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Everyone here
spoke sign language : hereditary deafness on Martha's Vineyard / Nora
Ellen Groce ; foreword by John W.M. Whiting. - Cambridge
(Mass.) : Harvard university press, 1985. - X-169 p. :
ill., maps ; 24 cm.
ISBN 0-674-27040-1
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NOTE DE L'ÉDITEUR
: From the seventeenth century to the early years of the twentieth, the
population of Martha's Vineyard manifested an extremely high rate of
profound hereditary deafness. In stark contrast to the experience of
most deaf people in our own society, the Vineyarders who were born deaf
were so thoroughly integrated into the daily life of the community that
they were not seen — and did not see themselves — as
handicapped or as a group apart. Deaf people were included in all
aspects of life, such as town politics, jobs, church affairs, and
social life.
How was this possible ? On the Vineyard, hearing and deaf
islanders alike grew up speaking sign language. This unique
sociolinguistic adaptation meant that the usual barriers to
communication between the hearing and the deaf, which so isolate many
deaf people today, did not exist.
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JUDITH BAILOW
: There used to be a deaf community in this part of the Island
[Chilmark]. People didn't realize it, but they were passing on a gene
that carried deafness, and several people in each generation were born
unable to hear. Well, the community took that right in stride and
simply taught everyone to speak sign language. Part of the American
Sign Language used today may have originated right here. The books you
can buy about that community are called, Everyone Here Spoke Sign
Language, or John Neufeld's latest young adult novel, Gaps in Stone Walls.
☐
« Touring Martha's Vineyard », Vineyard Haven (Mass.) : Bigwheel press, 1997
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| CONTENTS |
1. “ They Were Just Like Everyone Else ”
2. The History of Martha's Vineyard
3. The Origins of Vineyard Deafness
4. The Genetics of Vineyard Deafness
5. The Island Adaptation to Deafness
6. Growing Up Deaf on the Vineyard
7. Deafness in Historical Perspective
8. “ Those People Weren't Handicapped ”
Appendix A. Oral and Written Sources
Appendix B. Perceived Causes of Vineyard Deafness
Notes
Bibliography
Index |
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| mise-à-jour : 21 février 2007 |
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