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