TY  - BOOK
AU  - Maher,Jane
TI  - Seeing language in sign: the work of William C. Stokoe 
SN  - 156368053X
AV  - HV2534.S76 M35 1996
U1  - 419.092 20
PY  - 1996///
CY  - Washington, D.C.
PB  - Gallaudet University Press
KW  - Stokoe, William C.
KW  - Teachers of the deaf
KW  - United States
KW  - Biography
KW  - Linguists
KW  - American Sign Language
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-189) and index
N2  - In 1995 William C. Stokoe arrived at Gallaudet College (later Gallaudet University) to teach English, specifically Chaucer. His own education in Old and Middle English, however, triggered a disparate response within him when he was first exposed to deaf people signing. While most of his colleagues conformed to current conventional theory and dismissed signing as mere mimicry of speech, Stokoe saw in it elements of a distinctive language all its own. Seeing Language in Sign traces the process that Stokoe followed to prove scientifically and unequivocally that American Sign Language (ASL) met the full criteria of linguistics - phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and use of language - to be classified a fully developed language. This perceptive account dramatically captures the struggle Stokoe faced in persuading the establishment of the truth of his discovery. Other faculty members ridiculed or reviled him, and many deaf members of the Gallaudet community laughed at his efforts. Seeing Language in Sign rewards the reader with a rich portrayal of an undaunted advocate who, like a latter-day Galileo, pursued his vision of doggedly regardless of relentless antagonism. He established the Linguistics Research Laboratory, then founded the journal Sign Language Studies to sustain an unpopular dialogue until the tide changed. His ultimate vindication corresponded with the recognition of the glorious culture and community that revolves around Deaf people and their language, American Sign Language
ER  -