Taken from: Fay,
Edward Allen, ed. American Annals of
the Deaf, vol. 36. Washington,
D.C.: Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf, 1891. pp. 283-287.
* Read before the meeting of the American Association to
Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, at Lake George, New York, 1891.
Other able articles which have been read before this meeting have mentioned numerous instances in the history of the development of articulation in which a system of teaching the deaf has virtually ceased to exist with the death of the originator. There seems to have been an unfortunate aeries of circumstances, if not an organized effort, to keep in obscurity the Natural Alphabet and system of teaching of the late Mr. Zerah C. Whipple, of Mystic River, Connecticut, and while as a pupil of his, a direct beneficiary of his achievements, I feel profoundly grateful for the opportunity offered me to bring the matter before the public, and thus contribute a trifle toward securing it a portion of the attention it so richly deserves, I am deeply conscious of my own inability to do the subject adequate justice, and I would first of all beg for kind consideration of the facts I plead in extenuation.
A period of some sixteen years has elapsed since I received instruction, and during this time, as no necessity has required me to retain all the facts ready for immediate use, as would have been the case had I been a teacher, there are doubtless many details which may be lacking, and which I am unable to supply. I am but too glad for the occasion thus offered me of doing honor to a benefactor of humanity whose sole aim was to benefit those who are afflicted, and, incomplete as my explanation may be, it is actuated by a deep feeling of gratitude and s full consciousness of what I owe to him. I am glad to say that I have with me my mother, who is as familiar with his methods as I, from the fact of her residence at the school with me, and if in the course of discussion any questions arise which I am unable to answer I shall be glad to refer you to her.
So little is known of the system that a brief history of its origin may not be amiss.
Primarily, the germ developed in the mind of Jonathan Whipple, the grandfather of the inventor, whose favorite son, Enoch, was a deaf-mute. By dint of perseverance and repeated experiment, wholly unaided by precedent or device, he succeeded in teaching his child a form of speech. Afterward he discovered, by close study of the subject, that he could secure an understanding from him more readily when his own face was under close scrutiny, and than to his mind was imparted. remotely enough, but still impressively, the first principle of lip-reading, which he afterwards taught his son, and which resulted in his becoming an accomplished speech-reader. The elder Whipple was ignorant and obscure, and had no possible knowledge of the other efforts then being made in the same direction, but the idea took a firm hold upon him, and he longed to extend the benefits to a wider circle of the afflicted class to which his son belonged. His methods were primitive: prejudice was strong and difficult to overcome, and an old age drew on apace, despairing of his ability to carry an his cherished hope, he confided his ambitions to his young and gifted grandson, whose ready brain was as quick to conceive as his compassion and humanity were swift to be aroused, and he adopted as his life work the task of teaching the deaf to speak and read the lips. His ideas were necessarily crude and undeveloped; but, aided by Jim grandfather’s example, he sought for and obtained a few pupils, whom he endeavored to teach as his uncle had been taught. This was largely in the nature of an experiment, and he soon felt the incompleteness of his theories, which he at once redoubled his efforts to strengthen. He resigned his charge to other members of the family and sought instruction in the Connecticut State Normal School, believing that a course of study would result in a more thorough understanding of the details of teaching. One day, so the story goes, he saw the principal and abruptly announced his intention of at once going home, saying in explanation that he had at last conceived an idea of s system whereby the formation of sounds could be illustrated, and he anxiously desired to reach home in order to experiment upon and perfect his idea. That very day witnessed his departure, and, after weeks of patient study and concentrated mental effort, his labors resulted in the formation of the “Natural Alphabet,” also known as Visible Speech.
