手話を生み出したのは誰？
In Native American communities prior to 1492, for instance, it seems one or more signed systems existed as a lingua franca which neighboring tribes used to communicate with one another Native American communities believed people born deaf were physically and mentally capable, while people in Europe, starting with the urging of Pedro Ponce de León, would not begin to believe so until the late 16th century. Accounts of such signing indicate these languages were fairly complex, as ethnographers such as Cabeza de Vaca described detailed communications between them and Native Americans that were conducted in sign. A number of Martha's Vineyard settlers from a community in Kent, England, for instance, seemed to be carriers of deaf genes, leading to a high density of deaf individuals on the island from the 1700s, being the highest around 1840. This environment proved ideal for the development of what is today known as Martha's Vineyard Sign Language, which was used by hearing and deaf islanders alike. Years earlier, their Kentish ancestors, too, may have had a number of deaf community members and developed their own signing system as well.
Native American