Friday, June 20, 2008

French Deaf History in LSF

A 9 minutes subtitled video posted here of Guy Bouchauveau, a deaf Frenchman, signing in LSF (with some ASL), about his own story of French deaf history from the beginning of Epee to today (1992).  Charles Katz introduces the video by discussing his own copy of Bouchauveau's drawing of French-American deaf history and several important names in French deaf history mentioned by Bouchauveau.

A visual and learning treat for all.



For those who want to study the drawing, here it is.  A brief description follows.























At the bottom right is a partial view of the I.N.J.S., the deaf school in Paris, considered roots to American deaf education through the hands clasped upward.  At the treetop are drawings of Clerc at the far left, Tower Clock at Gallaudet, M.S.S.D., and the U.s. Capitol.  At the far left are lips and 1880 (symbolizing the Milan Congress) splattering hands into drops of blood downward.  Above is Epee with Alice Cogswell (Thomas Gallaudet's first pupil) above him.

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And, thanks to a friend who emailed me about Guy which led me to google more about him and found this video of Guy expressing support during the 2006 Gallaudet protest. Am embedding the video below.  You can see him signing a bit more in LSF.  And you can see the improvement of the inner courtyard of the deaf school in Paris as compared to 1992 when I first videotaped it. Enjoy the video.

17 comments:

Domvera said...

What a beautiful art! I would love to purchase this poster for my deaf history reflections. Will St. Jacques sell this poster?

Nick Vera

David said...

Hi Charles,

I am so glad to learn a bit about French Deaf History that is very much part not only American Deaf History but also Canadian Deaf History. Guy Bouchauveau is a great signer. I almost understood him! The poster I fell in love with it and I am wondering if he still sells. If so, I would encourage him to do that. I am more than happy to buy one.

Deafchip

Anonymous said...

Berthier was Hearing? The research I have seen said he was Deaf. Do you know for sure which? And yes, that poster is beautiful. I show it in my Deaf Culture class (jpg), but would be nice to have a copy.

cnkatz said...

I have no idea if the poster is sold out or available.

Berthier hearing? No way, he is deaf as mentioned twice in the video.

Beaux Arts de Boutjean said...

DonG,

You are correct that Bérthier was
deaf. A judge in Paris underestimated Bérthier's ability in teaching. That so angered Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables that he shouted that the judge's mind was deaf -- "When
the mind hears" thereafter. Bérthier was a student at St. J.
(See Clerc's diary in Gallaudet's
archives).

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Thank you for the video, Guy is an amazing curator! Wow!

He said that Berthier was hearing so I watched it again and here it says at the video at 4:43. Is he hearing or deaf? Regardless of this, he must have been a hero as it is obvious that he really tried to save LSF and the statue of L'Epee, wow it is surprising that we don't know much about him which is rather unfortunate as he deserves to be in the limelight.

Anonymous said...

I realized I wasn't clear about Berthier trying to save the statue, I meant that he was sodedicated in collecting money from deaf people to build a statue of L'Epee. Wow! That speaks volume of Berthier!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

As an American Deaf person who is a Francophone and who can understand some LSF, your series is positively enthralling for me! Keep it up and THANK YOU for sharing!!

I do have a couple of concerns about how you are representing last names and French names/words.

1. De l'Épée's last name is not Epee. It's like saying your last name is Kat. It leaves out a very important part - the z. It is necessary to include de l' when referring to Charles-Michel de l'Épée.

2. The accent marks are crucial. Without them, the word/name changes completely. You're leaving them out, and that's not good.

Aside from these two easily correctable things, I am LOVING your series. Thank you! I can't wait for more.

Anonymous said...

Ok, I went back and looked at it again. He did say Bebian was Hearing, and then a little later mentioned Berthier, so we might have gotten a little confused. BUT, he seems to be saying that Sicard was the first Deaf teacher -- Sicard was not Deaf, he was Hearing.

Anonymous said...

Don, there is no ambiguity in the historical records, probably in how Guy signed. L'Epee, Sicard, and Bebian definitely were hearing and Massieu, Clerc, AND Berthier DEAF!

Viva la sourdes!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous2:

How are old videos being subtitled and pasted on YouTube?

Questions:

1. Was Guy Bouchauveau a student at St. Jacques?

2. Did he pass an exit examination for a vocational certificate of aptitude?

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