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American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete and complex form of communication with its own word styles and word arrangements in sentences. ASL sign language involves the use of hand gestures, body posture and facial expressions to communicate. ASL sign language is among the top five most commonly used languages in the US and is the primary for many deaf people.
ASL sign language is said to have come from French Sign Language (FSL). However, it has been argued ASL was prevalent even before FSL was introduced in America. FSL was introduced by a French teacher named Laurent Clerc in 1817. Laurent Clerc began teaching FSL in Connecticut. The American form bears similarity to the French, however the language which was most crucial in the formation and development cannot be determined.
Sight is the most powerful sense a deaf person can possess. ASL sign language uses this sense to its advantage to enable easy communication for the hard-of-hearing. Hence, visual cues are used to make words for communication. Similar to foreign dialects, ASL may be difficult to learn and fluency is possible only with frequent study and use.
ASL sign language contains all the elements necessary to function on its own including grammar, punctuations and syntax. Just as an English speaker uses a certain tone of voice for asking a question, ASL users do the same by raising their eyebrows and tilting their body forward.
ASL sign language classifiers explain the appearance of something moving and the location of that object. It serves as a grammar equivalent of what a pronoun does in English. Classifiers are an important part of signing. If you are learning to become an interpreter, then you must learn to use and identity these parts of speech.
An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not apparent from the words which form the expression. In English, when we use the phrase “break a leg,” we do not mean literally to break a leg but instead is a way to wish someone good luck. ASL sign language has its own set of idioms which are completely different from the idioms used in English. Idioms translated from English to ASL are not the same as ASL sign language idioms.
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Like with other languages, users of ASL sign language can use various synonyms of words to express an idea they have. English is spoken differently in various parts of the Country. There will always be a slight or prominent change in slang, accent and pronunciation of English in different places. ASL sign language is similar to this concept. There usually is a change in how the words are communicated in different regions. In addition, age, gender and ethnicity play a role in the way the language is used and contribute to its variety.