220 MEMOIRS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



with the language to be tliorouglily qualified as teachers until after oue or more years' residence 

 in an institution for the deaf and dumb. 



"((•) The practice of the sign-language hinders the ac(juisition of the English language. 



"(d) It makes deaf-nnites associate together in adult life, and avoid the society of hearing 

 people. 



" (e) It thus causes the iutermarriage of deaf-mutes and the propagation of their physical defect. 



"5. Written words c^an be associated directly with the ideas they express, without the inter- 

 vention of signs, and written English can be taught to deaf cliiklrcn by usage so as to become 

 their vernacular. 



"6. A language can only be made vernacular by constant use as a means of communication, 

 without translation. 



"7. Deaf children who are familiar with the English language in either its written or spoken 

 forms can be taught to understand the utterances of their friends by watching the mouth. 



" 8. The requisites to the art of speech-reading are : 



"(a) An eye trained to distinguish quickly tliose movements of the vocal organs that are 

 visible (independently of the meaning of what is uttered); 



" {b) A knowledge of homophenes — that is, a knowledge of those words that pi-esent the 

 same appearance to the eye; and, 



"(c) Sufticieut familiarity with the English language to enable tlie speech-reader to judge by 

 context which word of a homophenoas group is the word intended by the speaker. 



7. From what has been saiil above it will be seen that we have in actual operation the ele- 

 ments necessary to compel deaf-mutes to select as their partners in life jiersous who are familiar 

 with the gesture language. This practically limits their selection to deaf-mutes and to hearing 

 persons related to deaf-mutes. They do select such partners in marriage, and a certain propor- 

 tion of their children inherit their physical defect. We are on the way therefore towards the 

 formation of a deaf vai'iety of the human race. Time alone is necessary to accomplish the result. 



If we desired such a result what more could we do to hasten the end in view? We might 

 attempt to formulate some plan which should lead the deaf children of deaf-mutes to marrj- one 

 another instead of marrying deaf-mutes who had not inherited their deafness ; or to marry hearing 

 persons belonging to families in which deafness is hereditary. If, for instance, a number of the 

 large deaf-mute families of the United States — families in which we know deafness to be heredi- 

 tary — were to settle in a common place so as to form a community largely composed of deaf-mutes, 

 then the deaf children born in the colony would be thrown into association with one anotlier and 

 would probably intermarry in adult life, or marry hearing persons belonging to the deaf-mute fam 

 dies. Though fewer iu number than the original deaf settlers, they would probably be more prolific 

 of deaf oft'spring; and each succeeding generation of deaf-mutes would increase the probability of the 

 deaf-mute element being rendered permanent by heredity. Such a result would certainly ensue 

 if the numbers of the deaf and dumb in the colony were constantly kept up by the immigration 

 of congenital deaf-mutes from outside; and if a large proportion of the hearing children born in 

 the colony were to leave and mingle with the outside world. Under such circumstances we might 

 anticipate that a very few generations would suffice for the establishment of a permanent race of 

 deaf-mutes with a language and literature of its own. 



Plans for theformatiou of a deaf-mute community have a number of times been discussed by the 

 deaf-mutes themselves. The idea originated in the action of Congress in endowing the American 

 Asylum for Deaf-mutes at Hartford with a tract of land. Mon. Laurent Clerc, in conversation 

 with some of the earlier pupils of the American Asylum, remarked that it would be a good 



' See speech by Laurent Clerc, "American Annals of the Deaf and Dumb," vol. x, p. 212. 



