Significant Gestures: A History of American Sign Language

Interpreter’s Resource Shelf (appeared in RID VIEWS July, 2007, reprinted with permission)
Kathy MacMillan, NIC, M.L.S.

Significant Gestures: A History of American Sign Language by John Tabak. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2006. ISBN: 0-275-98974-7. $44.95.

This fascinating book stands out for the unique way it approaches its subject. Though Tabak demonstrates a nuanced understanding of American Deaf Culture, his book focuses rather on the history of American Sign Language itself, informed by insights from the fields of education, linguistics, and culture. A passionate supporter of ASL, Tabak examines the writings of Thomas H. Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc and finds evidence of a radical early understanding of the enormous importance of “the natural language of signs”, as it was then known – an understanding that was lost during the dominance of oral education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Linguist William Stokoe’s central tenet of his 1960 paper – that ASL is an actual language, like any other - would not have been surprising to Gallaudet and Clerc. Tabak also examines the effects of segregation on African American Deaf children educated in the South, where lack of exposure to oralism (through a sort of benign neglect) led to a type of signing more like what Gallaudet and Clerc might have used than that of their white contemporaries. Tabak also examines the history of ASL as it pertains to Deaf-Blind individuals, and the linguistic accommodations that have evolved over time. Lastly, he examines modern trends impacting ASL, such as mainstreaming and cochlear implants. Brimming with forgotten historical tidbits and fascinating insights about ASL, this book is a treat for any serious student of the language.

This column appears monthly in VIEWS. Please direct questions, comments, or suggestions for resources to highlight in future issues to Kathy MacMillan at info@kathymacmillan.com.