American Sign Language alphabet
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Fig. 5
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Contrary to popular belief, American Sign Language (ASL) is a real language. ASL is not a visual or signed form of English, as it has its own grammar, syntax, and forms. A Journey into the Deaf-World (Bahan, Hoffmeister & Lane, 1996) the authors discuss how the discovery that American Sign Language is a "complete natural language, quite independent of English", contradicts scholar's previous beliefs that signed languages were merely pantomime or other forms of spoken languages (p. 43).
American Sign Language can be used to discuss concrete and abstract ideas. It is not pictorial, as that would mean everything is easily understood. Since many people think that signed language is pictorial and concrete, they also might think that it is universal. This belief is wrong because all languages, signed languages included, naturally evolve based on the community that uses it. This means that each Deaf community has it's own language or language variances. For example, Canadians and Americans both use American Sign Language, but there are some regional differences such as the sign for "brown". Americans tend to use the sign for "brown", whereas Canadians also use the sign for "beer".
American Sign Language can be used to discuss concrete and abstract ideas. It is not pictorial, as that would mean everything is easily understood. Since many people think that signed language is pictorial and concrete, they also might think that it is universal. This belief is wrong because all languages, signed languages included, naturally evolve based on the community that uses it. This means that each Deaf community has it's own language or language variances. For example, Canadians and Americans both use American Sign Language, but there are some regional differences such as the sign for "brown". Americans tend to use the sign for "brown", whereas Canadians also use the sign for "beer".
American Sign Language is a beautiful language that I encourage anyone to learn! For more information about how to get started, visit http://www.chs.ca/services/sign-language-classes-individuals