verb (used with object), inferred, inferring. 1. to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence: They inferred his displeasure from his cool tone of voice. 2. (of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to. 3. to guess; speculate; surmise.
The modern recorded history of sign language began in the 17th century in Spain, in part with Bonet. In 1620, Juan Pablo Bonet published ReducciÃ³n de las letras y arte para enseÃ±ar a hablar a los mudos (Summary of the letters and the art of teaching speech to the mute) in Madrid. Considered the first modern treatise of the phonetics of sign language and the use of sign language to teach speech to the deaf, this book depicted Bonet's form of a manual alphabet. His intent was to further the oral and manual education of deaf people in Spain.
St. Augustine tells early Christians that deaf children are a sign of God's anger at the sins of their parents. Meanwhile, Benedictine monks take vows of silence to better honor God. To communicate necessary information, they develop their own form of sign language. The physician Geronimo Cardano of Padua, Italy, attempts to teach his deaf son using a code of symbols. Pedro Ponce de Leon, a Benedictine monk, successfully teaches speech to people deaf since birth. Juan Pablo Bonet, an advocate of early sign language, writes the first well-known book of manual alphabetic signs for the deaf in 1620. A French priest, Charles Michel De L'Eppe, establishes the first free public school for the deaf in France.