What is Sign Language?
Sign Language (SL) is a complete, natural language that has the same linguistic properties as spoken languages, with grammar that differs from English. SL is expressed by movements of the hands, body and face. It is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing and is used by some hearing people as well.
Is sign language the same in other countries?
There is no universal sign language. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions. For example, British Sign Language (BSL) is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL. Some countries adopt features of ASL in their sign languages.
Where did ASL originate?
No person or committee invented ASL. The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear, but some suggest that it arose more than 200 years ago from the intermixing of local sign languages and French Sign Language (LSF, or Langue des Signes Française). Today’s ASL includes some elements of LSF plus the original local sign languages; over time, these have melded and changed into a rich, complex, and mature language. Modern ASL and modern LSF are distinct languages. While they still contain some similar signs, they can no longer be understood by each other’s users.
How is Sign Language compared with spoken language?
Sign Language is a language completely separate and distinct from English. It contains all the fundamental features of language, with its own rules for pronunciation, word formation, and word order. While every language has ways of signaling different functions, such as asking a question rather than making a statement, languages differ in how this is done. For example, English speakers may ask a question by raising the pitch of their voices and by adjusting word order; SL users ask a question by raising their eyebrows, widening their eyes, and tilting their bodies forward.
Just as with other languages, specific ways of expressing ideas in SL vary as much as SL users themselves. In addition to individual differences in expression, SL has regional accents and dialects; just as certain English words are spoken differently in different parts of the country, SL has regional variations in the rhythm of signing, pronunciation, slang, and signs used. Other sociological factors, including age and gender, can affect SL usage and contribute to its variety, just as with spoken languages.
Fingerspelling is part of SL and is used to spell out English words. In the fingerspelled alphabet, each letter corresponds to a distinct handshape. Fingerspelling is often used for proper names or to indicate the English word for something.
How do most children learn ASL?
Parents are often the source of a child’s early acquisition of language, but for children who are deaf, additional people may be models for language acquisition. A deaf child born to parents who are deaf and who already use ASL will begin to acquire ASL as naturally as a hearing child picks up spoken language from hearing parents. However, for a deaf child with hearing parents who have no prior experience with ASL, language may be acquired differently. In fact, 9 out of 10 children who are born deaf are born to parents who hear. Some hearing parents choose to introduce sign language to their deaf children. Hearing parents who choose to have their child learn sign language often learn it along with their child. Children who are deaf and have hearing parents often learn sign language through deaf peers and become fluent.
Just as numerous spoken languages exist globally, different sign languages are used in different regions. In fact, there are over 300 distinct sign languages worldwide. American Sign Language (ASL) is the primary form used in the United States, with variations like Black Sign Language emerging
due to geographical and community differences. Sign languages can vary significantly, with even single words signed differently across areas and slang terms specific to particular signing communities. Indigenous peoples may have their own unique sign languages, and some Deaf individuals use 'home signs' – personal gestures created in the absence of exposure to a specific sign language. Ultimately, this diversity underscores the rich complexity of sign languages, reflecting the unique characteristics of Deaf communities globally.