Oralism
Throughout history, deafness and mutism have been linked. A deaf person’s ability to speak has been regarded as a sign of talent, humanity or education, or a lack thereof. In the study of deaf history, this attitude is called oralism. Oralism as a concept emerged in the field of deaf education where it referred to Lue lisää
Read moreSpeech or sign language?
As early as ancient Greece and Rome, the ability to speak and think were thought to be connected. It was commonly thought that people who could not speak lacked the ability to think. According to Aristotle, hearing played the main role in learning and gaining knowledge and voice was a tool for thinking. Even though Lue lisää
Read moreSamuel Heinicke, the father of oralism, and Moritz Hill, a reformer of the oral method
Samuel Heinicke, who is often called the father of oralism, had different goals in his teaching. As with the Greek philosophers, he believed there was a connection between speech and thinking. Heinicke claimed that abstract thoughts could not be conveyed in sign language. According to him, learning spoken language was the only way for deaf Lue lisää
Read moreOralism arrives in Finland
In the late 19th century, the use of sign language in tuition was increasingly criticised and the benefits of various teaching methods were continuously debated. The advocates of oralism stated the connection between thinking and speech as grounds for favouring the method and believed that the use of sign language slowed down the learning of Lue lisää
Read moreThe oral method is given a formal status
In deaf history, the switch to the oral method is typically deemed to have taken place at the Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf held in Milan in 1880. The convention passed a resolution in which a strong stance was taken against sign language, helping cement the position of the oral method. In Lue lisää
Read moreThe oral method in tuition
In the early 20th century, more than half of the pupils were taught using the oral method. None of the schools used only sign language in tuition, but a fifth of the students were taught using writing and about a quarter of the pupils learned with a combination of written language and sign language. In Lue lisää
Read moreIdeologies driving oralism
Teaching speech at the schools for the deaf was logical but, in contrast, using spoken language to teach and banning sign language seems unreasonable. It seems the teachers realised that using sign language in tuition would have been easier and more effective. Even though they were aware of how natural and important sign language was Lue lisää
Read moreOralism and the deaf community
The period of oralism has probably shaped the deaf community more profoundly than anything else in its history. Particularly the claim that sign languages are primitive has had a huge impact on the deaf community. For a long time, teachers were held in high esteem within the community and deaf people began to see sign Lue lisää
Read more- occupations
-
personal history
- Rurik Pitkänen
- Torsten Rikström
- Svante Lagergrén
- Savisaari family
- The Ritalas and the Talvias
- The Stadius
- Raija Nieminen
- Elin Carlstedt
- Oskar Wetzell
- Martin Hellöre
- Maria Lovisa Klingenberg
- Julius Hirn
- Jarmo Narmala
- John Sundberg
- Ida Mouton
- Hulda Hakala
- Elma Eklund
- Fritz Hirn
- Carl Henrik Alopaeus
- Bruno Mouton
- Aura Ahlbäck
- Antti Jokelainen
- organizations
-
deaf education
- Deaf education
- Early stages of deaf education
- Argillander as a trailblazer
- Malm’s school in Porvoo
- A state school begins operations in Turku
- More schools are founded
- Goals of deaf education
- The goals change
- The era of oralism
- The school system undergoes changes
- Boarding schools
- Sign language and bilingualism
-
deaf awareness
- oralism
- family
- religious life