ASL
vs. Cued Speech – In Search of Sanity
by: Brett J. Haacke
April 13, 2005
Introduction
The main reason that I decided to learn
ASL is so that I could communicate with participants at the National Ability
Center that have hearing impairments. The National Ability Center (NAC) is
a non-profit organization that provides recreational opportunities for
people with disabilities. In talking with the manager of the NAC ski
program, I learned that very few of the ski instructors know any type of
sign language. This puts participants with hearing impairments at a
disadvantage.
I decided to learn ASL so that I could act
as a volunteer in the NAC ski program. Volunteers that know ASL would be
useful during ski lessons that involve students who sign as their main form
of communication. With volunteering in mind, I enrolled in the ASL class at
the Utah Electronic High School.
At a recent family gathering, I told an
adult cousin about my goal to learn ASL. He expressed an opinion that
surprised me. He asked why I would learn ASL when Cued Speech is quickly
replacing ASL as the dominant form of communication in the deaf community.
Not having an in depth knowledge of the deaf community, I could not respond
to my cousin’s opinion.
After a bit of thought, I decided that
understanding the two forms of communication would be a good topic for my
research paper.
Research Goal
The goal of this research paper is to prove
or disprove a recently stated opinion that Cued Speech is on the verge of
overtaking ASL as the most commonly used form of communication of the deaf
community. This will involve developing an understanding of the difference
between ASL and Cued Speech.
Research Methods
Research will be conducted as follows:
- A definition of ASL and Cued Speech will be
provided
- A search for growth trends will be conducted
- A review of the use of each will be performed
Definitions
As found in Webster’s Dictionary, American
Sign Language is “a sign language for the deaf in which meaning is
conveyed by a system of articulated hand gestures and their placement
relative to the upper body”(Webster, 1983). As stated on the ASL
University website, “American Sign Language is a complete, natural
language” (Vicars, 2003). That is to say, ASL is a complete
stand-alone language just like French, English, or Spanish.
A definition for Cued Speech was found on
the website of the National Cued Speech Association. “Cued Speech is a
sound-based visual communication system. In English, it requires eight
handshapes in four different locations in combination with the natural mouth
movements of speech, to visually differentiate the sounds of spoken
language” (Fleetwood, 1995).
Cued Speech, it turns out, is not a
language at all. It is a visual representation of other languages. Cued
Speech was developed for the English Language first. It was developed by R.
Orin Cornett, Ph.D. at Gallaudet University, in 1965 (Caldwell, 1997).
Cued Speech was designed to improve the early English language development
of children who are deaf and provide them with a foundation for English
reading and writing (Caldwell). Through the years, Cued Speech has been
adapted for use in about 60 different languages (Caldwell).
Growth
A recent article in The Salt Lake Tribune,
a local paper to this researcher, provided an example of ASL’s popularity
and use. ASL is currently the third most commonly used language in the
United States behind English and Spanish (Ravitz, 2005). In 1994, the Utah
State legislature officially recognized ASL as a language. In 1998, they
encouraged it to be taught in Utah public schools and allowed foreign
language credits for students that take ASL classes (Ravitz). In fact, the
Granite School District, in Salt Lake City, is having a hard time keeping up
with demand for qualified ASL teachers (Ravitz). The Utah issues alone
speak volumes of the popularity of ASL.
Growth information for Cued Speech is much
more difficult to come by. According to the National Cued Speech
Association, Cued Speech has grown slowly during the past three decades (Roffe,
2000). Today Cued Speech is used in most of the U.S. States and in about 20
countries. Its use is constant and solid (Roffe).
The words constant and solid indicate
growth in use, but do not provide any reference to growth compared to ASL.
One source does provide such information. The Gallaudet Research Institute
conducts an annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing youth and children.
They publish the information in an annual report, the Regional and
National Summary Report of Data from the Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Children and Youth. Results of the annual survey data are broken
into several different categories.
One category, The Primary Method of
Teaching, is used to record the language used in the teaching environment of
the students in the Gallaudet survey. The category is broken into five
sub-groups: Speech Only, Sign and Speech, Sign Only, Cued Speech, and Other
(Gallaudet, 2001). For this research, data from the 1999 and 2003 surveys
were compared.
If Cued Speech is growing significantly,
one would expect to see the percentage of students being taught using Cued
Speech growing between the 1999 and 2003 survey. This is not the case. In
fact, the percentage of students being taught in a Cued Speech environment
stayed steady at .4 % (Gallaudet 2001 & 2003). During the same period, the
percentage of students in the Sign Only teaching environment grew from 5.8%
in 1999, to 9.5% in 2003 (Gallaudet, 2003).
