What is this book about?
"The Talking Deaf Man" proposes a specific method for teaching deaf individuals to speak. Signorini, an Italian teacher of the deaf, details his approach, which involved a combination of articulation exercises, lip reading, and the use of a 'tongue-and-lips' manual. The book emphasizes the need for early intervention and describes his successes (though often with caveats regarding the severity of deafness or accompanying intellectual disabilities). It presents a direct challenge to the methods advocated by figures like Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who championed the use of sign language and emphasized deaf culture and identity. The core of the book is Signorini's detailed explanation of his technique and its theoretical underpinnings, aiming to demonstrate that deaf individuals could indeed be taught to speak and integrate fully into hearing society.
