William Stokoe and American Sign Linguistics: Revolutionizing the Understanding of Language

Elijah Ingram

Senior Division

Paper

Length: 1790

1

Process Paper

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to make a project that related to American Sign

Language (ASL), but that was way too broad of a topic. I then learned about William Stokoe, an

American linguist who was known for his studies in ASL and how he helped revolutionize the nationwide understanding of the language. I then began looking into his studies at Gallaudet

University and gained a general understanding of his work. This then led to reading his publication of Sign Language Structure, the monograph that changed the history of deaf education, and learned how it successfully proved ASL to be a unique and legitimate language. I felt that Stokoe’s contributions to deaf history fit the theme well, so I decided to make my topic about him.

Most of my research was mostly done through the internet. Many sources are web articles involving the history of sign language, as well as biographical pieces on key people in the history of sign language. I also utilized Texas Woman’s University libraries to find articles from “Sign

Language Studies” a quarterly journal founded by William Stokoe that gave great insight into the studies of sign language. The other means of research I used were films/documentaries like

“Through Deaf Eyes” and books such as Stokoe’s biography “Seeing Language in Sign”. These resources were used to develop a rough storyline in my head, as well as the context I needed to understand the topic of deaf education and sign language linguistics.

To start the development of my project I broke it up into three major sections. These were the early history section, the main topic, and the legacy. These sections mostly correlated to the usual introduction, body, and conclusion. After creating a loose structure to start my project, I 2 started filling these sections in with information that I had gathered. At that point, the creation of the paper was like telling a story. Starting with the early history involving the earliest use of signs, it’s development over the years, and the first deaf educational institutions founded. This then led to the main topic of William Stokoe’s work in linguistics, and the historical context of the events that occurred. Then came the legacy of his work and impact on deaf education system, concluding the story.

The purpose of my paper is to argue that William Stokoe’s work in ASL linguistics at

Gallaudet University was an important contribution to the changes that occurred in deaf education. By successfully proving that sign language had the same linguistic properties as any other language, Stokoe made the first step towards more diverse educational practices in deaf institutions. Without Stokoe’s research and publications, the deaf community wouldn’t have been able to use their own unique language, and would still be forced to orate instead.

3

Sign language has been used throughout history and dates as far back as the 16th century.

Hand gestures were used to overcome language barriers, regardless of whether the people communicating had hearing impairments or not. Though it had been used fairly commonly throughout the deaf community, it wasn’t until 1620 that Juan Pablo Bonet created the first

1 alphabet for “manual signs”. ​ With this, sign language was seen to have more credence as a ​ possible language, but that didn’t completely come to fruition until much later in history. This was also the first step in the direction of normalized deaf education, which French priest

Charles-Michel de l’Épée would eventually expand upon and create a formal sign language, as

2 well as the first school for the deaf in France. ​ All of this eventually leads to William C. Stokoe, ​ an American linguist who would go on to revolutionize the understanding of sign language in

America. Before Stokoe’s work in the linguistics of the language, sign language was seen as a ​ more primitive and underdeveloped language, but because of Stokoe many people were able to understand the legitimacy of sign language and the importance of teaching it.

The understanding we have of American Sign Language (ASL) is relatively new in the scope of modern history. William Stokoe published his famous “Sign Language Structure” monograph in 1960, and then the first ASL dictionary 5 years later in 1965. These events both occurred only roughly 60 years ago, making it a seemingly recent development in the history of the language. Though deafness and hearing impairments have been recognized and acknowledged as early as 1000 BC, the idea of developing an official language for this community was never officially realized at the time. Instead, people with these hearing

1 Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, "Juan Pablo Bonet," Britannica, last modified January 1, 2021, ​ accessed February 22, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Juan-Pablo-Bonet. 2 Ines Anton Dayas, "How Monks Helped Invent Sign Language," National Geographic, accessed ​ February 22, 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/world-history-magazine/article/creation-of-sign-language#:~:t ext=In%201814%20Thomas%20Hopkins%20Gallaudet,his%20hometown%20of%20Hartford%2C%20Co nnecticut. 4 impairments were forced to learn how to speak, as well as learn to read lips, both of which were difficult for them. For a long time, people didn’t understand what deafness was, and seemingly didn’t have any interest in trying to understand it until much later on. Though Stokoe revolutionized the understanding of American Sign Language during his lifetime, there was another person who allowed for this progression to happen. This person is Thomas Hopkins

