SASL Newsletter - Spring 2017 Issue Issue 5 - Spring 2017 | Page 2

SASL Executive Council 2015 – 2017 President Samuel J. Supalla University of Arizona [email protected] Vice President Deirdre Schlehofer Rochester Institute of Technology [email protected] Recording Secretary / Newsletter Editor Andrew P. J. Byrne Framingham State University [email protected] Treasurer Harvey Nathanson Austin Community College [email protected] Membership Director Ron Fenicle [email protected] SASL Journal Editor-in-Chief Jody H. Cripps Towson University [email protected] Members-at-Large Russell Rosen CUNY – Staten Island [email protected] Gabriel Arellano Georgetown University [email protected] The Power of ASL By Andrew P. J. Byrne An Extraordinary Irony: Alexander Graham Bell’s Last Dying Words in American Sign Language As we all know, Alexander Graham Bell was fervently opposed to the use of ASL for deaf children even though he was a fluent signer (see my piece in the previous issue). Most ironic is that reports were that Bell's dying words were not spoken, but rather in ASL. He died on August 22, 1922 at the age of 75. While tending to Bell on his deathbed, Mabel, his deaf wife, whispered, “Don’t leave me.” He responded, “No”. That was his last word, and one version indicated that Bell fingerspelled “No” (Gray, 2006) and another that he signed “No” (Bruce, 1973; Grosvenor & Wesson, 1997; Mackay, 1997). In researching Bell's wife, Mabel, I found good information in Albert Ballin's book, "The Deaf Mute Howls" (originally published in 1930 and re-published by Gallaudet University Press in 1998). Ballin was deaf and a native signer, and he observed that Mabel “could not spell on her fingers or make signs” (p. 41). He never saw her fingerspelling or signing with anyone, including her husband. Ballin elaborated that “[i]n conversing with her, I moved my mouth without making any sound, and she always answered in writing. She understood every word I spoke, if I moved my mouth broadly, deliberately, and if the topics were commonplace” (p. 41). Another source of information comes from Robert Bruce's book, "Bell: Alexander Graham Bell and the Conquest of Solitude" that was published in 1973. The author appears to be hearing and did not have an affiliation with the deaf community, yet his discussion about Mabel is similar to Ballin's. Bruce explained that, in all conversations, Bell “never needed to use fingerspelling with [Mabel] as he had with his [deaf] mother. Lipreading was enough for Mabel” (p. 321). When she became deaf at age five from scarlet fever, she continued to speak. “[H]er mother determined to do everything in her power to preserve her speech. She kept her with her hearing sisters, had her play their games, go to dance school with them” (Lane, 1984, p. 315). (Continue on the next page) 2 Spring 2017 – Issue 5