American Sign Language Literature

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was a hearing minister that designed American Sign Language, which is the first language used by deaf and hearing people in the United States and Canada. Two thousand hundred million people are using ASL, and at least five thousand hundred people are using it as their most important way of communication. Throughout a period, Deaf people in America were already using sign language, in the early 1800’s; Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet had become friends with a young Deaf girl named Alice. Gallaudet started to teach the girl a few words, and succeeded at doing so. In 1815, Gallaudet went to Europe in search of methods of teaching the Deaf. He approached a number of program directors, the signs used at the school for the deaf, and the signs began to develop into American Sign Language. American Sign Language in America also has

“You have to be deaf to understand the deaf”’ is a deaf poem by Willard Madsen, and he was written at 1971’s. He was a professor of journalism and former Associate Professor of Sign Language at Gallaudet University. He was born from Peabody, Kansas in 1930s. He lost his hearing to scarlet fever when he was two age. He attended public junior high school before he transferring to Kansas school for the Deaf at Olathe. He went on to study at Gallaudet. He graduating in 1952s with a degree in the education. He do taught at the Louisiana school for the Deaf for five years after, he received a master’s degree from Louisiana State University. After he joined to Gallaudet faculty in 1957s, and he taught at gallaudet for 39 years when he have retirement at 1996s. His career was spent to teaching journalism and english to preparatory students. He was a founding member of American Sign language Teachers Association, which provided certification for sign teachers across the country. He wrote two text book for sign language but, he was well known as a poets in both American Sign Language and English. Classics of Deaf cultures are “You have to be deaf to Understand” and “NO!”.

Benjamin James Bahan who was born by Deaf parents in New Jersey was very passionate about American Sign Language and Deaf Literature. As a child he attended Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf in West Trenton, New Jersey as well as Gallaudet University where he is now a professor and chair of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies. Upon returning to Gallaudet University as a professor and chairs person in 1996 he went to The Salk Institute in La Jolla where he researched American Sign Language linguistics and acquisitions as well as receiving his masters degree in Deaf Education and helped operate the Deaf Studies Program in the School of Education at Boston University. Lucky for Ben, while attending Boston University he met his wonderful wife who was not only Deaf but had Deaf parents just like him.

“To the hearing world, the deaf community must seem like a secret society. Indeed, deafness is a culture every bit as distinctive as any an anthropologist might study.” (Walker 1986) Lou Ann Walker’s autobiographical book, “A Loss for Words” details the story of her childhood with two deaf parents. She is the oldest of three children, with two sisters who are named Kay Sue and Jan Lee. All of their names were chosen for ease of lipreading for her parents. As she is the eldest of the three, she begins to act as an interpreter, and does so; often dealing with store keepers, mechanics, and others who would not know American Sign Language, but who would still need to understand what her parents are saying. Lou Ann, as she grows up, realizes

The Book I decided to read is called “Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf”. In this book the author Oliver Sacks basically focuses on Deaf history and the community of the deaf developed toward linguistic self-sufficiency. Sacks is a Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He became interested in the problem of how deaf children acquire language after reviewing a book by Harlan Lane. The book was titled “When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf”. This book was first published in 1984 and was published again in 1989. Before reading Harlan’s book Sacks did not know any sign language. The book encouraged him to begin studying sign language. Sacks became extremely interested on how the deaf learn to communicate with the ability of sound being nonexistent. He wanted to know what this process may tell us about the nature of language. Seeing Voices is made up of three chapters, the history of the deaf, a discussion of language and the brain, and an evaluation of the problems behind the student strike that occurred at Gallaudet University, in March of 1988.

Famous poet and activist Bryant H. McGill, once wrote, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” In a rather perverse case of irony, there is no culture that this speaks to more than the deaf community. The unsettling reality of oppression is that if you are not exposed or affected by it, you are not aware of its existence. This is the category that I have found myself a part of while learning ASL and by extension about the deaf community. In learning about the diverse and multi-sided culture that is the deaf community I can say with certainty that the prejudice they experience is not only horrifying but also unfounded.

Introduction to American Deaf Culture by Thomas K. Holcomb is a “comprehensive textbook” that explains a cultural perspective of Deaf people, and how Deaf culture is experienced and has evolved over time. He defines culture and how it relates to the Deaf community, while also teaching the audience about demographic data, misconceptions, and diversity. This book talks about the tensions between the Deaf community and the disabled community, Deaf literature and film, and effective living solutions for Deaf individuals. Thomas K. Holcomb is a Deaf Studies professor at a college in California, where he teaches his students ASL/English interpretation, along with Deaf education and culture. Many people in his family are deaf, and he is considered a “leading authority on Deaf culture”.

“The Sound of Color” opened my eyes to the intricacies of American Sign Language. My only experiences with Deaf families and Deaf communities comes from the book “Burn Down the Ground” by Kambri Crews and the information I learned in CDS 201. Needless to say, I have a lot to learn. Uhlberg’s description of all the different ways people can display their sex, geographic origin, and personality through their use of sign enlightened me. I can vividly imagine a person who is shy, signing in a reserved, guarded and confined fashion, and then I see the person who is outgoing, signing in an expansive, full bodied and overly expressive way. Although people speaking in ASL may not have an audibly loud or soft voice, I now understand

Since its beginning, Deaf theatre has been a powerful force in shaping the public’s understanding of Deaf culture, establishing ASL, and providing opportunities for Deaf performers. The first formal theatre production was performed at Gallaudet University in 1884. Gallaudet University began offering formal drama classes in 1940 (Lane 145). Since then, Deaf theatre has grown in popularity, with performances across the world. Deaf performing artists have won Tony’s, Emmy’s and Oscar’s

American Sign Language is the interesting, logical, and fun to learn. ASL is the fourth most-used languages in the United States. ASL is used for hearing people to get the messages across to Deaf people and Deaf community. Deaf people use American Sign Language to communicate with their friends, family or their loved one who is deaf. Now parents are teaching their babies to learn ASL. The American Sign Language gives children, their confidence, and self-esteem in their lives. Deaf Community vs. Hard of hearing is a different point of view, and their impact was to have opportunities to have new friendships, connection to other people in the hard-of-hearing community and to be able to talk with hard of hearing people easier.

Both Humphries and Padden work together to create a pathway into the cultural life of deaf people. This is portrayed through a collection of personal stories, cultural and historical events, and artistic compilations that authors provide from an insider perspective. Throughout the reading I was engaged to readjust my understanding of the Deaf experience, evoking reactions and inspiration that I will share throughout this paper.

Language plays an essential role in the development and unification of a culture or nation. American Sign Language (ASL) is a combination of expressions, movements, and gestures that enable the Deaf Community to communicate with one another. ASL is a visual language and without having any words spoken, thousands of ideas and emotions could be expressed. Two films that help convey the significance of ASL are Beyond Silence and Love is Never Silent. These works revolve around the lives of Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs) and the struggles that they have encountered by being born into deaf families.

Deafness has been an obstacle thousands of people have had to overcome since the dawn of time. Even in the not so distant past, the future was typically very bleak for individuals who were born or became deaf. However, the future of an individual who is Deaf has become much brighter due to the development of American Sign Language. As the name describes, this language relies solely on visible movements and facial expressions with no auditory expression needed.

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

Rilke's words to the aspiring poet instantly brought American Sign Language to mind. Prior to freshman year of high school, I had not possessed the slightest knowledge of the deaf community, their language, their beliefs, or their customs. Since then, I have immersed myself into these things to the extent that was then possible.