86 PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 
Mr. Gallaudet under-estimates the value of speech to a deaf 
child. He seems to think that speech is of little or no use, unless 
it is as perfect as our own. The fact is that the value of speech 
to a deaf child must be measured by its intelligibility rather than 
by its perfection. 
It is astonishing how imperfect speech may be and yet be intelli- 
gible. We may substitute a mere indefinite murmur of the voice for 
all our vowel sounds, without loss of intelligibility. (Here Mr. Bell 
spoke a few sentences in this way, and was perfectly understood.) 
Here at once we get rid of the most difficult elements we are called 
upon to teach. If now we examine the relative frequency of the con- 
sonantal elements, we shall find that 75 per cent. of the consonants 
we use are formed by the point of the tongue, and that the majority 
of the remainder are formed by the lips. The consonants that are 
difficult to teach are chiefly formed by the top or back part of 
the tongue; but, on account of their comparative rarity of occur- 
rence, they may be very imperfectly articulated without loss of 
intelligibility. Hence I see no reason why, in spite of the general 
ignorance of teachers respecting the mechanism of speech, we 
may not hope to teach all deaf children an intelligible pronuncia- 
tion. 
Let teachers appreciate the value of intelligible speech to a deaf 
child, and they will make the attempt to give it to him. At the 
present time, lack of appreciation operates to prevent the attempt 
from being made upon a large scale. Skilled teachers of articula- 
tion will become more numerous as the demand for their service 
increases, and their ingenuity, intelligently applied, will increase 
the perfection of the artificial speech obtained. 
In the meantime, do not let us discard speech from the difficulty 
of obtaining it in perfection. Do not let us be misled by the idea that 
intelligible but defective speech is of no use, and must necessarily 
be painful and disagreeable to all who hear it. Those who have 
seen the tears of joy shed by a mother over the first utterances of 
her deaf child will tell you a different tale. None but a parent can 
fully appreciate how sweet and pleasant may be the imperfect articu- 
lation of a deaf child. 
240TH MEETING. NovemBeEr 10, 1883. 
The President in the chair. 
Forty-eight members present. 
