AMERICAN SIGN

LANGUAGE
LEI3723L
ASHLEY RAMPHAL

W H AT I S A M E R I C A N S I G N
LANGUAGE?
According to the National Association for the Deaf (NAD):
American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual language. With
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.
Sign language is not universal. Countries each have their
own sign language, and some languages even differ by region.
ASL is uniquely characterized by grammar and syntax, like
other sign language.

HISTORY OF ASL
Sign language can be traced back to France, which many
consider the birthplace. In the 1700s, a Catholic clergyman
named Charles Michele de lEpee took it upon himself to
educate deaf commoners about the Catholic Church. He
noticed that deaf people had a way of using gestures to
communicate, and that the gestures were specific and
uniform, like spoken language.
Epee realized that in order to teach deaf people, he would
have to communicate with them. He began to learn the sign
language of the commoners, and eventually opened a school in
the 1760s which enrolled at least 200 students.

HISTORY OF ASL
In 1815, a minister named Thomas Gallaudet started to teach
his young deaf neighbor the alphabet. The girls father
sponsored Gallaudet to go to Europe, where there was talk of
deaf people being formally educated. In London, Gallaudet met
Epees successor, Roch-Ambroise Sicard, and followed him to
France. Gallaudet then learned French Sign Language, and
traveled back to America with his newfound knowledge and
one of the most eloquent signers at the time, Lauren Clerc.

HISTORY OF ASL
Together, Gallaudet and Clerc opened the American Asylum for
the Deaf and Dumb in 1817. Students were taught FSL, which they
mixed with their own home gestures and methodical gestures that
Gallaudet had used prior to his trip. Combined, this formed the
beginnings of American Sign Language.
Schools were opened up across the country, and the original
institute remains open in Hartford to this day (dumb is removed
from the name). In 1861, President Lincoln opened a school for
deaf students in Washington D.C., and appointed Gallaudets son
as the president. The school remains open and is now known as
Gallaudet University.

P O PU L AT I O N S T H AT U S E
ASL
Though the World Federation of the Deaf
approximates that 70 million people worldwide use
sign language as a first language, not all sign
language is the same. As discussed previously, sign
language varies from country to country and region
to region.
According to the NAD, there are approximately
250,000-500,000 ASL users in the United States and
Canada. However, this number can vary, as ASL
users have never been counted by the U.S. census.
The above number is based on a 1972 study.

LEARNING ASL
Deaf children who are born to deaf parents acquire
the language naturally through their parents.
9 out of 10 deaf children are born to parents who
can hear. Most parents with deaf children choose to
teach their children ASL, who in turn, adapt quickly
to the language despite having parents who are not
fluent in sign language.

COSTS &
MAINTENENCE

COSTS & MAINTENANCE

IMAGES OF ASL

IMAGES OF ASL

IMAGES OF ASL

REFERENCES