Why Sign Language Was Banned in America | Otherwords

Sign Languages are just as linguistically valid and vibrant as spoken languages, and beneficial to learn for Deaf and hearing people. So why for decades was it illegal to teach them in American schools?

Otherwords is a PBS web series on Storied that digs deep into this quintessential human trait of language and fınds the fascinating, thought-provoking, and funny stories behind the words and sounds we take for granted. Incorporating the fıelds of biology, history, cultural studies, literature, and more, linguistics has something for everyone and offers a unique perspective on what it means to be human.

Host: Erica Brozovsky, Ph.D.
Creator/Director: Andrew Matthews & Katie Graham
Writer: Taylor Behnke
Producer: Katie Graham
Editor/Animation: Andrew Matthews
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Fact Checker: Yvonne McGreevy

Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell

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Music from APM Music
Otherwords is produced by Spotzen for PBS.
© 2022 PBS. All rights reserved.

[johannaverplank]

When I was in my early twenties my first job out of college was working with children with special needs. I worked with a little girl who had autism and could not speak, so her mom wanted to try sign language. I learned sign language so I could teach her, and I can't tell you what a beautiful experience that was. She absolutely blossomed. She could finally communicate her wants, needs, emotions, and thoughts. I loved learning sign language and was able to work with some deaf children as well. I really do think the hearing miss out on a level of communication that could help all of us communicate better. I was able to communicate with the children in situations when speaking wasn't appropriate or in very loud environments. I would love to see ASL taught to all children.

[Brownyman]

Nicaraguan sign language is super interesting in that it was developed completely independently and spontaneously by children themselves without any adult intervention.

It even went through a generational evolution with more complex syntax being formulated over time by the children of the original kids who created it.

Probably deserves its own video about the phenomenon of emergence in communication.

[irrelevantduckfan]

My daughter is so adhd that she was language delayed. We were lucky to get her into a developmental preschool with a speech pathologist when she was 2. The pathologist made us learn some ASL to help move her past her frustration at communicating. It worked so quickly we were floored. It had the added benefit of letting my newborn tell us what they needed before they were verbal. Shocked my aunt in law when my husband was able to see our baby ask for milk from across the room and tell me. She stood there saying "but how could you tell? They never made a sound"

[jessi]

I’m autistic and learning a handful of signs was such a helpful way to allow myself to communicate when I had non-verbal episodes! Gestural languages deserve so much respect

[shanecadden]

I know in Ireland, there was a gender split in Sign Language. There were two schools for the deaf in Dublin, one all-boys school and one all-girls school. This resulted in a communication divide between deaf men and deaf women that has only began to be amended in the last few decades. There is a essay on the topic called Sex differences in Irish Sign Language by Barbara LeMaster, and it is available online

[DavidStruveDesigns]

There was a deaf kid in my class at school. He only knew a few words and phrases in sign language, and had to mostly rely on lip-reading. And yeah, he missed out on big chunks of conversations because of it, always asking us to slow down or repeat ourselves. We also had to become far more consciously aware of which direction we were facing, and what we were doing with our hands during conversations because if we turned our heads too much (which people who rely on audible speech only do _all_ the time) he could no longer track our lips nearly as accurately - same thing with our tendency to cover our mouths for various reasons. Even using gestures that were natural to us just talking where difficult because his focus would then be distracted by our hand movements and he stopped tracking our lips.

When asked why he never learned sign language, he explained that he actually _did_ - at first. His parents took him to a special school where they teach BSL - and his parents even took the same lessons because they wanted to learn the language too. Unfortunately they discovered that it was _far_ harder to learn as an adult, and they struggled massively. All the while their kid was picking it up at an amazing rate, being able to better _understand_ all the nuances of the language, like subtext and grammar. The gap between him and his parents was obviously getting bigger, and they decided to pull him out of the school and made him learn lip-reading instead, which then meant he ended up going to a regular "hearing" school instead. All because his parents didn't want him learning a language they couldn't understand or use, they felt it was hard enough trying to keep up with kids of today with their technology and apps etc - without adding a language to that barrier too. Plus they didn't like the idea he could say things, even right in front of them, that they would then miss - they thought it would promote him keeping secrets, or lying more, or being "naughty" right in front of them with them unable to discipline him because they would obviously not understand what he was saying. Kind of sad really, because I always felt having to rely on lip-reading was just holding him back from _really_ succeeding, both at school and his later life. I wonder how many other kids had/have parents that feel the same way? That same reluctance to let their kid learn sign-language out of fears of being "left out" or "left behind" in some way??

[almanac]

My baby niece is learning some sign alongside verbal English. I can't understate how much easier it is to communicate with her. Even though she can't form sentences verbally she uses sign to communicate more fully. Having a 1 year old tell you exactly what they need is amazing.

[DivinePearl]

This was my mom's experience. She went to the school of deaf and was not allowed to sign. The intention was she could speak with hearing people. My mother and her friends covertly learned sign language behind the teacher's back. It's a crazy history.

