Download ASL History and ASL basics ASL is not a written language ASL is

ASL History and ASL basics
ASL is not a written language
ASL is not a universal language
ASL is a mix of English home signs and formal French Sign Language
ASL stands for American Sign Language
Sign language was developed by Spanish monks after a vow of silence.
The father of ASL is William Stoke (he is a hearing man)
Thomas Gallaudet (hearing American) and Laurent Clerc (Deaf Frenchman)
created ASL.
Gallaudet University is in Washington DC. It is the only University specifically for
Deaf people. It was founded by Thomas Gallaudet’s grandson.
Changing English into ASL is called glossing.
The sentence order of ASL is Time-Topic-Comment-Question or Subject-ObjectVerb
There is no “ONE CORRECT SIGN”. How words are signed change depending
on the age of the person signing, where they are from, and how they
learned. Signs are different not wrong.
The sign for a word depends on the meaning behind that word in context.
Fingerspelling
When fingerspelling in sign language you should NOT twist or throw your letters.
When signing you should NOT switch hands.
There is NO sign for a space, YOU JUST PAUSE.
You should fingerspell proper nouns, titles, name brands, words that don’t have a
sign, words you don’t know the sign for, names of cities and states.
You can shorten a state’s name by using the postal abbreviation, but be
prepared to spell it out if people don’t understand what you mean.
If you sign a word and people don’t understand that sign then you can fingerspell.
If you are trying to emphasis a word you can fingerspell it AFTER you sign it.
When fingerspelling double letters you can slide, bounce or pop the letters. You
will see all of them. What you do can and will change depending on the
word you are spelling. The expectations are zz and jj.
When fingerspelling you should keep your hand at shoulder level just below your
chin.
There is no real way to show capitalized letters when fingerspelling. If you’re
unsure then ask.
When reading fingerspelling watch the word as a whole. Do NOT read each
individual letter.
Do not voice the letters when reading fingerspelling.
SIGN NAMES
Name signs can only be given by a DEAF person.
You can NOT change your sign name.
Two types of sign names are arbitrary and descriptive.
Arbitrary is a common sign name that does not have a connection to the person.
Descriptive sign names are connected to the person’s look, personality, or
interest.
Once you have a sign name you still need to fingerspell your name when
meeting a new person, then show them your sign name.
Sign names can be used to talk about people in the room or not in the room.
There is NO ASL sign for Mr., Miss, Ms., or Mrs. It is not considered rude to only
call people by their name. You are just expected to have a respectful face.
Introductions
Introduction in Deaf culture will include
Your name
Your age
Where you live
Where you go to school
If you are deaf or hearing
How you know sign language
Who your teacher is
Deaf Culture basics
It is rude to not sign in front of a Deaf person if you know how.
Deaf people ask a lot of questions. Deaf people are blunt. It’s their culture to ask
personal questions because they are trying to find out information.
90% of Deaf people have hearing parents. Few parents of Deaf children are
fluent in sign, most know very little sign language if any at all.
Signing Need to Know
Dominate hand – the hand you sign with (usually the hand you write with). This
will be the hand that moves during two handed signs.
Non Dominate hand – the hand you DO NOT sign with (usually the hand you DO
NOT write with). This will be the hand that stays still when signing two
handed signs.
Non Manual Marker – (NMM, or NMS) commonly called facial expression. It
shows meaning, and is a specific facial expression made when signing a
specific word.
Eyebrows down means you want an answer (usually an explanation). It means
you are asking a question about who, what, where, when, why, or how.
Eyebrows up means you are asking a yes or no question, and want a yes or no
answer.
A straight face means you are making a statement, and want no answer in
return.
Pointing back to yourself or the person you are talking to is called a closing signal
and it shows that you are finished talking and it is the other person’s turn.
An agent marker is the “person” sign. When added to a verb it means a person
who does the verb.
Your sign space is the space where most of your signs are made. It is from your
head to below your chest, and shoulder to shoulder.
Nouns are signed with a double motion- meaning they are signed twice. Nouns
also do not “travel”.
Verbs are signed one time. Verbs also “travel” across the sign space.
Iconic Signs are signs that look like the word that the sign represents. Usually
verbs and a few nouns. Ex: Ice cream, basketball
Non Iconic Signs are signs that DO NOT look like the word that the sign
represents. Ex: locker, student, pretty
Abbreviations
FS – Fingerspelling
DM – double motion
DH – Dominate hand
NDH – Non Dominate hand
WH – who, what, where, when, why, how questions
Y/N – Yes, No question
Famous Deaf People
Thomas Gallaudet – Taught English to Deaf students.
- Traveled to France to find someone to help teach and
communicate with Deaf students.
- His mother and wife were Deaf.
- He helped Establish the first school for the Deaf in America
- The only college for the Deaf is named after him.
- He is hearing.
Laurent Clerc
– French Deaf man
Has a scar on his cheek from an accidental burn as a child.
Helped to teach Deaf children in ASL
With Thomas Gallaudet founded the first school for the Deaf
in America.
- Is the first Deaf teacher of the Deaf in America.
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Charles-Michel de L’Eppe – Father of French Sign Language.
- Taught Sign Language to Laurent Clerc
- 1760 Opened the world’s first free school for the Deaf
- His system is called Methodical Signs or Old French
Signs
- He was taught to sign by a Deaf “sister” in his parish
(church)
William Stoke
- Proved that Sign Language was a real language with a
different grammar and structure than English.
