Everyone have an innate need to communicate; we’re social creatures by nature, after all! Sign languages, just like verbal languages, are the product of many years of linguistic evolution and influence on one another. All Sign languages across the globe—both past and present—have a rich history that tells the many stories of Deaf cultures across the globe!
In fact, humans have been using Sign language for communication for centuries. Just as young children first learn to communicate using gestures, research has speculated that some of humanity’s earliest methods of communication (for hunting and socialization) were through meaningful gestures. This research also strongly suggests that spoken language probably developed and emerged from sign language with vocal gestures—not the other way around! Since then, Sign languages have only become more refined and enriched in culture and history.
[Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language]—https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/deaf-vineyarders-talked-hands/ If you were to take a guess—do you think that American Sign Language is a descendent of French Sign Language (LSF), British Sign Language (BSL), or German Sign Language (DGS)? Take a moment to think about it!
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Interestingly enough, ASL’s roots don’t come from BSL, as one might intuitively assume since both are used in English-language countries. ASL is actually a direct descendent of French Sign Language—but how exactly did this happen?
Sign Language Develops with Deaf Communities
Humans are notorious for our need to communicate! A particularly interesting event to note is the very recent development of Nicaraguan Sign Language (ISN, Idioma de Señas de Nicaragua). In the 1980s, Nicaragua was in the midst of its Revolution, which left many injured and affected by malnutrition. Many children were treated with Soviet medicines which saved them from malnutrition but had a significant impact on their hearing. Prior to the wars, Nicaragua didn’t have a significant Deaf population.
After the war, many Deaf children in remote locations were brought together to begin schooling for the first time. In class, the attempts to teach the kids Spanish were largely unsuccessful. During recess and after class (when teachers weren't around to discourage the use of Sign), the most remarkable thing happened—the children would use their hands and facial expressions to communicate with one another. It turns out that this was the birth of a brand-new language, ISN, complete with its own syntax, grammar, and vocabulary! These children had created something truly special, entirely by themselves.
[Deaf students using Nicaraguan Sign language at the Esquelitas de Bluefields, Managua, Nicaragua, 1999.] SUSAN MEISALAS/MAGNUM PHOTOS
The Dark Side of History
It would be an injustice to ignore and forget about darker and more unfortunate parts of Sign language & Deaf history. Throughout much of history, Deaf people were often discriminated against and treated as “unpersons”—a view that is incredibly outdated and downright wrong. Aristotle was one of the first to write this claim down on paper, arguing that ‘people can only learn through spoken language—therefore, Deaf people cannot be educated’. Since then, many people used his reasoning as justification for their views of enforced “oralism” and withholding rights from D/deaf people.
But what is oralism? In a nutshell, it’s the belief and practice where those who are deaf should only use lip-reading and speech—avoiding Sign language altogether—with the goal of integration into the ‘hearing society.’ The option of sending Deaf children to these 'oral schools' is still around to this day, creating a significant barrier for many. For a good chunk of history, Deaf education was centered around this ideology, with Sign language looked down upon by educators. While many people and groups went against this idea over time, it wasn’t until the late 1700’s that organized Deaf education came about due to the work of French priest Charles Michel de L'Epée.
[Speech being taught to Deaf Children; an example of oralism]—https://sites.psu.edu/robbieberry/2017/02/11/ldt-505-week-6/
Roots Begin to Form
L’Epée brought together many deaf French children to form a free & public Deaf school and helped them incorporate all of the different signs these children brought from home into one, cohesive language. As more schools opened up, this language spread around Europe; today, it is known as Old French Sign Language. Over time, the language evolved into many forms recognizable today, such as French Sign Language (whose origins can be traced back to these first schools).
What about ASL?
[American School for the Deaf—Hartford, Connecticut]—http://kalers.blogspot.com/2008/06/asd-hartford-connecticut.html
As mentioned earlier, ASL developed directly from French Sign Language—not British!
The story begins when Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, an American hearing man, travelled to Europe in 1815 with the hopes of learning about Deaf education and bringing it to the States. In his travels, he met and befriended Laurent Clerc, a French Deaf man who was a teacher at a local deaf school. When it was time for Gallaudet to return, he convinced Laurent to travel back to the United States with him. Together, they crossed the Atlantic (teaching each other their languages) and established the first school for the D/deaf in 1817—The American School for the Deaf. A combination of French Sign Language and local dialects from the students at the school joined together and formed an early version of what we now know as ASL!
Here's a quick video (CCs included) that outlines the origins of ASL with a few extra details!
Thomas Gallaudet’s son, Edward Gallaudet, continued his father’s legacy and established the first university for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing. To this very day, Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. remains a major Deaf cultural hub!
However, the spread of ASL didn’t occur without major roadblocks. Notable figures, such as Alexander Graham Bell (yes, the same one credited with the telephone’s invention), were vocal adversaries of Deaf education using Sign language, and heavily advocated for the use of oralism. Bell is an incredibly controversial figure in regards to his attitudes and outlooks toward the Deaf & HoH community To learn more, check out this QASL blog post!
Preservation of the Sign Language, George Veditz, President of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). Here, he’s demonstrating the importance of Deaf people’s right to sign, rather than being forced to verbalize & lipread. This is one of the very first video recordings of ASL.
Today, ASL is used in many countries across the globe, including Canada, and acts as an important medium for communication. The amount of diversity found in both ASL and other Sign languages all across the world is truly something to behold. Each Sign language has its story, and it gives its users the ability to tell their own stories in the most genuine way. Even in the face of adversity, people will always find ways to overcome it and create something beautiful—ASL is just one wonderful example of this!
References
Kegl, J., Senghas, A., & Coppola, M. (1999). Creation through contact: Sign language emergence and sign language change in Nicaragua. In M. DeGraff (Ed.), Language creation and language change Creolization, diachrony, and development (pp. 179–237). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign Against Sign Language. Douglas C. Baynton, 1996.
'Through Deaf Eyes' Film — D. Garey, L. Hott, 2007
https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199750986.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199750986-e-022
https://medium.com/skin-stories/oralism-is-the-huge-entirely-avoidable-barrier-that-deaf-people-are-forced-to-face-91e0421e533b
https://youtu.be/t6Wtwz1P7zI
https://www.gallaudet.edu/tutorial-and-instructional-programs/english-center/reading-english-as-second-language/practice-exercises/laurent-clerc
https://www.gallaudet.edu/about/history-and-traditions/thomas-hopkins-gallaudet
https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/descriptions-and-essays/
https://www.startasl.com/history-of-sign-language/
https://www.startasl.com/history-of-american-sign-language
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/asl/deaf-history-timeline
https://www.gallaudet.edu/history-through-deaf-eyes/online-exhibition/language-and-identity/oral-schools/