Abstract
The introduction of the use of sign language (Czech sign language) was closely associated with the establishment of the first Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in Prague in 1786, and remained so up to 1932 when it was officially banned. This article offers an overview of so far known works of the period on Czech sign language.
It then looks in greater detail at texts that contain verbal descriptions of previously used signs and enables us to uncover their visual rationale and motivation, which has become obscure with the passage of time and historical change. Probably the oldest and also the most extensive source of sign is the book published in 1834, Unterrichte der Taubstummen in der Lautsprache nebst einigen Bemerkungen über die Geberdenzeichen der Taubstummen by Jan Mücke, which contains a dictionary with the verbal description of 261 signs, divided in to the thematic groups Food and Drink; Clothing and Associated Objects; Household Fittings and Furniture; Writing Requisites and Toys; Miscellaneous frequent subjects; Animals; People; Verbs.
The article On Deaf-Dumbness by Václav Staněk, printed in 1846 in the Journal of the Czech Museum, may be considered the first treatment of sign language written in Czech. We consider six books of the years 1890-1907, however, which contain chapters devoted to sign language and describe several then used signs, to be a more important source of information.
The authors of the books were the teachers Karel Škornička The Upbringing and Teaching of the Deaf and Dumb, Karel Huleš On Bringing Up and Teaching the Deaf and Dumb, Karel Malý Children who are Deaf and Dumb, Hearing-Impaired or Afflicted with Speech Disorders in General Basic School: Deaf and Dumbness and Josef Kolář Guide to Preparatory Teaching of Children in General Basic School: How to treat deaf and dumb children. The article presents a more detailed account of these texts from the perspective of contemporary knowledge in the linguistics of sign languages.