Who invented.......

yagazn

yagazn

New Member
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
2,949
Reaction score
7
sign language a long time ago? Was it hearie or deaf who invented sign language? I'm curious to find out who invented that sign language a long time ago.

Someone said, "That was hearie person who invented sign language a long time ago". I was like "Really". :hmm:

Peace
 
yagazn said:
sign language a long time ago? Was it hearie or deaf who invented sign language? I'm curious to find out who invented that sign language a long time ago.

Someone said, "That was hearie person who invented sign language a long time ago". I was like "Really". :hmm:

Peace
Click to expand...

yes. hearies - Thomas Gallaudet (a father of deaf daughter who refused to let the society deemed her as useless invalid) and Laurent Clerc (FSL french teacher). After deaf students were taught sign language, they formed their own version...... hence ASL.
 
I dont think hearies would have been smart enough or patient enough to make up sign lanuage... but I don't know...

*Goes to look it up*
 
Oh i believe there are several spots who invented all over world. I know martha's vineyard in MA had influence people who are mixed Deaf and hearing people who lived on island using sign language.
 
I feel sign language, or gestures have been around for ages.


Just has not been officially recognized before. Thomas Gallaudet
 
Thanks for the info Jiro.

I'm learning something about sign language history. Interesting.

Peace
 
A lot of people attribute the birth of ASL to Clerc, a Deaf teacher that emigrated to America with Gallaudet to start an American deaf national school.

Others say Gallaudet was responsible since he was the one that convinced Clerc to come over to America.

Others say it's a mixture of home signs (from students), Old French Sign Language (Clerc), Martha's Vineyard Sign Language and a few others-- so there is no direct origin, thus no one invented it.

Depends on how you look at it.
 
yeah, I'm sure some parents had to use their own body languages to communicate with their deaf children before they even heard of sign languages.. such as pointing, shaking their head "no", etc.
 
Babyblue said:
I feel sign language, or gestures have been around for ages.


Just has not been officially recognized before. Thomas Gallaudet
Click to expand...

In one of my classes at Gallaudet when we studied the history of Deaf culture, that was the conclusion by many historians.
 
Gallaudet did not "invent" it. Rather he started a sociological system that instigated the development of ASL.
 
Sign Language - Indian Sign Language
Who Were the First American Signers?
By Jamie Berke, About.com
Updated: April 27, 2009

















Native Americans
Who were the first people to sign in America? It may have been the native American Indians. Early explorers that discovered America came across native Americans communicating easily and freely in sign language.
Why did the native Americans develop a sign language? Indian Sign Language, also known as Plains Sign Language, was developed by Indian society to meet a need for clear communication between tribes that spoke different languages. It had nothing whatsoever to do with hearing loss. It was used only by Indians in the Plains.

As with any native language, Indian Sign Language was in danger of dying out and being lost. In 1930, the U.S. government sponsored a conference on Indian Sign Language that included the production of a film, "The Indian Sign Language." This film is reportedly stored at the National Archives.

To my surprise, I discovered that books and online sign language dictionaries for Indian sign language are available for those who are curious about this unique sign language.

Online Dictionaries
The Native American "Indian" Sign Language Dictionary offers written and graphical descriptions of signs. The site also includes interesting features such as how to tell your name in Indian sign language,
Historical Films
I searched the website of the National Archives trying to find the record of that conference from 1930 and was unable to find it so I can not confirm that it is still available in Federal records. However, I did find the film "The Lord's Prayer in Indian Sign Language," File Designator/ID No./Format: MFF MPR# 450 MPPCAK, available under Nixon Presidential Materials. Another historical film that is in the records of the Smithsonian Institution, is a 13-reel motion picture of the "development of an intertribal sign language dictionary of the American Indians of the Great Plains, and the theory, history, and practice of the sign language, ca. 1930-31," listed under record group 106.4.
Currently Available Books
Many books on Indian Sign Language are available. Some of these books focus on demonstrating the signs, while others include detailed histories of Indian sign language.
.






:
 
Babyblue said:
I feel sign language, or gestures have been around for ages.


Just has not been officially recognized before. Thomas Gallaudet
Click to expand...
I agree.

Indians have been using them. Divers have been using them. Fighters... warriors... cavemen... it goes on and on.
 
VamPyroX said:
I agree.

Indians have been using them. Divers have been using them. Fighters... warriors... cavemen... it goes on and on.
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right that first sign language was started during the caveman days when they try to talk but came out like grunt. So I think they started the sign language to be able to communicate with family members and other people. We have all kinds of different sign languages. Also we don't even know if there are some first early deaf people that the hearing people are not aware of. Deaf people like to sign whether it is home or someone taught them to sign. It is everywhere all over the world to use signs for many centuries. :cool2: :hmm:
 
Bebonang said:
You are absolutely right that first sign language was started during the caveman days when they try to talk but came out like grunt. So I think they started the sign language to be able to communicate with family members and other people. We have all kinds of different sign languages. Also we don't even know if there are some first early deaf people that the hearing people are not aware of. Deaf people like to sign whether it is home or someone taught them to sign. It is everywhere all over the world to use signs for many centuries. :cool2: :hmm:
Click to expand...
Ever see Clan of the Cave Bear?

The leader of the tribe had a sign language for "Bend over so I can have sex with you!"
 
No single person invented ASL, or any sign language for that matter. Sign languages naturally arise wherever there is a high enough incidence of deaf people to call for a visual language.
 
CJB said:
No single person invented ASL, or any sign language for that matter. Sign languages naturally arise wherever there is a high enough incidence of deaf people to call for a visual language.
Click to expand...

indeed. it has been around us just like any other language.
It seems to be "new" because it actually started to be studied like almost 200 years ago. But, IMO, it existed in its form and variety since forever.
:wave:
 
Back
Top