The Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL) emerged in the late 1970s, at a new school for deaf children. Initially the children were instructed by teachers who could hear. No one taught them how to sign; they simply worked it out for themselves. By conducting experiments on people who attended the...
Thirteen years into their occupation, the U.S. Marines left Nicara. But by October of that year, Nicaraguan Gen. Emiliano Chamorro Vargas staged a successful coup d’état against Solorzano. Chamorro became president, but the U.S. did not recognize his rule; after a liberal revolt, the U...
In the three-part series, Webb investigated Nicaraguans linked to the CIA-backed Contras who had allegedly smuggled cocaine into the U.S. Webb charged that the Reagan administration shielded inner-city drug dealers from prosecution in order to raise money for the Contras. Webb’s reporting ...
People outside the field have disagreed with this approach, suggesting it would be better to actively integrate these communities into the wider deaf culture, including teaching people more established sign languages. After Kegl's work was featured in a 1999 profile of the emerging Nicaraguan Sign ...