“Dumbness comes from the fact that a child is born deaf and that it consequently never learns how to articulate, for it is by the medium of hearing that such instruction is acquired.”
- March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922
- Born in Scotland
- Inventor, scientist, engineer, educator
- Invented the telephone, revolutionized communications technology, and founded Bell Labs
Quote
“Dumbness comes from the fact that a child is born deaf and that it consequently never learns how to articulate, for it is by the medium of hearing that such instruction is acquired.”
Explanation
In this quote, Alexander Graham Bell expresses his belief that deafness leads to dumbness, or the inability to speak, due to the lack of hearing. Bell emphasizes that speech acquisition is heavily dependent on the ability to hear, as it is through hearing that children typically learn to articulate sounds and words. At the time, this was a widely accepted view, especially by advocates of the oral method of teaching the deaf, which Bell championed. He believed that, with proper training, deaf individuals could learn to speak, despite their inability to hear the sounds themselves.
Historically, this view reflects the medical and educational paradigms of the late 19th century, when deafness was often seen as a condition that could only be “overcome” through the development of speech. Bell’s stance led to significant debate within the deaf education community, particularly during the 1880 Milan Conference, which endorsed oralism and led to a decline in the use of sign language in many educational settings. Bell’s position on the relationship between hearing and speech shaped much of his work and advocacy, particularly his belief that speech was a key to social integration for the deaf.
In modern times, this view has been challenged, as we now understand that deaf individuals can acquire sign language as naturally as hearing children acquire spoken language. The bilingual-bicultural approach to deaf education, which values both sign language and spoken language, has become more widely accepted, acknowledging that the deaf community has its own rich culture and methods of communication. Today, we recognize that deafness does not inherently lead to an inability to communicate; it simply means that individuals may use different tools, such as sign language, lip-reading, or technological aids like hearing aids and cochlear implants, to express themselves. Bell’s view, while historically significant, has evolved in the context of a more inclusive and diverse understanding of language acquisition and communication.