Gallaudet, an American educator from the 19th century, known for his role in founding the first

3 educational institution for the deaf in the United States. ​ By giving children the option of ​ learning ASL rather than forcing them to learn how to speak English, Gallaudet allowed for the continued enrichment of the language and it’s users. Gallaudet and his co-founders set the stage for linguists, educators, and many others to view sign language as something to be studied and understood, instead of something that people saw as a hollow language consisting of meaningless gestures. If not for this, people like Alexander Graham Bell, George Veditz, and eventually

William Stokoe himself would have never had the opportunity to continue the study of the language and deaf culture throughout the years.

William C. Stokoe was born on July 21, 1919 in Lancaster, New Hampshire. Much of his early life was spent in Stafford, New York, where he attended school. He went on to receive both his bachelors and Ph.D degrees from Cornell University, both being in English. For a while

Stokoe was an English professor at Wells College in New York, until finally being hired to teach

4 English at Gallaudet University in 1955. ​ At the time, Stokoe had not been well versed in ​ American Sign Language at all, nor the controversial aspects of it. But during his time at

Gallaudet, he began watching the students communicate with each other through sign language

3 Gallaudet University, Gallaudet University, accessed January 6, 2021, ​ https://www.gallaudet.edu/academic-catalog/about-gallaudet/history-of-gallaudet. 4 David F. Armstrong, "William C. Stokoe, Jr Founder of Sign Language Linguistics 1919-2000," ​ Gallaudet Press, May 4, 2000, accessed November 29, 2020, http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/stokoe.html. ​ 5

(even though it was frowned upon and even a punishable act in earlier years) and began to see the components of an actual language. During this time nearly all deaf education institutions were teaching students to communicate orally, as it was seen as an effective way for deaf

5 students to integrate into the hearing world. ​ Students tolerated oration during school hours, but ​ freely used signs in their dorms. Stokoe’s interest in sign language quickly took hold after viewing the students’ communication on campus. He began studying sign language on his own time along with any other linguists who would listen to his ideas, even going as far as asking his students to teach him ASL. This was the beginning of Stokoe’s journey into understanding the linguistic components of sign language, and many students supported him as they were glad to have someone who understood their problems with deaf education, but unfortunately not everyone was in favor of his ideals when it came to sign language.

Many professors at Gallaudet opposed Stokoe’s interest in sign language, as many staff

(and people in general) believed that without speech, there is no actual language. Little did they know that they were dealing with a steadfast worker who previously held the title “Stubborn

6 Stokoe” and was determined to prove ASL as functional language. ​ Stokoe was basically going ​ against history by moving forward with his research into sign language linguistics. At this point in history, the oppression of the cultures within the deaf community was so deeply ingrained into society that even members of the community wouldn’t express themselves because these ideas had been instilled in them for so long. By forcing oration and lip reading onto the community, the education system was stripping a vital part of their culture believing it to be the only way for

5 Jamie Berke, "The Milan Conference of 1880: When Sign Language Was Almost Destroyed," Verywell ​ Health, last modified January 21, 2020, accessed February 23, 2021, https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaf-history-milan-1880-1046547. 6 Jane Maher, Seeing Language in Sign (Washington D.C., United States of America: Gallaudet ​ ​ ​ University Press, 2010) 6

7 them to integrate into hearing society. ​ This was all in disregard of the community’s actual ​ feelings on the matter, as many people still treated them as if they weren’t equals with hearing people, or that they weren't able to make decisions for themselves. Meanwhile, the deaf community was expanding and refining their own language, they were misunderstood strictly because nobody at the time wanted to understand. ​ ​ Stokoe on the other hand did want to understand this language. He saw forced oration as ​ ​ an unfit practice in the education of deaf students. So he continued his research into the linguistic properties of sign language, seeing the intricacies of the language and no longer seeing it as just basic hand gestures. He then compiled his findings and research into his monograph “Sign

Language Structure”, the first linguistic study on signed language. Though now we see this publication as groundbreaking, many people at the time showed hostility towards Stokoe and his research. Much of this even came from his colleagues at Gallaudet, who ridiculed him for

8 treating his students as reliable sources of information on sign language. ​ Nevertheless, Stokoe ​ did not waver, and stood his ground when it came to his research. Soon enough, he was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for $22,000, which would be nearly $200,000

9 today. ​ With this, Stokoe could continue his research and once again set out to prove sign ​ language as a legitimate form of communication.

