R. Orin Cornett

Who was R. Orin Cornett?

Dr. R. Orin Cornett was an American physicist, born in Driftwood, Oklahoma. Dr. Cornett received his Ph.D. in physics and applied mathematics from the University of Texas. While working at the U.S. Office of Education he discovered that many deaf adults fail to achieve literacy at a native-level. In 1965 Dr. Cornett began working as the Vice President of Long-Range Planning at Gallaudet College. To solve this issue of deaf literacy, he devised a phonemic system to render English visually rather than acoustically. Dr. Cornett named his system Cued Speech, which now has been adapted to nearly 60 languages around the world.