American Sign Language

American Sign Language (ASL), described in this entry, is the visual-motor language used among members of the deaf community in the United States. ASL is one of many different sign languages used by deaf persons around the world. In most countries, deaf persons have their own distinct sign language. Once ASL and other signed languages were recognized as true languages, investigators began examining how the modality difference between spoken and signed languages affected language acquisition, language structure, and brain processing.

For centuries, the sign languages used by deaf persons were not accepted as true languages and often were depicted as consisting primarily of pantomimic gestures. Such pantomimic gestures or “pictures in the air” were not seen as constituting a valid symbol system. Although some ASL signs are pantomimic and clearly resemble the objects, actions, or properties for which they stand, the meanings of most ASL signs are difficult for nonsigners to guess correctly. Rather, the meanings associated with most ASL signs depend on the usage of these signs within the signing American deaf population.

Today, most scholars accord full linguistic status to ASL and other sign languages. The person most responsible for changing people's views about the linguistic basis of sign languages was William Stokoe. Stokoe's pioneering research showed that ASL signs had a distinct linguistic structure and that this structure was different from that of English and other spoken languages. After examining the formational structure of numerous ASL signs, Stokoe proposed that three aspects of sign formation distinguished any one sign from another. These three formational elements were the place or location where a sign was made, the shape or configuration of the hand(s), and the action or movement of the hand(s) and arm(s) while making the sign. Altogether, Stokoe identified 55 different locations, handshapes, and movements from which all ASL signs were composed. These different formational elements operate in a manner largely analogous to phonemes in spoken languages.

Studies of the historical origins of ASL have shown a strong influence of French Sign Language. This influence is related to the establishment of public education programs for deaf students. In 1815, American Thomas H. Gallaudet traveled to Europe to learn about educational programs for deaf students. He returned to the United States with Laurent Clerc, a highly talented teacher from the school for deaf students located in Paris. In 1817, Gallaudet and Clerc helped establish the first public school for deaf students in the United States, now known as the American School for the Deaf. As a prominent teacher there, Clerc relied heavily on his knowledge of French Sign Language. Many of the signs used at the American School were widely disseminated when pupils went home and teachers moved to other newly established schools for deaf students. Some ASL signs, moreover, appear to stem from the indigenous sign-communication systems present among deaf persons in the early United States. Finally, because ASL is a vibrant, living language, new signs frequently are added to its lexicon as the need arises.

ASL and other signed languages may be learned at different ages and in different ways than spoken languages. The hearing status of the parents often affects how children acquire ASL. Most children (hearing or deaf) of deaf parents learn to sign much like hearing children of hearing parents learn to speak. These deaf parents model ASL usage and engage their children in conversation using ASL. Most deaf children, however, are born to hearing parents. Because these parents traditionally do not sign, their children often do not learn ASL until they attend a school for deaf students or join a deaf community organization. This process appears to be changing as more hearing parents and teachers learn to sign.

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