Who Invented Sign Language

Sign language is the way to communicate for those who cannot speak or hear. As necessity is the father of invention, have you ever wondered who invented sign language? No one can really claim who actually came up with the novel idea of sign language to help those who can't communicate through words. Many cultures from different countries influenced the formation of sign language. Let's go into the details of history of sign language.

History of Sign Language

One can't say who exactly invented the sign language. Sign language had been used even before people understood what is sign language. Yet, over the centuries some people played a significant role in development of the vocabulary and rules of the sign language that is being used today.

Cave Man Sign Language
The earliest humans did not use words to communicate. They used sign languages that were absolutely different from the sign language used today. Even animals use sign language to communicate with each other. Similarly, body language was also used to communicate and pass on messages in the early humans. Thus, in some form or the other, communication was carried out by the early humans in form of a distinct sign language. Thus, it is impossible to point out who invented sign language in the early ages, that was carried forward through generations.

Development of Hand Sign Language
The first person to create a book on sign language was Juan Pablo de Bonet in 1620. He recorded the symbolic hand shapes that represented different sounds. But Pablo is not the inventor of sign language alphabets. The sign language alphabets had already been in use since a long time and all Pablo did was to catalog them in a book.

Abbe Charles Michel de L'Epee in 1771 opened the first free public school for the deaf. He taught the system of sign language for kids in his school. This system for sing language for kids, was based on languages that the students used in their homes. Most of these children came from Martha's Vineyard, that was an island off the coast of Massachusetts. This island reported a high incidence of deafness for about 250 years from the early 1700's., due to a hereditary defect.

L'Epee observed the deaf children and came up with a standard for the language of hand signs, gestures and finger spelling. This standard system officially became recognized as the language for the deaf in France, as well as Europe.

The Wild Wild West and Sign Language
The sign language arrived on the lands of America with the efforts of two men. Laurent Clerk and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet opened the first American school for the deaf, after about 45 years of L'Epee's school in Paris. Clerc was familiar with the French method of signing, as he was from Europe. Their first school was opened in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut.

The children who attended their school came from all over the country and thus they integrated many methods into the school's existing program. This helped in creation of the American Sign Language. Yet, many argue that the American Sign Language alphabets was influenced by the Martha's Vineyard greatly, as Clerc brought the system from Europe to America.

These early influences and contributions lead to the development of the sign language. The sign language has really helped the deaf to communicate with people around them. The credit as the inventor of sign language should be given to the early cavemen who used it even before words were created. Thus, the answer to who invented sign language cannot pin point a particular person. It was the contribution from many people who led to the creation of sign language.