are many signs that have originated from the Indians that are still
used.
In America Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was another
individual that had an important effect on sign language. This man had a
young deaf neighbor and when he traveled to Europe he learned the sign
language methods being taught there and brought them back so he could
communicate with his neighbor. He even brought back one of the professors of
sign language to help the woman and ended up founding the first American
sign language school as a consequence.
