A Continuing Race of Pharaohs
“A new race of pharaohs that knew not Joseph” are taking over the land and many of our American schools. They do not understand signs for they cannot sign. They proclaim that signs are worthless and of no help to the deaf. Enemies of the sign language, they are enemies of the true welfare of the deaf. As long as we have deaf people on earth, we will have signs. It is my hope that we all will love and guard our beautiful sign language as the noblest gift God has given to deaf people.
George W. Veditz, 1913
Before 1880, communities with deaf children turned to deaf adults to teach science, math, history, trades, and faith. They used the language they shared, sign language, and the children learned. If you know the story of Exodus, you know that Joseph’s family moved to Egypt during a famine and prospered there. Then the story changed.
Images of George Veditz in Preservation of the Sign Language. Image credit: joelbarish.com<
George William Veditz was a Deaf Christian leader, an activist and writer, a visionary. He poured his heart out for the Deaf community around the world and changed the course of deaf history. He was elected president of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) twice, serving from 1904-1910. Like Moses before him, Veditz had a fiery passion to see his people, their culture, and their language survive. He saw sign language deprivation destroying younger generations. He fought to change that, and pleaded with every one of us, hearing and deaf, to share the importance of preserving sign language. (Links to his speech in English and sign language are below.)
The “new pharaohs” were educators and specialists who believed that sign language should be banned and all deaf children taught only by speaking and lipreading. They had the power and influence to make that happen, and they still do. Veditz is known as a fierce opponent of discrimination against the deaf. He believed that all deaf people around the world should have access to sign language. His legacy is still alive today, partly because he found a way to preserve sign language in his time.
Christopher Shea wrote:
Film was visual and mobile, the perfect medium for a visual and mobile language. Under Veditz’s presidency, the NAD set up a Motion Picture Committee and solicited donations to create short films recording the most skilled signers of the day, both deaf and hearing, with the intention of preserving the best examples of sign language in the event that the oralists were able to suppress it entirely.
Shea, Christopher. The Preservation of Sign Language
Veditz knew he had to give his all and preserve sign language on film.
Image of newspaper headline of the Milan Conference of 1880.
Thanks to his determination and courage, sign language has withstood the oppression it has faced. We continue his efforts in the works of Dr. Wonder’s Workshop (DWW), Deaf Missions’ 66 books of the Bible in American Sign Language (ASL), and Deaf Harbor’s 119 Bible stories in ASL. We have DOOR International working with Deaf translators around the world to capture the Bible stories in videos so they can distribute the Bible in their sign languages to their fellow communities. We have DeafWay Bible which is a story-based translation that uses visual vernacular that can be understood by all deaf people regardless of their language. Visual Vernacular is physical theater combined with facial expressions and gestures. It is often found in poetry, storytelling, and various types of performances. I have included several sources of videos on visual vernacular under the reference below. One day, each tribe of over 400 sign languages will call the Bible their own (Revelation 7:9-10).
Sign Language: The Rhythm of God’s Heart
I strongly believe that sign language shows us the Rhythm of God’s Heart.
The call in Moses’ day was for the Israelites to come out of Egypt and worship God, and we are commanded to worship with our all. We are told in Genesis 1:27 that we are all created in God’s image, and we know God has emotions because He describes himself with words like jealousy, love, anger, compassion, and grief. If we study the purpose of the tabernacle in the Old Testament, we could see how the mind, will, and emotions were involved. Sign language is more than visual communication, it is the gift of being able to communicate love, the utility of the language itself, and the culture in which it is embedded.
When we express a song in sign language giving all the praises and adoration to God, our rendition of the song perfectly captures the style and emotion of the arrangement by each of our hearts – so powerfully that it moves our soul which connects to God’s heart. Even hearing non-signers are drawn into worship when a song is signed faithfully. I believe this is why sign language is so often attacked and dismissed. A man of faith, Veditz understood the price of preserving sign language and the value of doing so.
Spiritual Warfare – the Enemies of Sign Language
The Israelites were small, different, and voiceless among the culture of Egypt. Like them, we deaf have a unique community with shared experiences and values. We are a people who thirst for God while being held back from learning about His love for us.
