Abstract
The introduction of the use of Czech Sign Language was closely associated with the of the first Institute for the Deaf and Dumb in Prague in 1786. Probably the oldest and also the most extensive source of sign is the book published in 1834, Unterrichte der Taubstummen in der Lautsprache nebst einigen Bemerkungen über die Geberdenzeichen der Taubstummen by director Johann Mücke (1770-1840), which contains a dictionary with the verbal description of 261 signs, divided in to the thematic groups Food and Drink, Clothing and Associated Objects, Household Fittings and Furniture, Writing Requisites and Toys, Miscellaneous frequent subjects, Animals, People, Verbs.
Thanks to the preserved data of the period we can look at current signs from the diachronic perspective, identify their original motivation and trace their origin.