Who invented sign language and the sign language alphabet?

Answer 1

No one person invented sign language - it evolved world-wide in a natural fashion, much the way any language evolved. We can name a few people as the innovators of specific signing manuals. Each language English, French, German etc developed their own respective sign languages at different times.

Answer 2

Mr. Braille

Answer 3

About American Sign Language


American Sign Language(ASL) is a language for the deaf or hard of hearing. It is not English translated into gestures. It is its own seperate language with its own rules and structures. ASL can convey everything from humor to philosophy to politics. New signs are being created constantly for cultural and technological changes.

Different types of sign language helped to make American Sign Language. Just as Spanish is not the same as English, American Sign Language is not the same as Mexican Sign Language. American Sign Language is used throughout the United Sates and Canada. Because of its origin, American Sign Language is actually more like French Sign Language than British Sign Language.



History of ASL


Standardized ASL began in 1817 when Gallaudet, a school for the deaf, was created by Luarent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet. Prior to Gallaudet, ASL was passed on from one generation to the next. The language lived through a banning period where sign language could not be taught in the classroom. It was believed that the only way for the deaf to fit in was to speek and lip read.

From the 1800's until recently, educators have discouraged kids from using sign language, with the belief that learning to speak and read lips would be the only way for deaf children to fit in. Some teachers have gone to the extent of restraining a child's hands to keep them from signing. Even though some people discourage sign language, it is still the natural language for the deaf community. Sign language is the link between the hearing and the deaf world. American Sign Language was the basis for deaf education in America; the language represents the history of the culture.



Origin of Sign Language


Pedro Ponce de Leon first came up with a system of gestures to aid communication. De Leon was inspired by Gronimo who brought up the idea of teaching deaf people the gestures for communication. By learning, they became citizens and gained rights, as was the custom of Cannon Law. De Leon was therefore the first person to teach a deaf person. Jacob Pereire spread De Leon's manual alphabet throughout Europe, starting by teaching his deaf sister the language. He then taught deaf families for a career, adding 30 handshapes for numbers and handshapes. Giving him the credit for the spread of sign language.

Charles-Michael Abee de Epee founded the first school for the Deaf that was supported by the public. Students came from all over, with many different languages. Epee wanted to bridge the gap of regional sign language by changing the French Sign Language to one language that all his students could use. The version he changed is now known as Old French Sign Language. He became known as the first man to establish a school for the deaf. One of his famous first students Laurent Clerc, started teaching in America.

Thomas Gallaudet and Clerc co-founded the first deaf school in America. Gallaudet met with an unschooled woman named Alice Cogswell who had hopes of teaching deaf children. Alice and Thomas went to France to study under Abe' Sicard and met Laurent when they were studying. The group went back and started a school in Hartford, Conneticut. Because of the French education, sixty-percent of ASL signs are from Old French Sign Language. The rest of ASL is comprised of Native American Signs. Thomas's son, Edward, was the first to have ASL as his primary language. Edward became president of Columbia Institute for the Deaf and the Blind in Washington D. C. In 1864, congress passed a law stating this shool as a National School for the Deaf and Mute, which is now known as Gallaudet.

Gallaudet was the first Liberal Arts and Sciences school for the deaf. Oralism and lip reading were introduced in 1800 which was declared the correct way to communicate. Sign language was not used and hearing teachers replaced deaf teachers at Gallaudet. It was not until William Stokoe proved that ASL was a language, that sign language was used again in the classroom. He published Sign Language Structure and the Dictionary of American Sign Language, which brought back the culture the people had lost.