Johann Konrad Ammann

Johann Conrad Ammann (* 1669, baptized February 7, 1669 in Schaffhausen, † 1724 in Warmond at Leiden), was a Swiss physician and deaf educator.

Life

Johann Conrad Ammann earned his doctorate in 1687 in Basel and is regarded as one of the first writers of instructions for the education of " deaf " with the 1692 published in Amsterdam work Surdus loquens ( The Talking Dove ). In 1700 he published his Dissertatio de loquela (Treatise on the faculty of speech ), both works have been translated into several modern languages.

Ammann's proposals for the education of " deaf and dumb " were to draw students' attention to the lips and throat movements of the speaker and then to induce them to imitate these movements until they lead into recognizable letters, syllables and words. It is believed that Surdus loquens was the basis of Samuel Heinicke teaching method.

Ammann is credited with the statement that " the biblical God's breath, the first man, Adam, given, is the ability to speak ." Thus, the importance of speaking was considered the most important human in general derived and sentenced sign language as not human. This provided the philosophical basis by which the Oralists later founded the opposition to the sign language in education of deaf children.

Ammann is mentioned by the English cleric and mathematician John Wallis in Philosophical Transactions 1698th

There is attached to this individual in existing documents numerous variations of the spelling of both the family name (" Amman ", " Amann " ) and the name ( " John Conrad ", etc.) as well as confusion with the 1724 born in Schaffhausen and historical documents according to temporarily living in Leiden physician Johann Conrad Ammann.

Johann Conrad Ammann since 1694 was married to Mary Birrius (or Birris ) in Amsterdam.

Quotes

" The discoveries of Amman are probably of a higher value; he has the blind man shoots withdrawn at what they seemed to be condemned; He has equipped them with ideas, with spirit, in a word with a soul, which they would otherwise never have had. What can cause you want to beat! "

Writings

• Cours d' education elementaire of sourds - muets, suivi d'une dissertation sur la parole. Paris, 1879.
• The Talking Deaf Man. 1 692 (English e-text from Project Gutenberg )