This article reviews eighteenth- and nineteenth-century proceedings of the London Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) that involved deaf people. The use, role, and status of sign language and interpreters in these settings are described. These proceedings provide important information about deaf people's experiences within the court system of the…

This study investigates the cultural and educational ideas of the French deaf poet-teacher Pierre Pelissier (1814-1863) who was an instructor at the Paris Deaf Institute from the early 1840s until his death in 1863. As a young man, Pelissier became interested in composing poetry and through his verse, captured many of the social frustrations…

A notable difference between signed and spoken languages is the use of nonmanual linguistic signals that co-occur with the production of signs. These nonmanual signals involve primarily the face and upper torso and are an important feature of American Sign Language (ASL). They include grammatical markers that indicate syntactic categories such as…

The idea that iconic visible gesture had something to do with the origin of language, particularly speech, is a frequent element in speculation about this phenomenon and appears early in its history. Socrates hypothesizes about the origins of Greek words in Plato's satirical dialogue, "Cratylus", and his speculation includes a possible role for…

Washoe, the chimpanzee pioneer who learned aspects of American Sign Language, died in October 2007. In reviewing her life and accomplishments, this article focuses on Washoe's status as an ape and a person, and on the role of emotion in language learning and language use. It argues that Washoe's legacy stems not from the number of ASL signs she…

This article chronicles the protest to draft plans for an exhibition on Deaf history organized by Gallaudet University. Jean Bergey, director of the History through Deaf Eyes project, analyzes documents from letters of concern and offers context on the politics of public presentation of Deaf community history. (Contains 1 note.)

This article argues that poetry written by nineteenth-century British and American deaf poets played an important role in the period's sign language debates. By placing the publication of this poetry in the context of public exhibitions of deaf students, I suggest that the poetry was mobilized to publicly defend the linguistic and intellectual…

The establishment of deaf education in the United States has traditionally been seen as the heroic act of one inspired hearing man, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. As Paddy Ladd writes in "Understanding Deaf Culture", this is the ""Grand Narrative," where Deaf communities are constructed solely as the individual end product of a lineage of distinguished…

Developments in deaf education were influenced by broader social and cultural currents in American society. The United States has always been a pluralist nation, but the American majority has not always manifested a pluralist toleration for the integrity and value of minority cultures. There has always been a tension between the majority's desire…

This article reports on a comparison of lexical items in the vocabulary of Icelandic and Danish sign languages prompted by anecdotal reports of similarity and historical records detailing close contact between the two communities. Drawing on previous studies, including Bickford (2005), McKee and Kennedy (1998, 2000a, 2000b) and Parkhurst and…

This article examines the acquisition and use of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) by 53 profoundly deaf adults (31 male, 22 female) who attended educational units for deaf and hard of hearing children. The results indicate that, regardless of age, the acquisition of sign language, particularly Auslan, by deaf people occurred primarily through…

The effects of digital video frame rate and size on American Sign Language (ASL) learner comprehension were investigated. Fifty-one students were randomly assigned to one of three video-size treatment groups: 480x360, 320x240, and 240x180 pixels. Within each treatment, three 30-second videos of signed narratives at frame rates of 6, 12, and 18…

This article addresses whether there are enough ASL teacher preparation programs in the country and how prepared are their graduates. It examines six organizations that provide teaching standards: the Education Section of the National Association of the Deaf, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the American Sign Language…

In this article, the author outlines how a documentary film about the history of deafness in the United States, inspired by the exhibition "History through Deaf Eyes," is going to be created. "History through Deaf Eyes" will have a dual focus. Part of its subject is deafness from the inside: the personal experiences of deaf people (and hearing…

This article is based on some findings in a larger project concerned with Deaf settlement in Maine. Maine is the site of one of the oldest and largest extended Deaf families in the United States: the Lovejoy-Jellison-Berry family (Jones 1996). However, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, many extended Deaf families lived in Maine.…