With the supposed success of his monograph, Stokoe now had a huge resource to help with his research, but it also put him in view of many people who were ready to critique and

7 Victor Collazo, "ICYMI: A History of Deaf Education and ASL in the United States," Cyracom (blog), ​ ​ ​ entry posted March 26, 2019, accessed February 22, 2021, https://blog.cyracom.com/icymi-deaf-education-a-history-of-american-sign-language-in-the-united-states.

8 Through Deaf Eyes, directed by Diane Garey and Lawrence Hott, Florentine Films /Hott Productions, ​ ​ ​ 2007. 9 The Daily O'Collegian, "Method for Writing Sign Language Found," The Daily O'Collegian (Stillwater, ​ ​ ​ OK), March 30, 1960, https://basic.newspapers.com/image/594410769.

7 attempt to discredit his work. Not many people were willing to help Stokoe, since many thought getting involved with him would lead to them being involved in controversy as well. But soon,

Stokoe found two people to help him: Carl Croneburg, a deaf instructor from Gallaudet (see

Appendix A), and Dorothy C. Casterline, one of Stokoe’s students. Together they sought to find a way to record and analyze sign language to prove it’s linguistic properties. It took four years for the group’s research to come to fruition in the publishing of “A Dictionary of American Sign

Language on Linguistic Principles”. This dictionary was based on Stokoe notation, a written form of sign language developed by the group themselves. Stokoe notation is based on the components of hand signs: dez (handshape), sig (movement), and tab (location). With this publication, Stokoe and his colleagues had finally proved sign language as a legitimate language

10 backed by research and analysis. ​ This was also the first time the term “American Sign ​ Language” was used, leading many people to believe that Stokoe had “discovered” a new language, even though it had existed for years before his research had come out. But once again,

Stokoe wasn’t done yet as he was planning to show the world the truth of American Sign

Language that they had been ignoring for so long.

After the publication of “A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic

Principles” Stokoe went on to advocate for American Sign Language to be taught at deaf education institutions, rather than to continue oration and lip reading practices. He didn’t want to be seen as the discoverer of this language, and wanted the hundreds of thousands of deaf

Americans who had worked to create this language to be recognized after hundreds of years of being ignored. Stokoe was an inspiration in the deaf community and led many people to start advocating for American Sign Language to be taught and used in schools. This all eventually led

10 Steph Holloway, "Stokoe Notation," Script Source, accessed January 28, 2021, https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Qaaq. 8 to the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) to decide that “all deaf children have the right to flexible communication in the mode or combination of modes which

11 best meets their individual needs.” ​ in 1980, 100 years after the infamous 1880 Milan ​

12 conference in which educators almost banned sign language outright. ​ This was another turning ​ point in deaf education history, and from this moment on deaf education changed into what it is today. Before, the deaf community was seen as a group of individuals who weren’t capable of thinking or acting for themselves since they couldn’t communicate verbally. This excuse was used to culturally oppress them for years and years, forcing them to speak or read lips, and not allowing them to use sign language. But then with the research and analysis of the linguistics of sign language that eventually culminated into “Sign Language Structure”, William Stokoe went against the norm and changed deaf education for the better, eventually publishing an official dictionary, making the world see that this community had successfully created a working language with the same intricacies and components of any spoken language. Stokoe saw what everyone else refused to see at the time, and due to his hard work and determination, created a turning point in deaf education, and this allowed the deaf community to finally make more progress in advocating for themselves. To this day, William Stokoe is well known for his contributions to American deaf history, for without him the current state of deaf education and culture would look much different, and thanks to him sign language is able to be continually developed and used regularly within the communities.

