n6 DUMB 
natural procefs oflenrning a language by tliofe who hear: 
with tliofe who are deaf, the procefs neceffarily differs ; 
but, if properly managed, the refult will be the fame, 
i. e. they will learn to imitate, not the articulations they 
hear, but thofe they fee and feel . Children who hear, 
learn words, as it were, en gros, while thofe who are deaf 
mud pttrfue a more detailed method, and begin, not with 
words, but with their condiment parts. Thus, infiead of 
fhewing them words, and endeavouring to make them 
pronounce or comprehend them, we begin with the mod 
iivnple founds, and do not attempt to combine thefe till 
the aCt of producing them feparately becomes familiar. 
The fird dep in the procefs of teaching a deaf and • 
dumb perfon to fpeak, is to obtain a clear and didinCl 
found from the throat, as of a, heard in the word wall, 
&c. To effect this, and to habituate the pupil to con¬ 
nect the found when he has learnt to produce it, with 
the letter, from henceforth to be its reprefentalive, it is 
didinCtly traced on paper, and he is made to obferve it 
for a minute ; he then looks up with anxiety, as if he 
would enquire what he is to do with it. The found is 
then fully and dovvly pronounced, or uttered, and the 
learner made to look attentively at the pofition and mo¬ 
tion of the mouth, and to feel the adriCtion of the muf- 
cles of the larynx, by placing his hand upon the throat, 
carefully making him perceive the beginning and con- 
elufion of the found, which he can eaiily do by the vi¬ 
bratory motion excited in the parts during its continu¬ 
ance, and which of courfe ceafes with it. Having made 
thefe obfervations for a fhort time, he will feldom fail to 
attempt an imitation of what he has been obferving, and 
that, tor the mod part, fuccefsfully. When the contrary 
happens, nothing more is requilite than patient and good- 
natured perfeverance ; for, if he perceive that his failure 
has excited chagrin or dilappointment in his teacher, he 
will make another effort with gfeat reluctance. 
The found, once acquired, mud be praCtifed for a fuf- 
ficient length of time, to avoid the danger of lofing it; 
great care being neceffary all through bis progrefs never 
to proceed to a new found till the preceding has become 
familiar, and unattended with doubt as to the manner of 
producing it. A contrary practice would lead to confu- 
fion and endlefs vexation; while too much pains cannot 
be taken to keep the learner in good humour, and to 
make him fuppofe that he is doing well beyond expecta¬ 
tion : nothing is more di Icon raging than to put him 
back. In the fame manner we teach the other dmple 
founds, which are but few in number, yet, by combina¬ 
tion, are fufceptible of great variety. 
The vowels being acquired, we proceed to the confo- 
nants, in their order, teaching only the powers of them ; 
and that through the means of feeing and feeling, as in the 
vowels, always applying the fcholar’s finger to the nuif- 
cles concerned in their formati n, and employing his eyes 
in alternately obferving the letter, and the pofitions and 
motions of the external organs of fpeech. By thefe means 
deaf and dumb perfons not only learn to fpeak themfelves, 
hut acquire wonderful facility in knowing what others 
fay, by the help of the eyes only. 
The power of the confonants, it may be neceffary to 
obferve, mean only the pofition and action of the organs 
employed in their formation, without the addition of any 
didinCt vocal found ; for, though it is neceffary to found 
in the throat in the formation of many of them, yet the 
found is fo confined by the pofition of the organs, as not 
to partake of the nature of any of the open founds re- 
prefented by the vowels. Thus, for in fiance, by clofing 
the lips, founding gently in the throat, forcing them 
afunder by the emiffion of the breath, and carefully 
avoiding to let any of it pafs through the nofe, we have 
the power of b. After the fame manner is formed the 
power of p, but without found in the throat. Thefe 
formations mud be (lowly and carefully pointed out to 
the learner, with the precautions above noticed, till all 
the confonants be gone through, and properly acquired. 
