Ferdinand Berthier
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand BerthierFerdinand Berthier (born in Louhans
, Saône-et-Loire
, France
, September 28, 1803, died in Paris
July 12, 1886) was a deaf educator, intellectual and political organiser in nineteenth-century France, and is one of the earliest champions of Deaf identity and culture
.
Berthier first attended the famous school for the Deaf in Paris
as a young student in 1811, when the school was under the directorship of Abbé Roch-Ambroise Sicard
. He came from the rural south-east of France to learn basic vocational skills and literacy to prepare him for work as a tradesman. He was influenced by his teacher Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian
, a hearing man who had learned French Sign Language
and published the first systematic study and defense of the language. Berthier was also struck by two important deaf students of the school who later became teachers: Jean Massieu
and Laurent Clerc
. By the age of 27 Berthier had become one of the more senior professors at the school.
In late 1837 Berthier petitioned the French government for permission to create the Société Centrale des Sourds-muets, which was officially founded the following year as the first organisation to represent the interests of the deaf community. The organisation aimed to bring together "all the deaf spread across the globe... to put speaking and deaf men of intelligence and heart in rapport with each other, no matter the distance, no matter the difference in language, culture and laws," and offered deaf workers a practical avenue to support each other through "mutual aid" and a way to organize and attend adult education
classes. Berthier played a delicate balancing act as a passionate defender of the deaf identity and sign language
, while under a repressive social and political climate.
Berthier wrote books about deaf history and deaf culture, noting deaf artists and sign-language poets of his time.
Louhans
Louhans is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.Louhans is the capital of Bresse bourguignonne. The main street, dating from the eleventh century, is very typical with arches and stores all along...
, Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, September 28, 1803, died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
July 12, 1886) was a deaf educator, intellectual and political organiser in nineteenth-century France, and is one of the earliest champions of Deaf identity and culture
Deaf culture
Deaf culture describes the social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values and shared institutions of communities that are affected by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, the word deaf is often written with a...
.
Berthier first attended the famous school for the Deaf in Paris
Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris
Institut National de Jeunes Sourds de Paris is the current name of the famous school for the Deaf founded by Charles-Michel de l'Épée in 1760 in Paris, France....
as a young student in 1811, when the school was under the directorship of Abbé Roch-Ambroise Sicard
Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard
Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard was a French abbé and instructor of the deaf.Born at Le Fousseret, Haute-Garonne, and educated as a priest, Sicard was made principal of a school for the deaf at Bordeaux in 1786, and in 1789, on the death of the Abbé de l'Épée, succeeded him at Paris...
. He came from the rural south-east of France to learn basic vocational skills and literacy to prepare him for work as a tradesman. He was influenced by his teacher Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian
Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian
Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian was one of the first hearing educators in France to achieve native-level fluency in French Sign Language...
, a hearing man who had learned French Sign Language
French Sign Language
French Sign Language is the sign language of the deaf in the nation of France. According to Ethnologue, it has 50,000 to 100,000 native signers....
and published the first systematic study and defense of the language. Berthier was also struck by two important deaf students of the school who later became teachers: Jean Massieu
Jean Massieu
Jean Massieu was a pioneering Deaf educator, having been born Deaf, and having five other Deaf siblings. He taught at the famous school for the Deaf in Paris where Laurent Clerc was one of his students...
and Laurent Clerc
Laurent Clerc
Laurent Clerc , born Louis Laurent Marie Clerc, was called "The Apostle of the deaf in America" by generations of American deaf people...
. By the age of 27 Berthier had become one of the more senior professors at the school.
In late 1837 Berthier petitioned the French government for permission to create the Société Centrale des Sourds-muets, which was officially founded the following year as the first organisation to represent the interests of the deaf community. The organisation aimed to bring together "all the deaf spread across the globe... to put speaking and deaf men of intelligence and heart in rapport with each other, no matter the distance, no matter the difference in language, culture and laws," and offered deaf workers a practical avenue to support each other through "mutual aid" and a way to organize and attend adult education
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
classes. Berthier played a delicate balancing act as a passionate defender of the deaf identity and sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, while under a repressive social and political climate.
Berthier wrote books about deaf history and deaf culture, noting deaf artists and sign-language poets of his time.
See also
- Roch-Ambroise Auguste BébianRoch-Ambroise Auguste BébianRoch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian was one of the first hearing educators in France to achieve native-level fluency in French Sign Language...
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Rachel.truger/Peter_S._Cook
Published works
- "L’Abbé Sicard... précis historique sur sa vie, ses travaux et ses succès..." (Paris: Charles Dounoil, 1873)
- "Histoire et statistique de l’éducation des sourds-muets" (Paris: chez l’auteur, 1836)
- "Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages d’Auguste Bébian" (Paris: J. Ledoyen, 1839)