The Silent Inventor: The Creation of a Sign Language by the Only Deaf-Mute on a Polynesian Island.

THE SILENT INVENTOR: THE CREATION OF A SIGN LANGUAGE BY THE ONLY DEAF-MUTE ON A POLYNESIAN ISLAND. RolfKuschel 1.0 Introduction. The subject of this paper is a sign language developed by the only deaf-mute on Rennell, a tiny Polynesian outlier in the British Solomon Islands. According to Rennellese tradition which goes back 24 generations, no person on Rennell has ever before been deaf-mute or just unable to speak, and consequently no sign language has ever before existed on the island. Instead of speculating and formulating possibly farfetched theories as to how a deaf-mute, suddenly placed among people communicating verbally and possessing no knowledge of any deaf sign language, might interact and communicate with his surroundings (cf. Stokoe, 1960; Trager, 1958) we now have the opportunity to study this rather unique situation in real life, in, as it were, a normal, everyday setting. A quick run through the literature on deaf persons and their sign language clearly shows few descriptions, and fewer analyses which deal with isolated deaf or deaf-mute individuals who have grown up among audio-vocal communicators. Most likely few cases of this nature exist. It is more surprising that despite much research on deafness and increasing research on sign languages, only very little primary material exists on these matters in so-called primitive cultures. One can only make a guess as to why the extent to which linguists, anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists have taken an interest in these subjects is such a limited one. It should hardly be necessary to point to the light one might profitably be shed on not only different sign languages with their immanent grammatical structures but also the principles according to which the coding and decoding of a given content actually function. Neither should Sign Language Studies it be necessary to stress the important results which might emerge from such investigations when undertaken on an interdisciplinary basis in order at least partially to demolish the barriers presently immuring almost every 'distinct' field in its own one-way pursuits. One may ask, which contents in a specific culture out of the possible number of contents are transmittable and/or actually transmitted by means of a given sign language? Are there communicative limitations connected with the entire process of sign language communication? If so, what are they? Are there, e.g., social and/or religious problems inherent in the process of coding and decoding? Analyses of this nature would, and in a far more convincing way than has hitherto been the case with many investigations within the fields of cognitive anthropology and cognitive psychology, contribute valuable material for an increased understanding of human cognitive processes. Through the study of deaf persons in non-industrial societies one would furthermore have the opportunity for a close scrutiny of minorities and their possibly problematic positions in so-called primitive cultures. Before I began my investigations of the sole deaf-mute on Rennell and the conditions in which he had to function, I naively believed that the matter could be undertaken as a sort of week-end study. It quickly appeared, however, that the task would be far more time-consuming and complicated. Time-consuming because, among other things, it involved a 45-mile hike through dense bush and forest areas with a full pack. Further complications lay in the fact that quite a number of the signs developed by the Rennellese deaf-mute are distinctly culturally determined, which necessitated lengthy discussions before an insight into the meaning of the signs could be gained. This investigation required a thorough knowledge not only of the Rennellese language but also of the culture under study, of Rennellese social values, religion and ritual, of farming and fishing techniques, and every other aspect of the life this deaf individual shares. 2.0 Rennell, its geographicalposition and its contact with the outside world. Rennell is a small elevated coral atoll, approximately 55 miles long Kuschel and 10 miles across. It belongs to the British Solomon Islands. Rennell and its neighbouring island Bellona, which is much smaller than Rennell, form a Polynesian subculture in the Solomon Islands elsewhere largely Melanesian . Rennell is inhabitated by Polynesians who, according to their...