oralism

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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

Speech 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

Samuel 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

Oralism 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

The 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

The 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

Ideologies 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

Oralism 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

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