Ameslan Prohibited by Betty G. Miller
Sign language access is something that the deaf community around the world has been fighting to have and keep for centuries. The focus has always been on fixing a deaf baby to make him/her assimilate into the world of sounds, with no focus on developing a deaf identity. Many have an expressed goal to make sign languages disappear altogether. The topic of deaf identity has never been a topic of interest in discussions. We deaf people do not have a voice in this. The opponents of sign language do not view us deaf people as human beings. They view us as projects or programs. They just see our hearing defects and how to fix them, and look no further.
Large numbers of deaf children spend hours and many years on speech therapy without full access to sign language growing up. I want to make myself clear; I know some deaf people can speak well. I believe God designs each of us with special characteristics as He sees fit for the purpose He has for us (Exodus 4:11). He is the author of our life and our abilities. Therefore, the ability to speak is not the problem here. The problem stems from language ideologies. Sign languages are seen as inferior to the spoken languages of the world.. That perspective of language influences the deaf way of being and the ability to disciple others to see the heart of Jesus through access to the gospel in sign languages.
God designed us for community, not isolation. Deaf schools were established as places for deaf students to be together to learn sign language in order to know who Jesus Christ is. It is the only place where everyone signs to communicate with each other, everyone is acknowledged. God wants us to know our sense of worth, our sense of existence, and shared beliefs and values. Through this, we may develop deeper intimacy with God and with each other, then be equipped to fulfill the Great Commission. There’s nothing Satan opposes more.
The pharaohs continue to be his tools in keeping Deaf people divided and ignored, though many believe they’re doing good. Lack of awareness is another powerful tool, and our enemy uses it well. Deaf schools are closing and deaf students are placed in mainstreamed settings where no one signs on a daily basis. Deaf children are left isolated at school, home, and church. I can’t stress enough how many deaf and hard-of hearing adults and children are being overlooked in the Church because the leaders do not pay attention to them. They do not put any effort into making sure that sign languages are being presented in their ministry fields, especially in the media they produce. Most Deaf people see Jesus as the God of the Hearing, because His church fails to include the Deaf.
Colin Analco interpreting a church service.
Image credit: Deaf Missions
The Movement for Preservation of Sign Language
I pray that you will be encouraged to learn sign language. I am deeply convicted that all of us as the body of Christ should be equipped to discern and oppose the work of the enemy, and one of his favorite attacks is against our self-worth. Spiritual warfare is very real in the deaf world. We know what’s on Satan’s job resume (John 10:10, 1 Peter 5:8). Who is the one most vulnerable to be devoured? Deaf babies and the parents of deaf children who have never met deaf people before. To reject these people who were made in God’s image is to reject Jesus (Matt 25:40, 45).
Like George Veditz, I believe sign language gives life to all people; therefore, if we do not learn sign language, the pharaohs who are enemies of deaf welfare will continue to oppress and divide because there is no one to actively equip Deaf people to share the Gospel with its communities. We continue to need advocates with fiery passion, like Moses, Veditz, and you.
If you are a parent of a deaf child or deaf ministry leader and you are reading this – God is calling you to be an ambassador for educating others on the importance of building relationships by learning sign language. The Church needs you. God reveals himself through our relationship with each other. God has made Himself clear in John 15 and 1 Corinthians 12 that if any person is left behind then God is not being honored. This is why the Church needs you.
References
The Preservation of the Sign Language
The Preservation of the Sign Language by George W. Veditz (1913)
Video: https://youtu.be/XITbj3NTLUQ English: https://culturasurda.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/preservation-of-sign-language.pdf
Shea, Christopher. The Preservation of Sign Language https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/sign_language.pdf
Visual Vernacular
Ridloff, Douglas. Deaf Poets Society. TEDxVienna. December 10, 2018. https://youtu.be/0LZGYwDO-QE
Sorenson. Caterpillar by Ian Sanborn. April 11, 2017. https://youtu.be/4PeYpRbg18Y
Convo Communication. Evolution of Communication with Ian Sanborn. December 28, 2017. https://youtu.be/2z8z3jypxz0
Tanya Polstra Email: Tanya@silentblessings.org Video phone (VP) number: 317-343-8596 Front Office: 317-288-0757 (v)
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