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Speech Class FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH Douglas Baynton, 1997: The sign for "hearing person" is an index finger that makes a circular motion in front of the lips. It literally means "speaking person," but we translate it today as hearing person, because that's the term we use in English now. But in the nineteenth century when the sign originated, deaf people often used the term "speaking person" and referred to themselves as "mutes." I find that interesting because in the twentieth century, we have put the emphasis upon the loss of a sense of hearing. But in the nineteenth century, I think the emphasis was more upon how people communicated. It was more a matter of communication mode than hearing loss. Some people spoke while others used their hands to communicate and were therefore mute. The signs reflected that. In fact, the sign for "deaf" that is still used today means literally "deaf-mute." It's made near the ear, then near the mouth, and originally signified a closed ear and a closed mouth. Now, since oral training began in the late nineteenth century, these usages have become less acceptable. The term "mute" and the older term "dumb" are no longer used. "Dumb" in particular is seen as offensive by deaf people, and neither are very accurate because deaf people can learn to speak to varying extents. Most who are born profoundly deaf are unable to learn to speak intelligibly to people who are not used to their speech, but some do. These terms, however, indicate how deafness was conceptualized differently in the nineteenth century, more as a social relationship and less as a physical disability than we've defined it in the twentieth century. |
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