Dorothy Casterline Died Two Years Ago Today

Casterline made a major contribution in the 1950s to a book that revolutionized the study of Deaf culture.

image: Gallaudet.edu 

Casterline was a young researcher when she begain helping Gallaudet University professor William C. Stokoe on what would become A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles. Eventually published in 1965 with help from another professor, Carl Croneberg, it was the first comprehensive dictionary of American Sign Language and considered a foundational work of sign language linguistics. Stoke depended on Casterline to understand sign language because he was hearing and did not study sign language until he started work at Gallaudet. One of the main points of the book: ASL is not a variation on English but a language unto itself, with its own rules.

Casterline was born in Hawaii to Japanese American parents and went by "Dot." She lost her hearing at the age of 13 without knowing why. After attending the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind, she became one of the first students of color at Gallaudet and possibly the first faculty member of color. She died on Aug. 8, 2023 at the age of 95 in South Carolina.

Read more about her at the Gallaudet University site.