[icarusbinns]

The one foreign language class offered at my high school was … ASL!
And I still use it.
I completely forgot words at a bookstore. Like, totally forgot for a moment just how to even talk (severe stress and sleep-deprivation does that!) And the one guy trying to help was the deaf employee… I started signing, and the way he just lit up! It was beautiful.

I get a few deaf customers in my store, and they (and their interpreter) have admitted they love visiting, because I am able to sign, albeit slowly and awkwardly, but I can do it. They always teach me new words, and I’m careful to keep my hands fully in view and face them when speak/signing. (My store sells board games and toys)

[BluetheRaccoon]

Growing up, my best friend's parents were severely hard of hearing and used English sign language. Having his mother explain to me how stupid it made her feel compared to ESL helped me understand that the hearing community really only understands what's easiest for them, with little ability to comprehend what would be best for the hard-of-hearing community or a willingness to learn from them directly.

[lanagievski]

I’m hearing but I grew up in the Australian Deaf community and was accepted as culturally Deaf due to signing natively from birth to communicate with my brother. Since then I’ve expanded past Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and have learnt ISL, BSL, IS, Tactile Auslan, ASL, and CSL. It’s incredible what bridging the gap between languages can do. Sign languages are incredible languages and should be recognised for how important and valuable they are. They are ever evolving and hold so much history between the various accents per language.

[farsoc]

A little late to the party here, but I wanted to share my story.

I was born practically deaf in my right ear. Growing up hard of hearing was tough enough, but ASL wasn't available in my town. I was the only kid that was hearing impaired. I was mute up until 6 years old, when I started putting the sounds together to form words. I taught myself to read lips watching documentaries and live-action stuff with closed captions. In school, I had to read my teachers' lips and learned to write really fast, then go home to figure out what everything meant. Sometimes, I was able to get every other word in class but it corrupted the message for sure. It wasn't until I got a doctor's note saying I need to sit at the front right desk in every classroom or I'd hear nothing. I was bullied pretty bad because other kids thought I was slow or weird for not talking for a while. But through hard work and determination, I overcame my obstacles and live a normal life. I use hearing aids now, but the old techniques still linger.

This episode really resonated with me and I appreciate the look into the deaf culture and deaf history! Thank you :)!

[historybuff]

Thank you for this show. My daughter was born with a medical issue that would delay her ability to walk, if she could walk at all. I knew that delayed walking often led to delayed talking. I had to do something about that. We learned sign language together (basic signs). By the time she started school, she could walk (slowly), and talk (still needed speach theropy), but her language skils were at grade level -- actually a little higher. Yes, Sign Language is good for a lot of reasons.

[gageloard]

I’m watching this video whilst I take a break from setting up for my ASL club’s Halloween silent dinner. “Deaf people can do everything but hear.” And they are some of the nicest most patient people I’ve ever met because they are often not given that same patience from hearing people. Thank you for bringing awareness to the language and people I love. I’m taking my interpreting evaluation in a month.

[YasmeenCheM]

Throughout my life, I have little to no exposure to deaf or hard of hearing people until I met one a few months ago. I went to a local cafe to do work and found out the cashier was deaf. I was delighted to see a deaf person working a front-facing job but quickly realized that I didn't even know how to say thank you in sign language after I ordered my coffee. Truly, it was a learning moment for me. Sign language is really cool and I plan to learn Malaysian Sign Language next year!

[tangowhiskygirl]

We had some kids with down syndrome in my school when I was a kid. Many of them had trouble talking and used sign language. All us kids learned basic signs to be able to talk to them. (They were hearing just fine, they just struggled with speech.). It made us grow closer to, and understanding those kids. Typically abled people could gain so much by being interested in how the rest function and communicate.

[AC]

Sign languages are just as important as other languages and it's a shame that people will go as far as to denigrate sign languages as being "less complex" or having "less vocabulary" compared to spoken languages. And we can't ever equate language with speech.

[michel]

Our daughter has Down Syndrome and was always in a self-contained classroom. I feel that early in her school career, she could have been in some inclusive classes and gone much further academically. One of the main reasons she was held back was her lack of language skills. She was denied speech therapy at 6 years old knowing only one verbal word and no sign. None of the special education teachers in South Carolina are required to know any sign language. Our daughter did not get an adequate speech therapist, who was fluent in sign, until she was in high school.

[hou]

This ep brought tears to my eyes.

I’m not deaf or know sign language but I am well aware of trying to fit uncomfortable or inconvenient truths within the paradigm of the dominant culture.

Someone that operates or behaves differently than the dominant culture doesn’t automatically make what they are doing incorrect. We shouldn’t try to force people different than us to conform either.

[Yukosan]

My high school offered sign language as a second language credit.. and it was very popular. And sure For some it was just a place to slack off and talk since the teacher was deaf but for most it was an amazing learning experience.. I know my friends really liked learning how to sign and kept trying to practice even after high school so I they wouldn't forget this valuable skill

Though I think my community use to be very welcoming for those with hearing problems as my church for yrs had a mass with a sign language interpreter, they even signed the songs so the deaf could sing with the chorus