The sign "DEAF-SCHOOL" uses the same movement as the sign for "SCHOOL" but the handshape for each hand is an "i." The letter "i" is associated with the concept of an "institution." Deaf Schools used to be commonly thought of as "institutions" or places where Deaf were "sent away to." However, in the Deaf community, Deaf Schools are traditionally considered a source of pride.
The sign "Deaf School" means "a State-run Residential School for the Deaf" Use "i" handshapes. The dominant hand moves, the base hand is stationary.
Sample sentence: "Did you go to a Deaf school?" = "DEAF-SCHOOL YOU?"
DEAF-SCHOOL (Version 2)
There is another version of this sign that is done similar to the version above except that the base hand is in a palm-down "S"-hand. The dominant hand is still in an "i"-hand and still makes two downward movements.
Notes:
The term "Residential school for the Deaf" means "Deaf School." It can also be used to mean: campus, institute or institution. Interpreters should recognize that the "DEAF-SCHOOL" sign can mean "campus" -- however if you wish to discuss a "campus" as in a college campus it is generally safer to just sign "COLLEGE" and if necessary add the "location / thereabouts" sign.
The sign for "Deaf School" is an initialized form of the sign "SCHOOL." Why the "i" handshape? The "i" handshape refers to the concept of an "institution." Deaf people used to be "institutionalized" into State-run residential institutions.
In the Deaf world, when we ask someone if they attended a "Deaf School" what we mean is "Did you attend a State-run Residential School for the Deaf?" Students live there during the week and go home on weekends or school holidays--(depending on the program). If the school wasn't run by the State and if it didn't have a residential component then it wasn't a "Deaf School." Instead it would labeled with some other term: "Deaf Day Program," "Deaf Charter School," "Deaf Inclusion Program," etc.
* Most Deaf people are proud of having attended a "Deaf-school." It is culturally similar to the "Hearing world" practice of having attended a prestigious boarding school. Rich Hearing people might speak with pride regarding having attended certain "boarding schools" or "prep schools." Culturally Deaf people (rather than those who are merely physically deaf) express pride at having attended a Deaf school.
DEAF-SCHOOL: While it is true that you can sign DEAF and SCHOOL as separate signs to mean "Deaf school" I want to make sure students know the "I" handshape version. There are two variations of this version: A variation in which only the dominant hand has an "I" handshape, and a version where both hands have an "I" handshape.
The concept of "Deaf School" is often signed by striking the pinky side of an "i" hand onto the top of the palm-down non-dominant "S"-hand. That sign evolved from striking two "i"-hands together as an initialized version of "SCHOOL." The English word to which the "i"-hands were initials for was "institution."
For example, in 1857, Congress chartered the school in Washington, D.C. as the “Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind.” That institution is the direct ancestor (parent organization) of what is now Gallaudet University: the name later changed to “Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb,” then “Columbia Institution for the Deaf,” then “Gallaudet College,” and finally “Gallaudet University” in 1986.
(Source: The "Gallaudet_University" entry at Wikipedia.)
In the mid-1800s, the word "institution" carried a positive and prestigious connotation. Rather than suggesting confinement or a "clinical" coldness, it signaled permanence, legitimacy, and moral purpose.
By including the word "institution" in the name a Deaf school the founders likely sought to portray stability, authority, and seriousness.
"Institution" implied the organization was established by law or authority and intended to be a permanent fixture in society. It was also associated with advanced learning.
In the early 1800s, it was common for Deaf schools to be called "Asylums." For example the American School for the Deaf (ASD) in Hartford, Connecticut was originally named, "The Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons" (Source, "American_School_for_the_Deaf" entry in Wikipedia).
At the time, "asylum" had a positive connotation -- referring to a place of safety or refuge.
As educational goals became more prominent, "institution" became the preferred term to highlight their role as centers of training and professional development before the word "school" eventually became the standard.
The word "asylum" was generally replaced by "institution." Later, the word "institution" evolved into "school."
Perhaps the evolution from "institution" to "school" was due to some facilities becoming overcrowded and focusing more on custodial care (of Deaf individuals with multiple disabilities) than education. In any case, the word "institution" began to take on a more negative association with isolation and control.
The transition from asylum -- to institution -- to school is an example of the Euphemism Treadmill -- a term coined by Steven Pinker in 1994 that describes the process where a "polite" or neutral word replaces a stigmatized one, only to eventually become tainted by the very same stigma it was meant to avoid.
Because the underlying social attitude of many in the broader Hearing society toward marginalized groups (e.g., Deaf people or the disabled) hasn't changed -- new words eventually "soak up" the old negativity, requiring a new replacement.
Eventually English speakers began to refer to institutes for the Deaf as "schools" for the Deaf or "Deaf schools."
Despite the change in the English label -- the sign DEAF-SCHOOL retains much of its original form - including at least one "i"-handshape.
Both the current English term "Deaf school" and the ASL sign DEAF-SCHOOL are sources of pride within the modern, culturally-Deaf, Deaf community.
Modern Deaf may think that Deaf people have always been proud of the terms "institute for the Deaf" and / or Deaf school. However there was a period of negativity that was primarily driven by the Oralist Era (roughly 1880–1960s), during which the very schools meant to serve Deaf children became sites of linguistic and cultural suppression.
Modern pride in the term "Deaf School" within the Deaf community is an example of linguistic reclamation -- which is also known as reappropriation or resignification.
Despite the in-group (Deaf community) reclamation or pride in the phrase "Deaf School" -- the larger English-speaking society however will quite likely continue its relentless march on the euphemism treadmill. As time goes on you may see more and more use of terms such as "center," "program," or some other (temporarily) positive word.
See: DEAF
See: SCHOOL
See: INSTITUTE
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