While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
The facial expressions and gestures of the congenitally
blind are worthy of attention. The most interesting and
conclusive examples come from the case of Laura Bridgman,
who, being also deaf, could not possibly have derived them
by imitation. When a letter from a beloved friend was
communicated to her by gesture-language, she laughed and
clapped her hands. A roguish expression was given to her
face, concomitant with the emotion, by her holding the lower
lip by the teeth. She blushed, shrugged her shoulders,
turned in her elbows, and raised her eye-brows under the
same circumstances as other people. In amazement, she
rounded and protruded the lips, opened them, and breathed
strongly. It is remarkable that she constantly accompanied
her "yes" with the common affirmative nod, and her "no" with
our negative shake of the head, as these gestures are by no
means universal and do not seem clearly connected with
emotion. This, possibly, may be explained by the fact that
her ancestors for many generations had used these gestures.
A similar curious instance is mentioned by Cardinal Wiseman
(Essays, III, 547, London, 1853) of an Italian blind man,
the appearance of whose eyes indicated that he had never
enjoyed sight, and who yet made the same elaborate gestures
made by the people with whom he lived, but which had been
used by them immemorially, as correctly as if he had learned
them by observation.
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or
language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as
part of the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that
the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes implied.
Sign Language
Among North American Indians Compared with
that Among Other Peoples and Deaf-Mutes,
1881
