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On the Disconstruction of (sign) language in the Western Tradition: A Deaf…
On the Disconstruction of (sign) language in the Western Tradition: A Deaf reading of Plato's Cratylus
human language is not dependent upon the single modality of speech, but instead may manifest in other modes, especially through a visual channel
signing communities have evolved througout the word as a result of a group's genetic prpensity for deafness
signed languages are not aberrations, nor mere supplements to speech; they take the form of one human language modality among others, equal to speech
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speech has so thoroughly become the norm that it passes through us, often unnoticed
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While sign communities have never had to fight against the guns of words of imperial invaders, they have indeed been subject to a long campaign against them and their languages
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the human capacity to sign has been there all along, yet hidden from view
once we shift our perspective away from the assumption that speech is the exclusive mode of language, this hidden dimension of the human language capacity come into sight
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the perspectives on sign language reveal a complicated and contradictory history that has yet to be told
sign language is often glorified as a more perfect and exact language than speech; yet it is seen as more primitive, proto-language incapable of conveying abstract thought
historical ignorance of manual language has had a profound impact on the development of modern notions of language, literacy,, literature
Plato's Cratylus searches for the nature of names and in doing so speculates on the language of the deaf as a viable alternative to speech
the ideal that Plato describes for language is actually much closer to the visual-spatial -kinetic properties of manual languages
"because the only way to express anything by means of our body is to have our body imitate whatever we want to express" - Socrates
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particular sign languages indeed belong to the communities that have developed them, but the human capacity to sign belong to us all, whether hearing or Deaf