11Victor Collazo, "ICYMI: A History of Deaf Education and ASL in the United States," Cyracom (blog), ​ ​ entry posted March 26, 2019, accessed February 22, 2021, https://blog.cyracom.com/icymi-deaf-education-a-history-of-american-sign-language-in-the-united-states. 12 Jamie Berke, "The Milan Conference of 1880: When Sign Language Was Almost Destroyed," Verywell ​ Health, last modified January 21, 2020, accessed February 23, 2021, https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaf-history-milan-1880-1046547. 9

Appendix A

An image of William Stokoe and Carl Croneberg working together in a classroom at Gallaudet

University.

William Stokoe and Carl Croneberg. Photograph. Accessed

February 22, 2021. https://www.gallaudet.edu/archives-and-deaf-collections/

collections/photography.

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Bibliography

Primary Sources

Armstrong, David F. "William C. Stokoe, Jr. Founder of Sign Language Linguistics 1919-2000." Gallaudet Press, May 4, 2000. Accessed November 29, 2020. ​ http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/stokoe.html. This is an obituary written by one of Stockoe's colleagues at the university he worked at, David Armstrong. This source goes over Stockoe's accomplishments and the many things he had done for Gallaudet University.

The Daily O'Collegian. "Method for Writing Sign Language Found." The Daily O'Collegian ​ (Stillwater, OK), March 30, 1960, 7. https://basic.newspapers.com/image/594410769. This brief article credits William Stokoe as the creator of the first version of written sign, which would soon go on to be known as Stokoe Notation. It also mentions how the NSF gave him a grant to continue his research, showing early support of his work to understand ASL better.

Gallaudet University. William Stokoe and Carl Croneberg. Photograph. Accessed February 18, 2021. https://www.gallaudet.edu/archives-and-deaf-collections/collections/photography. This image depicts William and Stokoe and Carl Croneberg working together in a class room during their studies in ASL.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. "American Sign Language." National Institutes of Health. Last modified May 8, 2019. Accessed February 18, 2021. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language. This site gave me an overall view of ASL as a whole. It gave information on the importance of teaching it to deaf children as their first language, as well as different facts about it.

Stokoe, William C. "Sign Language Structure: An Outline of the Visual Communication Systems of the American Deaf." Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education 10, no. 1 (2005): ​ ​ 3-37. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/eni001. 11

This journal article gave me a more direct look into Stokoe's work and studies. Reading through this personally taught me a lot about the deeper linguistic properties of American Sign Language.

Secondary Sources

Ballard, Carey M. "Carl Croneberg: Unsung Hero." Sign Language Studies 20, no. 1 (2019): ​ ​ 173-76. http://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2019.0017. This journal excerpt gave me information on Carl Croneburg, William Stokoe's partner in his studies on ASL linguistics. Though Stokoe is usually credited for being the man behind the understanding of ASL, he wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of Croneberg.

Berke, Jamie. "The Milan Conference of 1880: When Sign Language Was Almost Destroyed." Verywell Health. Last modified January 21, 2020. Accessed February 23, 2021. https://www.verywellhealth.com/deaf-history-milan-1880-1046547. This article on the Milan conference of 1880 gave me information about how sign language has been seen as an illegitimate language over the years. I plan on using this for my early history section or conclusion.

Berkie, Jamie. "Profile of William C. Stokoe, Jr." Edited by James Lacy. Very Well Health. Last modified June 5, 2020. Accessed January 31, 2021. https://www.verywellhealth.com/profile-of-william-c-stokoe-jr-1049429. This quick profile on William Stokoe gave me information about who he worked with at Gallaudet and how they conducted their research on ASL. It also gave me some insight on how ASL was widely viewed by people at the time.

Collazo, Victor. "ICYMI: A History of Deaf Education and ASL in the United States." Cyracom ​ (blog). Entry posted March 26, 2019. Accessed February 22, 2021. https://blog.cyracom.com/icymi-deaf-education-a-history-of-american-sign-language-in-t he-united-states. This source gave me information about the controversy that came with deaf education that mostly revolved around oration versus signing. I also learned about the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf, which I will use for my conclusion section.

