THE SILENT BOOK IBD

Sinopse

The book tells the story of the author',s mother and father as Deaf people in theácontext of their lives in Victoria, their schooling in New South Wales in the 1920sáand their adult lives. She brings to the fore the rural environment that surrounded theirálives as childrenáand as adults in rural Australia.áAustralian-Irish Sign Language was introduced into Australia in theánineteenth century through Sister Gabriel Hogan, a Dominican religious sister who was deaf herself. She was appointed to teach Deaf children, so a school wasáeventually established in Waratah, NSW. As the population in Australia wasáincreasing, and so too the Catholic population, there was an increase in the numberáof Deaf children.áProtestant based denominational schools for Deaf children had also begunáin Sydney and Melbourne, using British Sign Language. The Catholic communityáwas strongly committed to providing a Catholic education for its children, includingáfor its Deaf children. Since the community was largely Irish-born or of Irish descentáand many of its teachers educated in Ireland, it was inevitable that in the Catholicásystem Deaf children would be educated through Irish Sign Language. (This is asideáfrom any question of technical or expressive preference for AISL.)áSince greater numbers of Deaf children attended the Denominationaláschools, their Deaf language became the dominant language in Australia, and laterábecame known as Auslan, Australian Sign Language. The Australian-Irish SignáLanguage ceased being taught in 1953. So, like many indigenous languages, it is fastádisappearing from consciousness. Throughout this book, themes of the Indigenous peoples with twoáDreamtime stories and of flowing rivers are featured. Rivers flow and connectápeoples and stories. They are the lifeblood, the veins of this body of land Australia,áwhere human endeavours flourish interdependent with the Land itself &ndash, where the author',sáancestors drew life and nourishment. The book is divided into three parts:áPart I is aboutáthe first part of the author',s parents&rsquo, lives up until they leave school, Part II picks up theástory that leads them into adulthood and family life in the world of the twentieth century. Part IIIáenlightens the reader asáto the story of Australian-Irish Sign Language and the journey of the languageáthrough the Catholic education system in Australia. This inclides brief accountsáof the story of the Catholic Deaf Associations in Victoria, especially inárelation to the family&rsquo,s story. There is no attempt made toágive a full history of the intricate and complexáglobal Deaf story &ndash, nor of the Deaf story in Australia, including Auslan, AustralianáSign Language. The focus is on the author',sáparents in the Catholic setting, their languageá&ndash, Australian-Irish Sign Language, and its journey. This narrowáfocus, however, illuminates a larger picture.áThere is alsoáno attemptáto write from the perspective of a professional linguist