- He was an English professor at Gallaudet University
- He is considered the “Father of ASL”
- He is hearing.
- He finished his research on ASL in 1960.
Ann Sullivan
-Born April 1866
-Taught Helen Keller language by using Sign Language
alphabet
-Ann had issues with her vision
-Was poor as a child
-Started teaching Helen at the age of 20.
-Stayed with Helen as her teacher until she died at age 86.
Juliette Gordon-Low
-Founder of Girl Scouts
-She became deaf in one ear at age 25 when her
mother used silver nitrate to fix an ear infection
-At age 26 during her wedding a grain of rice lodged
in her ear and when it was removed is damaged her ear
drum and causing her to be completely deaf. She then
began to learn sign language.
-The first meeting and founding of the Girl Scouts America
happened March 12, 1912
Abraham Lincoln
University
-Signed the charter to establish the Gallaudet
-He signed the charter in 1864 after an act of
Congress
- He has be greatly appreciated by the Deaf
community
- His statue seems to have his hands in the shape of
an A and L.
- The man who carved the statue of Abraham Lincoln
had a Deaf daughter
George Veditz
-1907 Elected President of the National Association
for the Deaf (NAD)
- He was one of the first to film sign language
- He was in strong support of preserving sign
language
- He fought for the Deaf to have their own culture
- After 1997 the United States honored him with a
George Veditz ASL Festival that celebrates deaf culture
Marlee Matlin
- Famous Deaf Actress
- Won an Oscar for her Role in the movie "Children of
a Lesser God"
- At age 21 she was the youngest Actress to receive
the honor of Best Actress at the Oscars.
- She has written three children books about her
childhood and one autobiography of the joys and struggles
of her life.
- She is a philanthropist
Important Events in Deaf Culture
Deaf President Now
- Happened at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. in
1988
- Students at the school protested because a hearing woman,
who did not know sign language and refused to learn it, was
elected as president of the school.
- She was chosen by an all hearing school board, they chose
her over an equally qualified Deaf man.
- The protest lasted 4 days
- At the end of the protest Gallaudet University elected it’s first
Deaf President
- The protest got world wide news coverage.
Hearing / The Ear
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There are tiny hairs inside your ear called cillia. When sound waves touch them
they send signals to your brain telling your brain what kind of sound it is. You can
damage your cillia causing them not to work, they can not grow back.
The cochlea is the hard bone behind your ear. It is shaped like a snail. Your
auditory nerve is inside the cochlea. The auditory nerve is what sends messages
about sound to your brain.
A hearing aid makes sounds louder. You can take them on and off without
problems.
A cochlear implant is a device they put in your head with surgery. It takes over
the job of the auditory nerve. When you take the implant off you are completely
deaf.
Numbers in ASL
 Cardinal numbers are used to describe quantities.
EX: (1 dog, three cats, 4lbs of dog food)
 #1-5: palm orientation facing toward signer.
 #6-9: palm orientation facing outward.
 #11 & 12: palm orientation facing toward, in/out
 #13-15: palm orientation facing toward signer (waving numbers)
 #16-19 : begin with 10 handshape and end with the hand twisting outward to
form the number.
 #20- 29 (except # 22) Handshape L & the number
 Multiples of 11: the number handshape is repeated and bounced twice.
 Ordinal numbers explain the position of something in an ordered set or group. In
ASL ordinal numbers show placement, rank, or order.
 Rocking Numbers - ( 68, 76, 97) The signs have a twisting movement to
emphasize clarify the position of the thumb as it shifts from one fingertip to the
other, creating the number combination.
 The numbers 100-109 are handled so the 0 is clearly shown: 101, 102, 103,
104, 105, etc.
 For most of the incorporating numbers, the rule in ASL is known as the RULE of
NINE. That is where any number from 1-9 is incorporated into the sign for time,
money, and etc.
Example: Hour/Time: 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, etc. BUT for 10 hours,
sign “10” then “hour”.
Money/Dollars: $1, $2, $3, etc. “10 dollars”
Years/Time: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, etc.
Months/Time: 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, etc.
 ASL uses space to indicate a fraction by signing the numerator (upper number),
and then dropping the hand and signing the denominator (lower number).
Rule: When the numerator and denominator are single digits, the palm faces
inward.
 Number Approximation - Sign the number and add “dash” representing unsure
of monetary value.
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Example: “Nine dollars, something.”
Show signs for Ages: “Around 30 years old” or “In her 50’s.”
Another set of numbering in ASL showing quantity using number 1 to 5 telling
“how many” and “how much” There are other numeric handshapes using
fingertips in contact with palm of hand.
Another way is to indicate the number of an athlete’s jersey: Number 15,
Number 55, Number 25, etc.
Number Representation - This part of numbering in ASL is extremely important
part of ASL structure. The signs use a number handshape with incorporation
with movement or location or a noun to express a meaning.
Example: number of baby teeth (2 top, 1 bottom), five people
approaching to me, 2 of us, four of us, five of us, six of us, etc., four couples
dating together, one person approaching 2 people, etc.
Identification numbering in ASL is stated differently than quantitative numbers.
For example, street number would be signed as 2-3-0-2 rather than as two
thousand three hundred two. OR can be signed 23-02.
RULE TO REMEMBER: the numbers 1-5 palm facing outward, NOT
inward!
This numbering system applies for the following information: personal ID, social
security, phone numbers, addresses, etc.