Dawn Sign Press. "History of American Sign Language." Dawn Sign Press. Last modified August 17, 2016. Accessed November 15, 2020. https://www.dawnsign.com/news-detail/history-of-american-sign-language#. This publisher website gave me a basic run-down on how ASL progressed and mentioned Stokoe's publication of Sign Language Structure as one of the key events of ​ ​ progressing the language.

Dayas, Ines Anton. "How Monks Helped Invent Sign Language." National Geographic. Accessed February 22, 2021. 12

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/world-history-magazine/article/creation-of-s ign-language#:~:text=In%201814%20Thomas%20Hopkins%20Gallaudet,his%20hometo wn%20of%20Hartford%2C%20Connecticut. This article from National Geographic gave me an in depth look of how sign language was developed in the early years through different cultures. It also gave me key figures that I could then research to add to my early history.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "William C. Stokoe, Jr." Britannica. Accessed November 15, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-C-Stokoe-Jr. This brief bio about William Stokoe gave me a great overview of his history. It included notable facts that I was then able to use to expand my research on his life and educational career.

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Juan Pablo Bonet." Britannica. Last modified January 1, 2021. Accessed February 22, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Juan-Pablo-Bonet. This article on Juan Pablo Bonet gave me information on the early history of the development of sign language. Knowing the origins of the first documented "dictionary" of hand signs was valuable information for my early history section.

Gallaudet University. "Fast Facts." Gallaudet University. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://www.gallaudet.edu/about/news-and-media/fast-facts. This source is directly from Gallaudet University and is a page full of fast facts about the university. This gave me information about the university about the famous university where Stokoe taught, and where ASL was used and studied.

———. Gallaudet University. Accessed January 6, 2021. https://www.gallaudet.edu/academic-catalog/about-gallaudet/history-of-gallaudet. This source gave me the history of Gallaudet University, where Stokoe studied ASL linguistics. It goes into the history of how the school developed over the years and it's continued presidential support.

Gifford, Emily E., ed. "Gallaudet's Vision Advances Deaf Education." Connecticut History. Last modified April 25, 2019. Accessed January 6, 2021. https://connecticuthistory.org/gallaudets-vision-advances-deaf-education/. This source gave me information about Thomas Gallaudet and his early vision of expanding deaf education, which eventually led to Gallaudet University being founded and named after him. If not for Thomas Gallaudet, deaf education wouldn't be where it is today.

Holloway, Steph. "Stokoe Notation." Script Source. Accessed January 28, 2021. https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=script_detail&key=Qaaq. This source gave me a researcher's view on the characteristics of Stokoe Notation, a phonemic script used to write ASL. I learned that this wasn't used for deaf people to ​ ​ write, since they could already learn to do that, but was used to study and analyze the intricacies of ASL.

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Jay, Michelle. "History of American Sign Language." Start ASL. Last modified November 6, 2020. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.startasl.com/history-of-american-sign-language/. This website gave me information about the early history of ASL and how ASL education came to be. It also included some articles that I was able to use to further my research.

Maher, Jane. Seeing Language in Sign. Washington D.C., United States of America: Gallaudet ​ ​ University Press, 2010. Sections of this biography gave me a more meaningful look into Stokoe's life and way of living. It gave me a way more descriptive account of how his studies into sign language linguistics actually occurred.

Nagourney, Eric. "William Stokoe Jr., Sign Language Advocate, Dies at 80." New York Times ​ (New York, NY), April 11, 2000, sec. B, 10. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/11/us/william-stokoe-jr-sign-language-advocate-dies- at-80.html. This is an obituary going over the life of William Stokoe. It gave me information about his accomplishments and life working as a linguist.

New England Historical Society. "Alice Cogswell Changed the World for Deaf People." New England Historical Society. Last modified 2020. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/alice-cogswell-changed-world-deaf-people /. This source is about Alice Cogswell, a young deaf girl who's struggles with communicating inspired Thomas Gallaudet to take more interest in deaf education.

Through Deaf Eyes. Directed by Diane Garey and Lawrence Hott. Florentine Films /Hott ​ Productions, 2007. Through Deaf Eyes gave me an in depth explanation of the history of deaf education and culture. It gave me more specific details about moments that occurred during Stokoe and his colleagues' research into ASL, as well as more people and events to study for my project.