The idea be conceived was simply this: if the visible vocal organs were familiarized to the pupil, each in the proper position for forming sounds, one great point in articulation was gained. He aimed to reach the understanding by the shortest possible route-to appeal directly to the mind of the pupil by a picture of the positions taken in making speech. He endeavored to illustrate in the simplest manner the positions of the teeth, lips, tongue, and palate. In point of fact, his invention differed from the Bell system in this principal detail, that instead of depicting the organs of the throat and conveying the anatomy of sound, he confined himself wholly to the representation of the organs visible only to the naked eye. The process which evolved the idea began with the profile representation of the human head, and having gained a condensed form of illustration of each of the components of visible Speech, the next step was to perfect them. For hours at a time he set before a mirror studying the positions of the organs of the mouth, or going out into the bright sunlight he would he upon his back, still with the mirror in his hand, peering into the inner recesses of his month.” While studying the more difficult sounds he neither ate nor slept, and yielded only to exhaustion when the obstacle had been conquered. He threw his whole vitality into the task, and its completion virtually ended his existence. His idea was based upon the necessity of the utmost simplicity in the manner of reaching the mind of the pupil. Laying aside the ides of teaching s set of arbitrary sounds, each representing a position of the inner mechanism of speech, he endeavored to convey to the eye at once both the sound to be produced and the position required in its formation. This obviated the necessity of teaching the pupil the relationship between the characters of the alphabet and vocalization, and constant drill in writing and reading the characters familiarized the vocal organs with the function of placing themselves properly. If the idea were adequately understood, it would seem that a great obstacle in the education of deaf adults would be removed. As I have said before, no attention whatever was paid to the organism of the throat, and the entire idea of sound was conveyed through the vibration felt by placing the hand upon the throat and nose, and bolding it before the mouth in the ewe of respiratory sound. I am glad to be able to refer to a set of charts prepared by Mr. Whipple himself for my use and home instruction. The fact of their having been prepared by him adds greatly to their value and renders them more interesting, I am sure. These represent much of the elementary steps in the teaching of the system.
In regard to Mr. Whipple’s system of teaching there are many details which it is difficult for me to supply. Virtually he had no organized plan. His whole mind was bent upon the duty of perfecting his alphabet for so long a period, and after its completion his demise followed so swiftly, that no time was left for the elaboration of the details of teaching. The school was all that the name implied, a Home school, where all were members of one family and each day was one long object-les-son. Beginning with the simplest sounds known, after the idea of possessing a voice and the ability to use it was thoroughly ingrafted upon the mind of the pupil, the method of teaching was almost identical with that shown by Dr. Bell in his demonstration with the younger children. Mr. Whipple went among the pupils and played with them, so that at first work was disguised under the mask of a pastime. At the table, in their play, and during constant intercourse with them, efforts were made to teach the children the names of familiar objects and conditions that came under their notice, and, instead of a routine of duty, untiring attention was given them, and individual instruction was the rule rather than by classes. The Natural Alphabet representation of each word learned was first correctly mastered, and as rapidly as possible sentences followed, and conversation was immediately began. Extensive drills were given in writing, in Natural Alphabet characters, long lists of words, and from these exercise pronunciation was corrected, and the meaning and usages of the words themselves were thoroughly explained.
Mr. Whipple achieved wonderful success in the instruction of older pupils. At one time his pupils included several graduates from sign institutions, who made very rapid progress. His method with them, after conveying the principles of speech, was confined to extensive drills in translating exercises of Natural Alphabet characters into writing, and of transferring printed articles, familiar poems, or scriptural passages into the Natural Alphabet form. Their previous knowledge of the usage of words aided them greatly, and the process of study required gave them a thorough and definite idea of pronunciation.
In each instance of adult teaching wonderful program was made. Two children of a wealthy Southern gentleman, both graduates of n Canadian institution, and each over twenty-five years of age, made particularly rapid progress, and the effect of their first word upon their father, who, at eighty years, heard for the first time the sound of their voices, was pathetic in the extreme. He came in midwinter from his home in Louisiana to satisfy himself, and went away delighted. The idea is gaining ground that only the younger deaf can be properly instructed in articulation, and some schools have decided against the admission of older pupils. For the benefit of the latter, in view of the fact of past successes, it would seem that this system is at least worthy of s trial in their behalf. The drill in reading and writing the symbols so familiarizes the visible organs with their proper use that speech-reading quickly follows the art of speaking itself.
It is but tardy justice that brings the life-work of Mr. Whipple into some degree of prominence among the records of the education of the deaf. History is forever repeating itself, and in time there may be developments which will lead to its lending to a sorely afflicted claw the aid that the inventor so earnestly desired to bestow. He believed this to be his mission, and to fulfil it properly every energy was bent. In a letter to my father written daring my stay at the school, he said: “ I am thankful, my dear sir, that I have been one of those selected by the Father to accomplish a work so full of blessed results.” Failure never caused him to falter; he was beset and harassed by financial difficulties that no doubt exhausted his already overstrained vitality and hastened his end. While he has never yet been duly appreciated, it is not impossible that a future generation may rise up to bless both him and the invention that was his life-work and the guiding star of his existence.
DAISY WAY,
Kansas City, Mo.
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