Roch-Ambroise Auguste Bébian (; 4 August 1789 – 24 February 1839) was one of the first hearing educators in France to achieve native-level fluency in
French Sign Language
French Sign Language (, LSF) is the sign language of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in France and in French-speaking parts of Switzerland. According to ''Ethnologue'', it has 100,000 native signers.
French Sign Language is related and part ...
. In 1825, he published an important book, ''Mimographie'', which utilized a method of writing signs.
Early life
Born on the Caribbean island of
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
, 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
''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...
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
The Lycée Charlemagne () is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France.
Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Je ...
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
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc (; 26 December 1785 – 18 July 1869) was a French teacher called "The Apostle of the Deaf in America" and was regarded as the most renowned deaf person in American deaf history. He was taught by Abbé Sicard and dea ...
—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
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
, instead establishing a school on
Montparnasse Boulevard in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Later he became principal of a school in
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
, then moved back to Guadeloupe, where he founded a school for Black students.
He won an award from the
French Academy of Sciences
The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...
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. 1819
''Éloge de Charles-Michel de L'Épée, fondateur de l'Institution des Sourds-Muets: discours qui a obtenu le prix proposé par la Société Royale Académique des Sciences''...
* Bébian, Auguste. 1825
Mimographie: ou, Essai d'écriture mimique, propre à régulariser le langage des sourds-muets Paris: L. Colas
* Bébian, Auguste. 1826–1827
''Journal de l'instruction des sourds-muets et des aveugles, rédigé par M. Bébian'' Volume 1 (1826) 374 pages. Volume 2 (1827) 168 pages. Paris: Institution Spéciale des Sourds-Muets.
* 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. 1827
''Manuel d'enseignement pratique des sourds-muets''(Volumes 1 and 2). Paris: Méquignon l'Ainé. Download volume 1: https://archive.org/details/gu_manueldenseig01bebi/page/n6/mode/2up. Download volume 2: https://archive.org/details/gu_manueldenseig02bebi/page/n4/mode/2up
* 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.
* Bébian, Auguste. 1828
''Lecture instantanée. Nouvelle méthode pour apprendre à lire sans épeler'' Paris: Crapelet
* Bébian, Auguste. 1831
''Éducation des sourds-muets mise a la portée des instituteurs primaires et de tous les parents: cours d'instruction élémentaire dans une suite d'exercises gradués, expliqués par des figures. Principes.'' Paris: Impr. de Béthune.
* Bébian, Auguste. 1834
''Examen critique de la nouvelle organisation de l'enseignement dans l'Institution Royale des Sourds-Muets de Paris'' Paris: Treuttel et Wurtz, Hachette
* (Books uploaded to Archive.org
Archival books
;Preface by Bébian:
* L'Épée, Charles-Michel de, M. l'abbe Sicard. 1820
''L'art d'enseigner a parler aux sourdsmuets de naissance; augm. de notes explicatives et d'un avant-propos'' Paris: Dentu. Preface by Bébian titled: "Éloge historique de l'abbé de l'Epée"
;Works about Bébian:
* 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. 1839
''Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de August Bébian ancien censeur des études de l'Institute Royal des Sourds-Muets de Paris'' Paris: Chez J. Ledoyen
* 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.
* Berthier, Ferdinand. 2009
Edited and Translated by Freeman G. Henry. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press
* 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)* Fischer, Renate. 1995. The notation of sign languages: Bébian's ''Mimographie''. In: Bos, Heleen F. and Gertrude M. Schermer (eds)
''Sign Language Research 1994: Proceedings of the Fourth European Congress on Sign Language Research, Munich, September 1-3, 1994'' (International Studies on Sign Language and Communication of the Deaf; 29) Hamburg : Signum, pp. 285–302
*Forestier, Claudius. 1883
''Parallèle entre l'instruction des sourds-muets par la langage des signes et leur einseignement par l'articulation artificielle: suivi de quelques observations sur la méthode du célèbre Pereire et sur les résolutions qu'a votées contre l'enseignement par le langage des signes; le Congrès International tenu à Milan du 6 au 12 Septembre 1880 pour l'amélioration du sort des sourds-muets'' Lyon: impr. Pitrat aîné
* Renard, Marc. 2004.
Ecrire les signes: La mimographie d'Auguste Bébian et les notations contemporaines'. París: Éditions du Fox
;Other works which contain information about Bébian:
* Bézagu-Deluy, Maryse. 1990
''L'abbé de L'Epée: instituteur gratuit des sourds et muets: 1712-1789'' Paris: Seghers
* Cuxac, Christian. 1983
''Le langage des sourds'' Paris: Payo
*
Lane, Harlan. 1984. ''When the Mind Hears''. Random House
References
* (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.)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bebian, Roch-Ambroise Auguste
1789 births
1839 deaths
19th-century French people
Deaf culture