Dr. R. Orin Cornett was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 physicist

Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

, born in Driftwood, Oklahoma. Dr. Cornett received his Ph.D. in physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 and applied mathematics

Applied mathematics

Applied mathematics is a branch of mathematics that concerns itself with mathematical methods that are typically used in science, engineering, business, and industry. Thus, "applied mathematics" is a mathematical science with specialized knowledge...

 from the University of Texas

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

. While working at the U.S. Office of Education he discovered that many deaf adults fail to achieve literacy

Literacy

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...

 at a native-level. In 1965 Dr. Cornett began working as the Vice President of Long-Range Planning at Gallaudet College (now Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...

). To solve this issue of deaf literacy, he devised a phonemic system to render English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 visually rather than acoustically. Dr. Cornett named his system Cued Speech

Cued speech

Cued Speech is a system of communication used with and among deaf or hard of hearing people. It is a phonemic-based system which makes traditionally spoken languages accessible by using a small number of handshapes in different locations near the mouth , as a supplement to lipreading...

, which now has been adapted to nearly 60 languages around the world.

External links

• R. Orin Cornett Memorial Cued Speech Collection - contains manuscripts and documents on Cued Speech gathered from Dr. Cornett's personal papers, the Gallaudet Cued Speech Office and from the National Cued Speech Association.
• Biography of R. Orin Cornett
• Cued Language Network of America
• Cued Portuguese: Português Falado Complementado
• Cued Speech Association UK
• Cued Speech Discovery
• Cued Speech Info
• Cuetah: Learn Cued Speech!
• DailyCues.com
• Language Matters, Inc.
• National Cued Speech Association
• Testing, Evaluation, and Certification Unit (TECUnit)
• Persian Cued Speech Association
• Association pour la promotion et le développement de la Langue française Parlée Complétée (ALPC)