N E S S. * 
It is evident, when the power of a confonant is attained, 
that it need only to be joined with the vowels to form 
fyllables, as 6 a, be, ab, cb, &c. thefe the learner will pro¬ 
nounce almod at fight. From the ealieft combinations 
we proceed to the mod complex ; and, by practice, he 
will foon acquire reactinefs in pronouncing the longed 
polyfyllables. 
This may ferve to convey a general idea of the method 
purfued in teaching the dumb to fpeak ; a work of la¬ 
bour and nicety, it is true, on the part of the teacher; 
and what has been faid may alfo obviate the mi flake in 
a notion, taken up by fome uninformed perfons, that the 
procefs is attended with pain on the part of the learner; 
on the contrary it is an amufement to him ; and, were it 
otherwife, the importance of the acquifition would well 
repay hii*; for fome pains. The very habit of regarding 
written or printed characters as the figns of certain me¬ 
chanical aCtions of the organs of fpeech, paves the way 
for confidering combinations of thofe aCtions or charac¬ 
ters as the figns of things, i. c. fighificant words written 
or articulate. We, who hear, confider words as founds; 
the deaf, when taught to fpeak, regard them as aCtions. 
In the inftruCtion of the deaf and dumb, fpeech is of the 
utmod importance; it not only ferves them as it does 
others, to communicate their thoughts, when they have 
acquired a knowledge of language, hut it contributes 
much to that acquifition, by greatly facilitating the re¬ 
tention of words in the memory. 
The learner having attained the ufe of fpeech, in a cer¬ 
tain degree, which is to be carefully and daily improved 
by practice : he is (hewn words of the mod familiar fort 
at firlt; that is to fay, only the names of perfons or things, 
(nouns,) or of aCtions, (verbs,) that can readily be (hewn 
with the words; as, for indance, the parts of the body, 
and fuch common articles of furniture as furround him, 
the names of the perfons of the family, and aCtions figni- 
fied by the words walk, run, cat, play. Sec. Having got a 
pretty good dock of fuch words, and the meaning of them 
being perfectly underdood, we proceed to confider the 
perfons, things, or aCtions, defignated by them in their 
relations to other perfons or things, of the fame, or dif¬ 
ferent forts ; this furnilhes us with opportunities of de¬ 
clining or varying the words according to the relations 
we perceive in the things they (ignify either by fome ad¬ 
dition or alteration in the word itfelf, or by fome other 
word joined with it. This brings into ufe prepolitions, 
conjunctions, adverbs, auxiliary verbs, Sec. Things have 
attributes or qualities, (adjeCtives,) the table is round, 
or fquare, one is large, another is final 1 ; an apple ts fweet 
or four, &c. Thefe attributes are perceived by fome of 
our fenfes as exiding in the fubjects ; hence we eafily 
undeidand the words that defignate them. 
There is a natural propendty in the human mind to 
generalize and clafiify its perceptions : after a number of 
examples of the application of the word fweet, for in¬ 
dance, to an apple, to an orange, ftigar, Sec. a perfon who 
had been deaf and dumb will be prepared to underftand 
the word fweetnefs, having already begun to confider the 
quality abdraCtedly, and fo on for other abdraCt terms, 
as goodnefs, truth, judice, Sec. After this fimple and 
natural manner are the deaf and dumb brought to fpeak, 
read, write, and undeidand a language. 
The fird year of a learner’s progrefa’is nearly confumed 
in acquiring the pronunciation and orthography of words, 
i. e. a vocabulary, confiding of a variety of nouns, or the 
names of animals and things; andalfo verbs, all eafily (hewn 
to him ; and their variations or declenfions. Where the 
capacity is good, at the end of this period he will be fit 
to enter upon the exemplification of the ufesand appli¬ 
cation of the words he has learnt, in the condruftion of 
fuch (imple fentences as are neceffary to ex[ refs his rwde 
thoughts. His reafon and his knowledge of language go 
on expanding together, mutually unfolding each other, 
till he becomes capable of taking fome part in the tranf. 
aCtions and duties of that fociety, on which he originally 
promife^ 
