Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/17

Rh of the two following methods (1) that in which the sign language and manual alphabet form the basis of instruction, with articulation and lip reading to a greater or less extent, but, as a rule, only for the semi-mute, semi-deaf, and those of the congeuitally deaf of good capacities, and who show an aptitude for it; and (2) that in which articulation and lip reading form the basis of instruction, and the sign language and the manual alphabet are used more or less as a means to the end. The former is the more general, and is carried out in all the schools of the United Kingdom (although in the London Asylum articulation and lip reading are profes sedly and systematically taught to every pupil), in America, and in some of the Continental schools. The latter is the one chiefly employed in the German and Austrian schools, and is followed in one or two private schools in London. The signs in use in all schools are of two kinds the natural, and the conventional or arbitrary. The former are those with which all deaf mutes are familiar before coming to school, and which they use in ordinary intercourse with their friends. The latter are chosen and systematized by the teachers of the several schools, and, in combination with the natural signs, are employed to convey ideas of a complex nature. Every action, the visible part of which can be imitated by gesture, admits easily of being so expressed, as the action of eating by lifting the hand to the mouth followed by the motion of the jaws, and of sleeping by closing the eyes and reclining the head ; the expression of different passions, of approbation or disapprobation, of sur prize, curiosity, &c., may all be signified very intelligibly by modifications of the countenance. &quot; It is in this simple manner,&quot; observes Dr Watson, &quot;that two or more deaf persons are enabled to hold instant converse with each other though brought together from the most distant parts.&quot; Thus far these signs may be termed natural, but the naturally deaf do not stop with this language of pantomime. When they are fortunate enough to meet with attentive companions, especially where two or more deaf persons happen to be brought up together, it is astonishing what approaches they will make towards the construction of an artificial language. By an arbitrary sign fixed by common consent, or accidentally hit upon, they will designate a person, place, or thing, and this sign is ever after used by them as a proper name. It is impossible to give a verbal description of those signs, because they are as various as the fancies and circumstances of their inventors. Yet being grafted on the parent stock of natural and universal signs, they may in some measure be regarded as dif ferent dialects of the same language. But since it would be impossible by means of natural signs alone to convey to the minds of the deaf and dumb ideas of a complex nature, recourse must be had to that system of signs known as conventional or arbitrary. These signs have been extended and systematized on natural and philo sophical principles by the several teachers of the deaf and dumb, and they differ in degree in all schools. It would be impracticable to maintain the same system of signs throughout, even should such be desirable, but it is of the utmost importance that those in use in each school should be so cultivated as to prevent any confusion of ideas by the improper use of them. It is by their aid chiefly that all instruction is carried on, and, as used by missionaries for the deaf and dumb, they are remarkably serviceable, there being always to be found, in an assembly of deaf mutes, many whose minds cannot be reached by any other means. Attempts are often made in the institutions for the deaf and dumb to dispense with signs, and to use the manual alphabet alone after the [pupils have acquired a certain proficiency in language. Although this would prove of immense educational advantage, attachment to the natural language of signs is so strong that it h:.s al &amp;lt;vays been found as impracticable to make the change as to substitute articulation and lip reading. Signs to the educated deaf and dumb should be as crutches to the halt to be used only when occasion requires, otherwise their constant use will tend to enfeeble rather than strengthen the intellect. In the sixth report of the American Asylum at Hartford, Connecticut, the following is given as an answer of a deaf mute to the question, &quot; Which do you consider preferable the language of speech or of signs ? &quot; &quot; I consider to prefer the language of signs best of it, because the language of signs is capable of to give me elucidation and under standing Well I am fond of talking with the deaf and dumb quickly, without having the troubles of the voice : therefore the language of signs is more still and calm than the la iguage of speech, which is full of falsehood and trouble.&quot; The Abbe de 1 Epee, to whom teachers of mutes are greatly indebted for the methodical and ingenious system of signs, altogether mistook their function as a paeans of educating the deaf and dumb &amp;gt;and in consequence his .method failed entirely. He gave to each word its peculiar and appropriate gesture .in the natural order of the language; and by tthe intervention of these gestures he succeeded in enabling his pupils to transcribe whole pages of the most abstract disquisitions. The substance and diction of these, how ever, were not theirs but his own, and, of course, the gestures, which they had mechanically associated with certain characters, conveyed to them no notion of the real signification of those characters. Notwithstanding the radical and glaring defects of De 1 Epee s method, which could have had no utility to those who followed it, the ostentatious display he made (which was of a nature particularly calculated to impose upon superficial observers) excited the astonishment--and applause of a host of specta tors ; and, being seconded by the impulse of his religious zeal and beneficent character, it soon raised him to a high degree of reputation. His fame spread all over Europe, t*nd his lectures and exhibitions attracted everywhere crowds of enthusiastic admirers. Some, however, saw through the delusion. At a public exhibition of the pupils of the Abbe Storck, who were taught according to this method at Vienna, Nicolai, an Academician of Berlin, pro posed to the Abbe to require one of his pupils to describe in writing the action he was about to perform. The chal lenge being accepted, the Academician struck his breast with his hand, upon which the deaf and dumb boy wrote the words, &quot; hand, breast.&quot; Nicolai withdrew .satisfied with this proof of total failure. It was evident that, notwithstanding their apparent knowledge and their quick ness in writing down any question together with its answer, both had been equally dictated by their master, in the same language of gesture, but without any corre sponding ideas or the exertion of any intellectual faculty, except that of memory. They were utterly incapable of composing a single sentence of their own -accord;, and it was found, accordingly, that their spontaneous answers to questions were limited to the monosyllables yes and no, of which it is even doubtful whether they fully understood the meaning. The proper method by which the pupils knowledge of the construction of language can be tested is by dictating the lesson in the sign language in the manner in which deaf mutes themselves use it, without any regard to logical or grammatical distinctions. Most pupils after a few months instruction will bo able to write down a very fair piece of composition if dictated by the method as employed by the Abbes de 1 Epee and Storck, but without understanding its meaning. The following instance will at once explain the way in which the sign language is employed by the teachers, and used amongst the deaf and dumb themselves 