Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian (French:[ʁɔkɑ̃bʁwazoɡystbebjɑ̃]; 4 August 1789 – 24 February 1839) was one of the first hearing educators in France to achieve native-level fluency in
French Sign Language. In 1825, he published an important book, Mimographie, which utilized a method of writing signs.
Early life
Born on the Caribbean island of
Guadeloupe, Bébian was sent to France by his father to obtain a high school education under the auspices of his godfather, the
Abbé Roch-Ambroise Cucurron Sicard, who was the successor of the
Abbé de l'Épée as the director of the
Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets de Paris. The Abbé Sicard sent Bébian to live with the Abbé Jauffret. He completed high school at the
Lycée Charlemagne in Paris, where he was regarded as a brilliant student. Afterwards he dedicated himself to studying Deaf education.
Career
Following the advice of Abbé Sicard, Bébian began working with three Deaf teachers—
Jean Massieu,
Ferdinand Berthier, and
Laurent Clerc—at the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets de Paris. In 1817, he published the book Essai sur les sourds-muets et sur le langage naturel, which dealt with the educational philosophy and methods of the school, as well as the nature of French Sign Language.
Bébian turned down offers to become principal of schools for the Deaf in
New York City and
St. Petersburg, instead establishing a school on
Montparnasse Boulevard in
Paris. Later he became principal of a school in
Rouen, then moved back to Guadeloupe, where he founded a school for Black students.
He won an award from the
French Academy of Sciences for writing a eulogy for the Abbé de l'Épée titled "Éloge historique de l'abbé de l'Epée" (1819).
Bibliography
Works by Bébian
Bébian, Auguste. 1817. Essai sur les sourds-muets et sur le langage naturel, ou Introduction à une classification naturelle des idées avec leur signes propres. Paris: Dentu.
Bébian, Auguste. Suite de l'examen des diverses méthodes employées pour l'instruction des sourds-muets; école de l'Abbé Sicard. Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, 1826, 1, 320–335; 2, 22–53.
Bébian, Auguste. Notice sur l'Institution Impériale des Sourds-Muets de Saint-Petersbourg. Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, 1826, 1, 91–95.
Bébian, Auguste. Instruction des sourds-muets aux Etats-Unis. Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, 1826, 1, 356–364.
Bébian, Auguste. Sourd-Muet accusé de rébellion et de violence contre les agents de l'autorité. Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, 1826, 1, 39–42.
Bébian, Auguste. Cours d'assises de Paris, audience du 6 juillet 1826; vol commis par un sourd-muet. Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, 1826, 1, 42–46.
Bébian, Auguste. Affaire du sourd-muet Filleron. Cours d'Assises de la Seine, séance du août, 1827. Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, 1827, 2, 53–84.
Bébian, Auguste. Affaire du sourd-muet Sauron. Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, 1827, 70–79.
Bébian, Auguste. Opérations intellectuelles du sourd-muet. Journal de l'instruction publiqué', 1828, 70–79.
Bernard, Yves. 1992. La Mimographie de Bébian (1789–1839) - Le signe est l'ombre de l'idée. In: La Caravelle, Volume 118 (1992), pp. 15–17. Also in: Liaisons: Bulletin du Centre National de Formation des Enseignants Intervenants auprès des Jeunes Sourds (CNFEJS), Volume 7, December 1995, pp. 34–64
Berthier, Ferdinand. 1911. Biographie de Bébian, published in serial in Le Colonial (a journal published in Guadeloupe) on May 17, 24 and 31 and June 14, 1911.
Buisson, Ferdinand Edouard (editor). 1887. Dictionnaire de pédagogie et d'instruction primaire de Ferdinand Buisson, Tome I, 1ère partie, p. 179. Download text of article:
(French)
Lane, Harlan. 1984. When the Mind Hears. Random House
References
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Roch-Amboise-Auguste Bébian" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. (Important note: Bébian's name is misspelled in this encyclopedia article. The "r" in Ambroise is missing. Only the first two names should be linked together with a hyphen, not the first three.)