Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/743

 DEAF AND DUMB 739 synonymes, which would otherwise have the same sign, are thus discriminated. Idiomatic phrases, such as "laughing in the sleeve," are transferred into one or two expressive ges- tures. The natural gesture language has nei- ther inflections nor distinctions for different parts of speech from the same root, and the pronouns and particles are usually omitted. The order is that which the person employing it judges most effective ; the customary collo- quial order is thought to resemble that of Lat- in. To establish a language of signs having an exact correspondence with our verbal lan- guages was the aim of De 1'Epee and Sicard. They invented signs for the inflections and par- ticles, and prescribed the use of signs for every word, and in the exact order of the words. This system of methodical signs is of service in teaching languages, but is too stiff and cumbrous for general use in conversation by those im- perfectly acquainted with words; and those who can use words fluently prefer the manual alphabet. A "Dictionary of Signs " has been repeatedly essayed ; but the slightest attempt to frame a verbal description of a gesture, from which the gesture can- be exactly reproduced by a reader of the description, will show the extreme difficulty of the task. Mimographies, or systems of arbitrary symbols for movements and positions, resembling those of phonography for sounds, have been proposed but not elabo- rated; the plan of the late G. Hutton of Halifax, N. S., appears most feasible. Signs at present can be accurately learned only from the living teacher and by constant practice. Two manual alphabets are in use. That re- Double-hand Alphabet. quiring both hands is used only in Great Britain, where it has existed almost unchanged since the time of Dalgarno ; it imitates the forms of the Roman capital letters, except the vowels ; the distinction of these from the consonants, and the somewhat greater ease of learning the sys- tem, are certainly advantages, but not sufficient to counterbalance its inconveniences. The other requires only one hand, and imitates the forms of the small letters; it dates back to Bonet, and is used everywhere except in Great Britain, and even there it is gaining ground. The illustration shows the American usage ; the letters q and t are slightly different in Europe. The j and z are completed by motions describing the curve of the one and the angles of the other. There are positions of the fingers for the numerals, used only in America. In the work of education, there is a wide difference between deaf mutes and semi-mutes. With the latter, it may be carried on like that of hearing children, with only a change from the ear to the eye as the avenue of communication with the mind. With the former, the mind must be awakened to activity, as well as furnished with methods of communication; the unconscious acquisitions of hearing children are almost to- tally lacking; and the teacher's great difficulty is to realize how very low is the point of depar- ture. Heinicke laid down the maxim, " First ideas, then words," and Jacotot added that difficulties must be graduated and presented singly. Accepting these principles, teachers differ greatly in their application. Some teach the alphabet first, others words as units, others complete sentences as single conceptions. Some