American Sign Language

Despite the perceived limitations of being Deaf or hearing impaired and various forms of oppression and social injustice, Deaf Americans identify themselves as members of a cultural community and linguistic group – which highly values literacy. Through the use of American Sign Language (ASL), Deaf and hearing impaired individuals and groups are given a unique way to express themselves personally – and with that, a totally different way to communicate through hands, faces and bodies without the use of sound. “Deaf culture focuses on the stimulation of the eyes and the enhanced visual

and not a cultural demographic in society (Thomson, 2018). The deaf community exists through language and a shared experience of audism. It should be pointed out that there is a difference between deaf community and signing community. Anyone who has experienced profound hearing loss and picks up a mode of sign language, for the purpose of defining community, including any deaf centric focused organization and/or business that makes sign language a primary point of its mission and not so much the inability to hear. Deafness should be reflective of sign language and not of disability. The boundaries of such communities are both global and online. Community exists where language exists. That is to say without visual mediums, you cannot have culture

The Deaf and hard of hearing program understands that proficiency in American Sign Language has

We exchange thousands of words everyday with people around us. Most of us gifted with the ability to listen to a friend, process it in our brain and respond through our mouth. However, there are some people who lack these kinds of ability, unfortunately. Unlike us, this group of people use sign language to communicate with others. For everyday life, deaf people use sign language to communicate with one another. It is a complete language that involves hand movement added with facial expression and body movements. According to National Associates of the Deaf (NAD), “American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual language. Through signing, the brain processes linguistic information through the eyes. The shape, placement, and movement of the hands, as well as facial expressions and body movements, all play important parts in conveying information.” American Sign Language is not a universal language. Just like spoken language, different types of sign languages are spoken in different countries. For example, United Kingdom use the British Sign Language (BSL), and Japan uses the Japanese Sign Language (NAD).

American Sign Language, or more commonly known as ASL, was founded more than 200 thousand years ago from different sign languages around the time. ASL, as suggested by its name, is not a universal sign language. If you were to go to and any other country, a person might be at a loss when the signs do not match up. Most people assume that sign language comes from just the hands, but everyday speakers add facial expression and some movement of their body. ASL requires a hearing person to do things very differently than how they normally act. For instance, when signing to a deaf or hard of hearing a person, one needs to face

C.I.: In American society today, people have a tendency to approach deafness as an imperfection. Our society has a habit of looking at sign language as a second-rate alternative for real communication. As a society we assume that all deaf people can read lips and give a round of applause to the deaf community for those who use their voices to express to us.

The Deaf community have their own culture that often goes misunderstood by those who are not involved with it. A lot of hearing people believe that the Deaf are sad to be deaf and that they are stupid and not capable of mundane tasks. American Sign Language is the language used by the Deaf community in Canada and the United States; ASL is not a universal language. In 1814 Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet wanted to teach his neighbors daughter how to communicate because she was deaf. At the time, America didn’t have a Deaf community or culture so he went to Europe to learn deaf education; they already had a forming language. He studied the language in Europe and decided that he would return to the US to establish a language there. In 1817, Gallaudet returned with Laurent Clerc, a teacher in Europe and founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.

My opinion about these issues/problems is that people have diverse perspective of deaf people’s knowledge. I believe deaf society are protective and romantic about sign language since they are dependent on them. Without sign language, there is no other way of expressing themselves or communicating so they are so grateful for this form of expression. Without this form they would have nothing and it helps them see things in different a different way than a person who would normally speak words. A person who normals talks would take advantage of what they have other than a deaf person who would be “overly sentimental about their adaptive means” (Dream in America voices of culture by carol madden and Tom Humphries)

There are thousands of languages spoken all over the world and hundreds spoken across the United States of America, but what about the language that isn’t technically spoken? The ability to speak in order to communicate is a privilege that most forget they have. Imagine the struggle of the injustice a person was served losing their ability to hear or speak normally. It’s heartbreaking because communication is so vital to a person’s life. However, imagine a system that allows these people to communicate without much problem. This system is actually classified as its own language and it’s called Sign Language. Sign Language a language that helps many with disabilities, and those who don’t have disabilities, communicate with each other. However, despite its huge impact on the deaf community Sign Language still has some room for improvement. Just like other languages though, there isn’t just one form of sign language. There are many types and variations of sign language based on environment and location. But the most commonly used and most commonly heard of would be American Sign Language or ASL for short. For the purpose of this essay, we’ll be discussing American Sign Language.

American Sign Language (ASL) is one of the most spoken languages in the United States. ASL has evolved over time and is no longer only used by those who are deaf. It is commonly used for people who are hard of hearing, completely deaf, people with autism and Down syndrome. Many parents have begun to use sign language with their babies to let them have a voice before they actually have a voice. There are many advantages to using sign with babies who are deaf but people see advantages and disadvantages to signing with babies who can hear.

Access to a language and the ability to communicate with other people is one of the most under appreciated tools used in day-to-day life. The majority of the hearing society has complete access to their native language because the majority of the world is hearing. However, a large number of deaf children are born into hearing families, which in many cases can lead to isolation from Deaf signers (Padden). In first world countries, it is fairly easy to learn a signed language and get connected to a Deaf community. However, many deaf citizens of third world countries don’t have access to a signed language, or the necessary education to live an interactive life. This is a problem I would like to solve.

Another huge event in the history of sign language was the Deaf President Now movement. The DPN movement unified deaf people of every age and background in a collective fight to be heard. Their triumph was a testament to the fact that they don’t have to accept society’s limitation on their culture.

Therefore, I proceeded to ask “Are you proud of your culture?” Adrian’s hands started to sign quickly that I needed to ask him to slow down because I stumbled. The glow in his eyes and his big smile then made me realize he loves his culture. He started off with, “The best thing about my deafness is that I can tune out annoying people.” I immediately started to laugh because as a hearing person I cannot do that unless I put on my earphones and have my music on full blast. He then continued, “One of the most interesting phenomenon of society is language. In my point of view I love how my culture uses hand signs and body gestures in order to communicate.” Many deaf people are proud of their roots because all cultures have their own set of behaviors that are acceptable. For the deaf community, it includes getting someone’s attention appropriately and using direct eye contact. Though deaf people face many struggles and judgement here in the United States, many deaf individuals refuse to get a cochlear implant because they believe that they might lose an essential part of themselves, the identity of being deaf. Deafness allows the deaf community to come together as a family; therefore, the American Sign Language Club offers many events to welcome everyone, deaf or hearing, to join and learn about each

What if you find out a family member is or will one day be deaf? Imagine yourself not being able to communicate with them, or imagine your family member living their life without any sound running through their ear drums. Of course there are options! They have the option to receive a cochlear implant, where they may be able to hear some sound, but not all. There is also the option of speech therapy and lip reading, which can be a lot of work to continuously read lips. Or, they can learn to communicate with sign language. Sign language is a different form of communicating that uses visual gestures and signs. Sign language is the best way to communicate with other deaf people, or anyone if they learn and can speak sign

Imagine using no spoken words, not hearing at all, yet at the same time communicating perfectly. By use of American Sign Language (ASL), many people communicate everyday. They share stories of hope and despair, trade ideas and opinions, cry and laugh. Their difference is one that is important in their lives, yet does not in any way decrease the value of those lives. Deafness is such a unique, insightful, and wonderful loss. It is one with such beauty and meaning. Deafness is one "disability" that isn't really a disability at all. Instead many prefer to look at it as a culture. The Deaf culture is made up of primarily deaf people who view their hearing loss as a different way of life. These people use their native tongue, American