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Peter's Reviews > A Man Without Words
A Man Without Words
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Like many people, I heard the podcast first.
RadioLab: “Words that Change the World.� A ten minute introduction to Ildefonso, a 27 year old deaf man who had never learned the concept of words, spoken or signed, and Susan Schaller, his younger American Sign Language teacher who set out to teach him. The story is moving and inspiring, a step outside of the cave of language, a ten minute introduction to the revelation that words are an invention and that they change who we are.
The book complements the podcast. It deepens the story, revealing not only more detail about Ildefonso himself and Susan’s efforts to teach him, but also more detail about the world of languageless people, people who, though without words, have a rich communicative life of gesture and narrative.
What do words do to us? To the way we communicate, to the way we think, and to the way we act? How much are words reliant on sound? How do spoken and signed languages differ in syntax? Can a signer have a sign language “accent�?
These are just a few of the questions wrapped into “A Man Without Words,� and while Schaller’s narrative focuses on Ildefonso (and the book is primarily the narrative of this one storyline), she surfaces many answers, too. That said, Schaller also makes many missteps, both, it seems to me, in her teaching and in her presentation of some of the people. While Schaller is empathetic, deeply motivated and caring, writing “He had entered the universe of humanity� when Ildefonso learns his first words might not be the most sensitive way to celebrate. Yes, words may be a uniquely human invention, but as the reader learns later, those without language nonetheless have a rich interior, human life.
Ultimately, the narrative doesn’t go too far beyond what the podcast shares, but it does share more of Ildefonso’s history and personality, and of Susan’s history. We learn what happens in the decade and more following Susan and Ildefonso’s meeting, and, in sometimes overwrought (but earnest) prose, we come to a better understanding of the world of languageless people.
Schaller’s story is an easy and compelling read. I’d be curious to learn about the response of people who read this before hearing the podcast.
Do I recommend it? Yes, for those who are interested in the nature of language itself, this is an evocative story of how language changed a person. It meaningfully explores life with and without words.
Would I teach it? Excerpts, perhaps. It’s not a long book, but it isn’t dense enough to teach the whole text. I think this could be effective in partnership with the RadioLab podcast.
Lasting impression: As a complement to the podcast, this offers a better sense of Susan and Ildefonso’s relationship, even if it doesn’t substantially deepen in the impact. The most compelling moment might be the experience of a meeting of four languageless people as they tell each other stories.
RadioLab: “Words that Change the World.� A ten minute introduction to Ildefonso, a 27 year old deaf man who had never learned the concept of words, spoken or signed, and Susan Schaller, his younger American Sign Language teacher who set out to teach him. The story is moving and inspiring, a step outside of the cave of language, a ten minute introduction to the revelation that words are an invention and that they change who we are.
The book complements the podcast. It deepens the story, revealing not only more detail about Ildefonso himself and Susan’s efforts to teach him, but also more detail about the world of languageless people, people who, though without words, have a rich communicative life of gesture and narrative.
What do words do to us? To the way we communicate, to the way we think, and to the way we act? How much are words reliant on sound? How do spoken and signed languages differ in syntax? Can a signer have a sign language “accent�?
These are just a few of the questions wrapped into “A Man Without Words,� and while Schaller’s narrative focuses on Ildefonso (and the book is primarily the narrative of this one storyline), she surfaces many answers, too. That said, Schaller also makes many missteps, both, it seems to me, in her teaching and in her presentation of some of the people. While Schaller is empathetic, deeply motivated and caring, writing “He had entered the universe of humanity� when Ildefonso learns his first words might not be the most sensitive way to celebrate. Yes, words may be a uniquely human invention, but as the reader learns later, those without language nonetheless have a rich interior, human life.
Ultimately, the narrative doesn’t go too far beyond what the podcast shares, but it does share more of Ildefonso’s history and personality, and of Susan’s history. We learn what happens in the decade and more following Susan and Ildefonso’s meeting, and, in sometimes overwrought (but earnest) prose, we come to a better understanding of the world of languageless people.
Schaller’s story is an easy and compelling read. I’d be curious to learn about the response of people who read this before hearing the podcast.
Do I recommend it? Yes, for those who are interested in the nature of language itself, this is an evocative story of how language changed a person. It meaningfully explores life with and without words.
Would I teach it? Excerpts, perhaps. It’s not a long book, but it isn’t dense enough to teach the whole text. I think this could be effective in partnership with the RadioLab podcast.
Lasting impression: As a complement to the podcast, this offers a better sense of Susan and Ildefonso’s relationship, even if it doesn’t substantially deepen in the impact. The most compelling moment might be the experience of a meeting of four languageless people as they tell each other stories.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
June, 2018
–
Finished Reading
June 11, 2018
– Shelved
