American Sign Language

What is American Sign Language? (ASL)

ASL Definition: Autonomous Linguistic System whose elements are visual rather than aural
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
American Sign Language is a visually perceived language based on a naturally evolved system of articulated hand gestures and their placement relative to the body, along with non-manual markers such as facial expressions, head movements, shoulder raises, mouth morphemes, and movements of the body

-ASL is an independent stand alone language
-ASL is not a signed form of English (35 different types in America Alone)
-There are also signed representations of oral languages such as Signed Exact English (SEE) and mixes such as Pidgin Signed English (PSE)
-ASL is not just hand signs. Some words and meanings are expressed through facial gestures only
-

-Primarily used in the Deaf community
-In the U.S. an estimated 500,000 to 2 million individuals use ASL

Manual Signs:
-Hand shape
-Palm Orientation
-Movement
-Location
Non-Manual Signs:
-Eye gaze
-Head Position
-Body Position

Manual Signs:
-Hand shape
-Palm Orientation
-Movement
-Location
Non-Manual Signs:
-Eye gaze
-Head Position
-Body Position

The structure of signing is analogous with the structure of spoken language words. Spoken language words consist of a sequence of consonants and vowels, and signing is a structure sequence of holds and movements (Liddell and Johnson 1989)

ASL comes in 2 forms: Iconic and Arbitrary

• Iconic signs are when the form of the sign reflects some aspect of what is being represented
• Arbitrary signs do not reflect the form of what is being represented

Iconic=CAT

Iconic=Tree

Arbitrary=Wrong

Arbitrary=lousy

Sign Language is NOT Universal

• Regional Variations(Some evidence shows that African American Sign differently than Caucasians)
• British Deaf Community (BSL)
• Italian Deaf Community -Linguia Italiana Dei Segni (LIS)

Sign Language is Not Universal Cont'd

• Socio-linguistic Variations
• Age
• Region
• Gender
• Parent's language backround

Sign Language is wonderful!
ASL comes from a finite set of rules, an infinite number of sentences can be produced, and new messages on any topic can begin at anytime. ASL is ever changing!!!!!

Fingerspelling

What can ASL be used for?

• To discuss any topic from concrete to abstract
• Any past or future situations
• For basic survival tactics to Philosophy and Physics

ASL serves a creative purpose too!!

• Can be used for storytelling
• Word Games
• Poetry
• Music

How has ASL changed? Hand shapes change, sign location changes, orientation of palm changes, two-handed signs become one-handed, one-handed signs become two-handed, and whole signs change as a result of new technology

TELEPHONE used to be 2 (S) hand shapes; one at the ear and one at the mouth of the signer. Now telephone is the (Y) hand shape held at the signers ear

Children are born with an innate ability to acquire language from parents or caretakers. Children who are born deaf into deaf families easily acquire ASL as their first language. BUT less than 10% of deaf babies are born to deaf parents. Children must acquire the language from exposure to an outside source.

Critical Period- There is a critical period for children to learn ASL between birth and age 5. This period will ensure optimal performance in the language.

History of ASL
-No information regarding Deaf people in America before 1817
-Research shows that some Deaf individuals traveled to the U.S. from Great Britain and Europe
-In !817 the first school for deaf children was established in the U.S.
-Martha's Vineyard was a well established community where both deaf and hearing individual used sign (Groce 1985,
Lane 1984)

History Cont'd
In the 1840's the movement of teaching deaf children oral language began. Cultural changes took place excluding the use of ASL in schools. This was mainly due to the popularity of creationism and evolution. Charles Darwin's "Origin of the Species" grew popular and people's belief of immediate creation changed. People began to oppose the use of ASL education among the younger populations

Alexander Graham Bell was a major leader of the oralist movement. In 1880 it was declared that speech shall be used over sign because it was thought that the use of
ASL would interfere with learning speech and lip reading. Many Deaf teachers lost their jobs and ASL was banned as a form of instruction in schools.

Even though ASL was banned in schools, Deaf people still used the language in social settings. In the 1900's the Deaf Culture movement began, paving the way for ASL to be the number one language used among the deaf community.

ASL and its Users

• Almost all Deaf users of ASL can also read and write in English.
• Deaf users maintain a variety of different styles when using ASL including: code switching, code mixing, and fingerspelling

Final Remarks:
The existence of ASL and other sign languages have autonomous linguistic systems that are valued and cherished by the Deaf community in every continent in the world.

Questions

FALSE!!

ASL is a signed form of English?

False!

Reference Page