The Right to Language
Miriam Morrow grew up with sign language banned in her deaf elementary school. Now, an ASL professor of 30 plus years, she’s come across a new communication barrier in academia: Finding a translator at work.
It wasn’t until middle school that Miriam Morrow was allowed to speak her language. Though, it wasn’t speaking she was banned from doing — it was signing. The deaf professor and New York native was born in the final years of the “Dark Age” of Deaf Education, the century-long prohibition of American Sign Language in deaf schools that lasted through the 1960s. For years, oral education was deemed the only authentic means of language acquisition. And, despite its own rich culture, grammar, and linguistic complexity, sign language was not.
Like many other American deaf children in the seventies, Morrow’s early years were deprived of any language at all. Born to a hearing mother with no knowledge of ASL, she was expected to learn English by lip reading, and school was no different. It took over a decade for Morrow to enter a school where teachers taught Pidgin Signed English (PSE), a pidgin language that combines signs with English syntax, and even longer before she was academically offered true ASL. As an undergrad, Morrow attended Gallaudet University, the nation’s only college designed exclusively for deaf students. And while her path of higher education never ended — she’s now a professor of ASL at New York University — neither did neglect of her right to communication.
Interpreted from ASL, Morrow shares the story of her early education, and how access to interpreters in academia stands adjacent to the battle for deaf representation in the workplace.
Walk me through your childhood and early education.
MIRIAM MORROW: I was raised with only my hearing mother who never learned ASL. So, I had to lipread and use my voice to communicate with her. I learned ASL at a deaf school where I attended. Back then, folks at school believed that communicating with deaf students orally was more effective. I still remember my first day at school. I was 3 years old at that time with no language yet. When I saw one of my classmates who came from a Deaf family signing in ASL fluently, I was in awe and wanted to be like him. So, when I saw him hanging up his coat, I wanted to do the same thing. I knocked over his to hang mine. He looked at me and said, “No!” in ASL. I understood him. It was my first word to understand, and I was so thrilled that I kept signing “No” to everyone. It’s a funny story to tell now. I eventually learned ASL over the years at school from classmates.
Was it common for the other students’ parents to not know sign?
MM: When I was growing up, things were different than they are now. Parents didn’t learn ASL, and even our teachers didn’t sign. We communicated through lip reading. As a kid, my classmates would sign to each other when the teachers weren’t looking because we’d get in trouble. When the teachers looked, we’d stop, and when they looked away, we’d keep on signing.
So signing wasn’t allowed at all?
MM: That’s right. Many deaf schools were the same back then. Middle school was when things changed. The teachers signed, which was better than nothing, but they didn’t sign in ASL, they signed PSE [Pidgin Signed English]. They used SimComing, which is speaking and signing. That was middle school, and it was better because we weren’t afraid to sign. For high school, I transferred to a different deaf school, and the teachers signed in ASL there. At that point, it became easy to learn.
Tell me about your experience teaching and being here at NYU. How long have you taught for?
MM: I love working at NYU, I’ve been here for 18 years. All together I’ve taught ASL for 30. I’ve taught at many universities: Salisbury State University, Chesapeake Community College, Towson University, Columbia University, Teachers College, LAGCC, Gallaudet. My first job was teaching only one class, and when I realized I liked it I decided to continue.
How have you felt about NYU’s ability to provide accommodation over the years?
MM: Back before Covid, there was one person I could email and it was easy to connect with them. If I needed an interpreter, I’d just tell them the day and time. It was easy. After Covid, things were different. That person wasn’t there, so people would tell me to go to a different department, then once I connected with the department they’d tell me to go to another one. One time I was connected, and they said they’d help me pay one time. What do they mean, one time? That’s not helpful long term. If I need help with tech, there’s a woman there who knows there’s an interpreting problem, and we talk through chat. But otherwise, for two years, there hasn’t been an interpreter.
And what about the other hearing universities you’ve taught at?
MM: I’ve never needed an interpreter; I’m trying to remember. Towson University was good. They were strong because the boss understood deaf culture and could sign. At NYU, no boss knows sign, and they don’t understand deaf culture. That’s the big difference. It’s a gap.
Do you feel supported by NYU?
MM: No, not now. Before, we had a deaf boss, but Covid happened and they left. Then there wasn’t a boss for a long time. But when we finally had a new one, they weren’t deaf and hadn’t worked at NYU. There are many of us deaf faculty who have been here 18, 20, 25 years, and they didn’t pick any of us. Instead, they picked a new, hearing person. This was last year.
How did that make everyone feel?
MM: We were angry. That’s not right — It’s oppression.
