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)
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Spring 2017 – Issue 5