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Sign languages have been developed throughout the world to allow deaf people to communicate. There are several sign languages that exist today. All of them make use of fingerspelling, which is the use of hand positions to represent the letters of the alphabet, and is considered an important element of sign language. The sign language used in the United States is known as American Sign Language (ASL in short), and is a blend of signs brought from France in the early 19th Century, and existing signs used in the US. In 1815, a group of men in Hartford, Connecticut, decided to set up a school for deaf children. However, they did not know the best way to educate them. One of these men was Dr. Mason Cogswell, who had a daughter, Alice, who was deaf. Alice had been taught by Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a young minister and graduate of Yale University. |
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