M A R C H / A P R I L - 1 9 9 8

A Puzzle

Cities Named After Deaf People
—In ASL!

It is not unusual for cities to be named after people. Washington DC is probably one of the best known cities in the world. Washington, of course, was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States. Washington is famous around the world as our nation's capital.

Gallaudet, a small town in Indiana, was named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who helped start the famous American School for the Deaf. James Brown, the first principal and superintendent of Indiana School for the Deaf, named the town in Gallaudet's honor when it was founded in 1852. Although the town disappeared in the early 1900s, Gallaudet once had a railroad depot, a post office, a store, and some houses. In American Sign Language (ASL), cities have been named after people, too-at least according to Jerry Hassell who wrote about it for the National Association of the Deaf Broadcaster.

Two of the cities named after deaf people in ASL are described below. Can you guess their names?

CITY #1

In the late 1800s, a very handsome and popular student attended the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD). He was a football star and captain. He played basketball and baseball, too. The Texas School for the Deaf is in Austin, but this student didn't come from Austin. He came from a Texas city with a strong Spanish heritage. Hassell says the girls started to use the handsome athlete's namesign to refer to this city. Soon the boys used it, too. Then the teachers.

"Eventually the TSD alumni and the rest of the deaf community adopted the sign as well," says Hassell, who got his information from a July 1988 issue of The Deaf Texan. In American Sign Language, the sign for this city is still this boy's namesign. Do you know the name for this city?

Here's a hint: The boy's first name was "George."

CITY #2

In the late 1800s, many deaf people attended the same church in St. Paul, Minnesota. After church, they would get together and socialize. Sometimes they would go visit a popular deaf man in a nearby city. Visiting the man was an all-day affair. They had to climb into their horse drawn buggies and travel! Then they had to turn around and get home before it was dark. Nevertheless, they enjoyed visiting the man.

The namesign for this city became the namesign these people used for their deaf friend. "They labeled it subconsciously," said Hassell, who got the information from a November 1996 issue of The Deaf Texan.

People still use the sign today. Can you guess the name of the town? In English? In American Sign Language?

Here's a hint: The man's first name was "Dean."

Send your answers to World Around You, #6 KDES, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002; 1-202-651-5708 Fax; cmcarroll@gallua.gallaudet.edu. First correct answers will be printed in our next issue... students—and their teachers—will win free subscriptions to next year's World Around You!

General comments may be sent to: Ken.Kurlychek@gallaudet.edu
Last modified May 21, 1998
Copyright © 1997, All Rights Reserved
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

Gallaudet University 800 Florida Ave. NE Washington, DC 20002-3695