Among the many dialogues that Socrates had with ancient Greeks, one of the most remarkable one he had, was one with a man known as Cratylus, in 500 BC.
In this dialogue, Cratylus asks Socrates for his opinion on whether names are ‘conventional’ or ‘natural’. Simply put, he asks whether language is a system of random signs, or whether the words used in language have an in-built relation to the things they signify.
In the conversation that follows, Socrates says, “If we hadn't a voice or a tongue, and wanted to express things to one another, wouldn't we try to make signs by moving our hands, head, and the rest of our body, just as dumb people do at present?”
That statement by Socrates is said to be the earliest written reference to sign language.
It is now 1,500 years every since, and there have been numerous developments in that field, including the creation of a sign language in Native America in the late 1400s, a form of sign language in 1500s Britain, and even the starting of sign language schools in France and the US in the 1700s.
However, nothing captivates us more in this field than a small village in Ghana called Adamorobe.
Adamorobe is a village located at the foot of the Akuapem Hills in Ghana, and what makes it special, is that it might be described as the town with the largest deaf population in the world.
One among every 36 people can be said to be deaf, which is waaaaay above the global average by the World Health Organization, which estimates that one among every 200 people worldwide are both with a hearing loss condition. That is more than five times the statistic.
For this reason, the birth of a child in this village leads to fear and anxiety not only for the parents but also for the entire village, since there is a high probability that the child might be deaf.
This begs the question which has disturbed most researchers, as well as the residents: Why is there a high number of deaf people?
There are several theories and myths for this:
- A story is told that the town used to be ruled by a spiritual, deaf god who made the children in the community deaf if their parents offended him.
- There is a stream on the outskirts of town, whose water must not be fetched by anyone for domestic purposes, and whoever dares to break this taboo is punished by having deaf children.
- Long ago, there was a handsome strong deaf young man who visited the town, and upon seeing him, every girl and woman, irrespective of their marriage status, wanted to have a child with him because of his charming looks. This irresistible deaf man is believed to have sown the seed of deafness in the village.
- The Adamorobe people had gone to war with a neighboring community, and in doing so, had sought the assistance of witches and totems in order to enable them win the war. They did win the war, yes. However, the animals in the totems refused to transform to their original self, but instead, manifested themselves as children born deaf.
What is sure, despite all this, is that the deafness is genetic and thus hereditary.
This led to a law that was instituted by the local chief in 1975, Chief Nana Kwakwa Asiampong II, prohibiting marriage between deaf people in the village, in order to reduce the number of deaf children being born.
Though deaf women have no problem in finding partners for marriage, deaf men do, as it is believed that marrying a deaf man will result in a deaf offspring. As a result, most deaf men have no children.
Some also believe that the lack of access to medical facilities and immunisation in the past is what led to the large number of deaf people, as they were at risk of contracting many infections.
Anyway, to accommodate all these people, the residents of Adamorobe came up with a local sign language, which is now used by both deaf and the hearing people, rendering the town a very inclusive place for deaf people.
It is a town where everybody knows sign language, but it isn’t the standard sign language that is used in ordinary settings. It is even different from the country’s standard Ghanaian Sign Language.
The people of the Adamorobe village created their own sign language, simply known as the Adamorobe Sign Language (AdaSL), which borrows a lot from the Akan language, which is the native language of the members of the village.
This is why it is easier for the hearing members of the village to learn sign language as well. The society believes that deaf people are also productive and significant members who need to communicate, which is why they decided to include them in daily interactions.
The benefit of having a sign language used by everyone in society, compared to one only used by deaf individuals, is that it has a greater chance of being maintained, developed, and shared. It isn’t left behind in the development process since everyone incorporates it into their daily life.
Furthermore, the children of the village are taught this language early enough to grasp it while their minds are still developing. This has resulted in a population that is ‘fluent’ in Adamorobe Sign Language.
It is great that the members of that village consider the place of deaf people in society, and I also wish that sign language be incorporated into all our curricula, in order to enable us to be on par with the deaf, and not make them feel left out in decision-making.
The Adamorobe have set a higher bar that we all need to achieve.
Now, let's have some fun with a Bukusu tongue twister! Try saying this one quickly three times:
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