Professional Documents
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Linguistics 210
*authors note on d/Deaf. Deaf (big D Deaf) refers to members of the Deaf community those
who associate with other Deaf people, usually attend schools for the deaf, and, most importantly,
use American Sign Language as their primary mode of communication. Conversely, deaf (little d
What is American Sign Language (ASL)? How did it evolve separately from spoken language?
Is ASL related to English? These questions can all be answered by understanding the basics of ASL
and how it has evolved over time in the Deaf world. ASL is a visual language that incorporates the
hands, body, and face. It is used by over 500,000 people (though estimates vary), mostly in the Deaf
community, and it is a language entirely separate from English (Mitchell, Young, Bachleda, Karchmer,
2006). American Sign Language has evolved similarly to its spoken counterparts and now stands as
ASL is primarily a visual and movement based language. In contrast to spoken language, ASL
uses bodily motions, hand gestures, and facial expressions. These can be compared to phonemes,
morphemes, and intonation in spoken language, as well as certain syntactical elements. Users of ASL
must be receptive to all of these bodily cues in order to understand and communicate effectively.
The most crucial part of any signed language, American Sign Language in particular, is facial
expression. Facial cues convey not only the emotion of the signer, but also important syntactical
elements of the sentence. The eyebrows give indication of the type of sentence. For example, raised
eyebrows indicate that the sentence is a yes/no question, while furrowed eyebrows indicate that it
is a wh question (a question asking who, what, when, where, why, etc). The mouth often conveys
how intensely the verb happens or how specific an adjective is. Hundreds of different facial
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expressions are used extensively in everyday signing (Okrent, 2012). Researchers and linguists
continue to document how ASL users incorporate facial expressions into their signing.
key grammatical element. While other sign languages mouth each word of a sentence in a
corresponding language, this action is usually incorrect in ASL. Novice signers will often mouth each
word of a sentence. Signs in ASL fall into one of several categories that can vary by signer or regional
dialect. Some signs have a corresponding mouth morpheme derived from English. Without making
the sound, the mouth will form the correct shape of a word. Some signs have a separate mouth
movement. For example, when describing the size of objects, small objects will take the oo mouth
morpheme, medium objects will take pursed lips, and large object will take a cha morpheme.
Finally, some signs are mouthed. These signs are almost exclusively proper nouns or technical terms.
Terms that are spelled out (fingerspelled) are also usually mouthed (Mikos, Smith, Lentz, 1992).
ASL evolved primarily within Deaf communities. Throughout history, deaf people have been
isolated and often formed their own communities, creating some form of sign language to
communicate with each other. American Sign Language is closely related to French Sign Language
(LSF). Before LSF was studied and widely used, many small groups of deaf people in Paris would
convene and figure out how to communicate with each other (Ballin, 1930). Likewise, deaf people
have always been isolated from mainstream society. However, as the early Deaf filmmaker George
As long as we have deaf people on earth, we will have signs. And as long as we
have our films, we can preserve signs in their old purity. It is my hope that we will all
love and guard our beautiful sign language as the noblest gift God has given to deaf
people.
In early America, several sign languages were prevalent. Many Native Americans used sign
language and non-verbal communication in everyday life. In some areas of Marthas Vineyard, up to
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a quarter of the population was deaf. Hearing and deaf individuals alike would use Marthas
Vineyard Sign Language as readily as English (Allison, 2013). The Reverend Thomas Gallaudet, a
minister and teacher of deaf children, wanted to create an American school for the deaf. In the early
1800s, Gallaudet traveled to Europe to study deaf education. In France, Gallaudet met an
experienced teacher named Leurant Clerc who would return to America with him. Together, they
founded the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut in 1817. There, Gallaudet and Clerc
implemented a combination of LSF and American signed languages, and this new language spread to
other subsequent deaf schools, uniting Deaf Americans with one language (DCAL, date unknown).
ASL evolved from this standard unit into several dialects. These dialects usually do not
incorporate changes in syntax and grammar but are instead prosodic. That is to say, individual hand-
shapes or signs themselves might vary by location, but true ASL grammar usually does not. An
interesting dialect of ASL has emerged among African American communities. This dialect is known
as Black ASL. Black ASL incorporates more slang than conventional ASL (such as using the sign
STUCK to mean pregnant), and it is usually signed lower on the body. One handed signs are
performed with two hands. Extensive documentation and study is ongoing, and more information
can be found in The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL from the Gallaudet University Press.
