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In his book , Ballin described his personal encounters with Bell in Paris , France , Rome , Italy , New York , and Washington , DC . Judging Bell ’ s signing skills , Ballin wrote , “ Dr . Bell was a fluent talker on his fingers – as good as any deaf-mute – and could use his fingers and arms with bewitching grace and ease ” ( p . 41 ). In addition , Ballin was enthralled by his storytelling skills . He commented on his socialization with Bell , “ We touched on a great variety of subjects . To be exact I should say it was he who did the talking , and I the listening . He was a fascinating raconteur ” ( p . 43 ). What is a raconteur ? Here is the definition that I am providing : A raconteur is “ a master artist who concentrates on the aesthetics of the story and the emotions it evokes in the listener ” ( Osman , 2012 , p . 719 ). For someone who is a raconteur , his / her language has to be proficient and fluent .
At the same time , I am fully aware of Bell ' s views on deaf people , which are not positive . According to the historical accounts , Bell had attempted " to banish the sign language ; to disperse the deaf and discourage their socializing , organizing , publishing , and marriage ; to have deaf children educated in and use exclusively the majority language [ English ]” ( Lane , 1984 , p . 340 ). Ballin explained in his book that by the time Bell was proficient in ASL , he was already “ a confirmed pure oralist ” ( p . 41 ). Here is my question : What really happened to Bell ? Learning a new language and being proficient takes time , dedication , and love . I can see in the picture that knowing ASL makes all the difference for Bell to communicate with Helen Keller ( and many deaf people , including Ballin ). If anything , Bell appears to be a very complicated man who overlooked what ASL had done for him .
References Ballin , A . ( 1998 ). The deaf mute howls . Washington , DC : Gallaudet University Press . Lane , H . ( 1984 ). When the mind hears : A history of the deaf . New York , NY : Random House .
Lang , H . G ., & Meath-Lang , B . ( 1995 ). Deaf persons in the arts and sciences : A biographical dictionary . Westport , CT : Greenwood Press .
Osman , S . ( 2012 ). Raconteur . In C . A . Lindberg ( Ed .), Oxford American writer ’ s thesaurus ( 3 rd ed ., p . 719 ). New York , NY : Oxford University Press . Van Cleve , J . V ., & Crouch , B . A . ( 1989 ). A place of their own : Creating the deaf community in America . Washington , DC : Gallaudet University Press .
The Power of ASL 3 Winter 2016 – Issue 4