The survey does not name ASL specifically
as the sign language used in the sign only category, but it can be assumed
that ASL makes up a majority of the category since it is the most popular
sign language in the country. Based on a comparison of survey information,
it does not appear that Cued Speech is about to replace ASL.
Usage issues
A significant difference between the two
communication systems is that ASL is a complete language, where Cued Speech
is not a language at all. Cued Speech is a visual representation of the
English Language. Because of that, Cued Speech may have an advantage over
ASL in an environment where a translation is being made.
Cueing involves transliterating, not
translating (LaSasso, 2003). Transliterating involves converting exact
words into exact visual cues. A perfect conversion of meaning is possible
if the message is cued properly (LaSasso). ASL, on the other hand, involves
translating. Translating involves converting English to ASL. An exact
translation is much more difficult to achieve using ALS vs. Cued Speech (LaSasso).
A second advantage that Cued Speech has
over ASL is the energy required for learning. ASL is a unique language that
can take years for an individual to become fluent, as is true for learning
any new language (Caldwell). Cued Speech takes only about 20 hours to
learn, and only several months to become fluent for an individual that
already knows the base language (Caldwell).
The big advantage that ASL has over Cued
Speech is its popularity in use. Cued Speech has not been around for a
long time. Young adults that grew up using Cued Speech can use it to
communicate with other cuers and their hearing friends that have learned it
(Caldwell). However, Cued Speech is not used as extensively by adults.
Unless they learn ASL, individuals who grow up using Cued Speech cannot
communicate with the larger community of Deaf adults who use sign language
(Caldwell).
Summary
There are significant differences between
ASL and Cued Speech. ASL is a language, where Cued Speech is a visual
representation of another language. Cued Speech is a valuable tool that can
be used in addition to ASL to help people with hearing impairments with
communication. It appears that Cued Speech is very useful in an educational
environment, but has not yet become dominant in social settings.
After conducting research, it is obvious
that Cued Speech is not on the verge of overtaking ASL. My cousin’s opinion
appears to have been made either with bias, or without knowledge of the
differences and use of each.
Bibliography
Caldwell, B. (1997). Educating Children Who are
Deaf or Hard of Hearing. (ERIC EC Digest #E555). [Electronic Version].
Retrieved April 4, 2005 from:http://parentpals.com/gossamer/pages/Detailed/594.html
Fleetwood &
Metzqer, (1995). Definition. National Cued Speech Association
Website. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 5, 2005 from:
http://www.cuedspeech.org/sub/cued/definition.asp
Gallaudet
Research Intitute. (January, 2001). Regional and National Summary Report
of Data from the 1999-2000 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Children and Youth. GRI Gallaudet University. Washington, DC:
[Electronic Version] Retrieved April 2, 2005 from:
http://gri.gallaudet.edu/Demographics/2003_National_Summary.pdf
Gallaudet
Research Intitute. (December, 2003). Regional and National Summary Report
of Data from the 1999-2000 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Children and Youth. GRI Gallaudet University. Washington, DC:
[Electronic Version] Retrieved April 2, 2005 from:
http://gri.gallaudet.edu/Demographics/2000_National_Summary.pdf
LaSasso, C.
& Crain, K. (Fall, 2003). Research and Theory Support Cued Speech.
A collection of articles by multiple authors. KidsWorld Deaf Net
E-Documents: Keys to English Print: Phonics, Signs, Cued Speech,
Fingerspelling, and Other Learning Strategies. Laurent Clerc National Deaf
Education Center, Gallaudet University. [Electronic Version] retrieved
April 6, 2005 from:
http://clerccenter2.gallaudet.edu/kidsworlddeafnet/e-docs/Keys/index.html.
Merriam
Webster, (1983). Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Springfield, MA: Merriam Webster, pp. 69.
Ravirtz, J.
(2005, March 14). It’s a Sign of the times. Salt Lake Tribune. pp D1,
D6.
Roffe, S.
(2000 – 2005). The Dumbing Down of Language. National Cued Speech
Association Website. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 2, 2005
from http://www.cuedspeech.org/sub/viewpoints/The_Dumbing_Down_of_Language.asp
Vicars,
W. (2003), ASL University main campus page. ASL University Website.
Lifeprint Institute. Retrieved April 4,.2005:
http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/index.htm