Unfortunately, sign language has not always been accepted in schools. In the UK, deaf
children have traditionally been educated through oralism in lip-reading. Gallaudet first went to
England to learn about deaf education, but was turned away through a conflict of interest. Early
American deaf schools valued education in ASL; however, at the turn of the century, these values
began to change. Many deaf schools adopted an oralist method and prohibited the use of sign
language. Many contemporary elderly Deaf individuals recall being forced to mouth words and sit
on their hands. As more linguists began to study ASL, they began to realize the merits of having an
accessible language in the classroom. Today, most deaf schools in America use American Sign
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Language as the language of classroom instruction, though most textbooks are still written in English
(Halcomb, 2012).
Sign writing has been attempted, though unsuccessfully. Throughout the years, many
individuals have attempted to create a form of sign writing, or a way to write down ASL. Most
efforts have proved unsuccessful, as pictures and symbols cannot accurately reflect the full nature of
ASL with body movements and facial expressions on top of hand gestures (si5s, date ongoing).
Subsequently, Deaf people value film. Many early 20th century films come from the Deaf community
and individuals like George Verditz traveling the country to catalogue ASL as a language and tenants
of Deaf culture. Due to these efforts, we have primary sources of what ASL looked like before the
American Civil War. In modern Deaf schools and universities, many assignments are completed in
American Sign Language is very distinct from English, though many non-signers perceive it as
just English-on-the-hands. ASL, in its true form, is actually incomparable to English. Many unique
linguistic elements exist in ASL that are not present in English. These elements include facial
expressions and use of the space around the body, known as the signing space. In English, if one
wanted to describe a room, he would use phrases like to the left, to the right, on the floor,
over there, etc. In ASL, if one wanted to describe a room, he would actually indicate the shape of
the room in the air and place the objects around the room or comment on the description of
following the rules of ASL, SEE attempts to borrow certain ASL signs and use them to convey English
sentences with English word order, grammar, and syntax. ASL users often cringe at this, as many
inexperienced signers use SEE instead of ASL. A similar example would be if a native English speaker
were to use Chinese words to form a sentence with English structure while disregarding the tones of
Mandarin Chinese as well. Another form of communication is known as Pidgin Signed English (PSE).
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PSE is a hybrid between ASL signs and syntax, and English grammar and word order. PSE is a true
pidgin in that it has no native speakers. It is often used by parents of deaf children who cannot sign
well to communicate to their children who learned to sign outside the home. PSE often incorporates
spoken English while signing, but most English words are dropped (Baker-Shenk, Cokely, 1980, pg.
73). Simultaneous communication, or SimCom, of English and ASL is discouraged by ASL pedagogues
because it distorts and confuses both languages. Moreover, due to the nature of this type of
American Sign Language is just as developed as any spoken language. It has a deep
grammatical and syntactic structure as well as a wide vocabulary. Thousands of people use ASL in
their daily lives and will continue to do so. And, like many other rich and meaningful languages, the
culture of its users is tied so closely to the language itself, that Deaf culture must be understood to
Baker-Shenk, Charlotte and Cokely, Dennis. 1980. Pidgin Sign English in the Deaf Community.
American Sign Language. Washington D.C.: Clerk Books.
Holcomb, Thomas K. 2012. Introduction to American Deaf Culture. Oxford University Press.
McCaskill, Carolyn; Lucas, Ceil; Bayley, Robert; Hill, Joseph. 2011. The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL.
Washington D.C.: Gallaudet University Press
Lentz, Ella Mae; Mikos, Ken; Smith, Cherri. 1992. Signing Naturally. Dawn Sign Press.
Okrent, Anika. 2012. Why Great Sign Language Interpreter Are So Animated. The Atlantic.
Mitchell, Ross; Young, Travis; Bachleda, Bellamie; Karchmer, Michael. 2006. How Many People Use
ASL in the United States? Why Estimated Need Updating. Sign Language Studies.
Gallaudet University Press Journals.
Ballin, Albert. 1930. The Deaf Mute Howls. Los Angeles, CA: Grafton Publishing Company.
Verditz, George. 1913. Youtube George Verditz preservation of sign language quote
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiBWnG9tDTs
Allison. 2013. Typed of Sign Language and Their Development. Accredited Language Service.