Doctor William C. Stokoe who died in Washington DC on April 4th, aged 80, was an internationally recognised authority on the history, use and classification of American Sign Language (ASL). He was the leading figure in a generation of linguists who with scientific precision proved that ASL was by all linguistic criteria, a real and mature language, with its own phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.
He illustrated that ASL had its own logical internal system of grammar and ability to express actions and abstract notions as easily and systematically as spoken languages. He argued that it is not a simple translation of English, or any spoken language, to a signed form. William Stokoe, who was not deaf, was a native of New Hampshire. At Cornell University, he earned his master's degree in education and a doctorate in English.
In the mid-1950s he joined Gallaudet College in Washington DC as chairman of the English Department. Gallaudet is the only Liberal Arts University in the world specifically for deaf students.
He became fascinated by the language of signs, the leading means of communication used on campus. When he proposed a study of Sign Language, however, his colleagues surprisingly showed little interest. Even deaf colleagues were indifferent. But, he persisted.
In 1957 he started the Linguistic Research Programme. With two deaf assistants, he began filming individuals giving presentations in Sign Language. When he published his initial findings in 1960, he was nearly alone in his belief that Sign Language, instead of being a collection of grotesque gestures, as many regarded it, was indeed a language in its own right.
In A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles (1965), William Stokoe and his team presented signs of ASL in symbols based on linguistic principles. His work caught the attention of other linguists. He had made Sign Language a legitimate and academically acceptable research topic. A few deaf people also became interested in linguistics because of this work, entered degree programmes in linguistics, and began their own research related to ASL. These studies overflowed into other academic disciplines - anthropology, sociology, and psychology. Signing was no longer seen as a crutch but as an expression of a real language.
William Stokoe described a natural language as the language people of the world use in their everyday activities among themselves, as well as for other purposes. A natural language is developed by its users over a period of time. The discovery of Sign Language as a true language has led to the identification of deaf culture as a rich untapped field of study.
As a result of William Stokoe's work, native Sign Languages around the world began to increase in popularity. Deaf people suddenly found themselves in demand as teachers of their language.
This interest and acceptance of Sign Language has influenced the attitudes of deaf persons towards themselves, their language and their culture, and has made them take a closer look at their rights as citizens.
Many countries, including Ireland, are beginning to benefit from Stokoe's work.
An accidental meeting between President Mary McAleese, whose brother John is deaf, and a visiting professor from Gallaudet has resulted in a Fulbright student exchange programme between Gallaudet and the University of Dublin. The Irish Deaf Society and the Model School for the Deaf Project, encouraged by William Stokoe's research, are campaigning for recognition of Irish Sign Language by the State in the Irish Constitution.
William C. Stokoe was predeceased by his wife, Ruth. He is survived by his son, James, and daughter, Helen.
William C. Stokoe: born 1920; died April, 2000