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

to sign is human

speech has so thoroughly become the norm that it passes through us, often unnoticed

sign language has its own advantages

ability to convey precise visual, spatial, and kinetic information

capacity to convey abstract concepts equal t that of speech

advantages of speech

free hands to work

free hands to communicate where we can't see in the dark

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

American campaign against sign language denounced manual languages as:

barbaric

primitive

proto-language

monkey-like gestures

sign languages have historically been- and continue to be- targeted

the repression of sign is mostly unintentional

most hearing people don't know they are "hearing"

have to have an encounter with the Deaf world to become aware

most people don't know that to sign is human

intentional or unintentional- signed languages have historically been hidden from sight, overlooked for centuries!

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

signed languages have been eclipsed by the phonocentric blind spot

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

sign language offers a kinetic model of the larger world

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