What Is Sign Language?
Sign language is a language you express by using your hands and face instead of spoken words. It’s most commonly used by people in the Deaf community.
How many types of sign language are there?
There are over 150 different types of sign languages that researchers have documented. Many more exist – some experts estimate around 300 to 450 types – but there isn’t an official record of exactly how many there are.
One of the reasons for this is that sign languages often overlap. They may also have differences in dialect (a group’s specific form of a language) that make it difficult to put them in distinct categories.
What Is American Sign Language (ASL)?
American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete language that’s different from English. It even has different grammar than English does. It has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, word order rules, and word formation.
ASL isn't simply “signed English.” It’s an entirely separate language. There’s a sign system that was created in the 1970s called Signed Exact English (SEE). This is a word-for-word representation of spoken English, but it’s different from ASL. Instead, it uses spelled-out words with the exact same sentence structure and grammar as the spoken English language.
Is ASL a universal language?
Sign language is different all over the world. Just like spoken languages are unique for each country, people who use sign language in different countries communicate with different sign languages.
Americans who speak English can typically understand someone from another English-speaking nation such as England or Australia. But someone signing with ASL wouldn’t be able to understand someone signing with British Sign Language (BSL).
Even within one type of sign language, there can be different accents and dialects, just as there are for spoken languages. Similarly to how there are certain terms that are part of Northern American English and others that are part of Southern American English, ASL has different varieties of slang terms, signs, and phrases. This not only depends on where the person is using it, but also their age and sex.
Where do people use ASL?
ASL is the main language of most Americans and Canadians who are deaf or hard of hearing. Some hearing people in these places also use ASL.
ASL history
ASL’s roots go back over 200 years to the 1800s. There wasn’t a single person or group who started it. Historians aren’t clear on exactly where it began. But they think it may have come from a mixture of French Sign Language (LSF) and local sign languages.
Over time, these different local sign languages and LSF came together and formed one cohesive language. Even decades after its creation, governments, schools, and organizations didn’t recognize it as an official language. But in the 1950s, that began to shift.
William C. Stokoe, an English professor at Gallaudet College (now University) in Washington, D.C., began studying ASL to figure out its structure and form. He eventually helped create the Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles in 1965. This helped the language make its way into classrooms. It then became adopted as an official language.
Today, ASL is the fourth most-used language in the U.S.
American Sign Language Alphabet
The ASL alphabet is a system of shapes you make with your hands to sign the letters of the English alphabet. It’s also called the American Manual Alphabet. Even though it also uses 26 letters, it only requires 22 handshapes. Certain letters require the same handshape held at different angles or with movement that creates a separate letter.
The ASL alphabet only uses one hand for each letter. Some other sign languages, such as British Sign Language, use two hands for one letter.
What is fingerspelling?
Fingerspelling (also called dactylology) is the use of the ASL alphabet to spell out words with your hands letter by letter, instead of using a sign for a word or concept as a whole.
Sometimes, signers use fingerspelling if there isn’t a sign for a certain word. For example, fingerspelling can be used for people's names, places, titles, and brands. Other times, they spell out words that have been misunderstood or are new to their conversation partner.
Black American Sign Language vs. ASL
Black ASL is a dialect of American Sign Language (ASL). It was created within Black Deaf communities that were segregated from the wider community. Black ASL uses space, hand use, directional movement, and facial expression in ways unique to the community that created it.
Most non-Black ASL users don’t know the language. For the Black Deaf community, it has become a symbol of unity, familiarity, and identity.
Why Is American Sign Language Important?
ASL is a valuable way to communicate for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Methods such as lip reading are one-way forms of communication. Most people who have their lips read by a deaf person won’t be able to read lips back.
ASL allows members of the Deaf community to fully express themselves. It breaks down barriers, allows for healthy social skills, and creates inclusivity.
If you’re a parent to a deaf or hard-of-hearing child, experts suggest that you expose them to language as soon as possible. This often leads them to ASL. The earlier your child starts to pick up a language, the better their development will be.
ASL is a language very young children can learn even in the first year of life.
Who Uses Sign Language?
Anyone can learn and use sign language. It’s the primary way many people communicate. For others, it’s a secondary language. Most commonly, ASL is used by:
- People in the Deaf community
- People who are hard of hearing
- People who can’t speak
- People with auditory processing disorder
- People with autism
- Children of deaf parents or parents of deaf children
Many parents choose to teach their hearing babies and young children sign language. Before a child learns to use words well, communication can be difficult and lead to frustration. Sign language can help bridge that gap. Commonly used signs for toddlers include “more,” “all done,” “where,” and “milk.”
How Does American Sign Language Work?
ASL is set up differently than spoken English. For example, in spoken English, you indicate that you’re asking a question by raising the pitch of your voice or by using a specific word order. In ASL, you ask a question by raising your eyebrows, making your eyes wider, and leaning forward.
Grammar and sentence structure are different, too. Subjects, objects, verbs, and time take slightly different places in sentences. Example:
English: I (subject) went (verb) to Ireland (object) a year ago (time).
ASL: last year (time) me (subject) went (a combination of go + finish) Ireland (object).
ASL typically doesn’t use separate signs for articles such as “a,” “an,” or “the.”
What’s a sign name?
Your sign name in ASL is an individual and unique name you get from a deaf person. It may not be the same as your given name. Your sign name might be:
- Descriptive, inspired by a physical feature, character trait, job, etc.
- Initialized, based on the first letter of your spoken name
Getting a sign name from a member of the Deaf community is an honor. If you don’t yet have one, you’ll fingerspell your name to those you talk to in ASL.
How to Learn American Sign Language (ASL)
As you begin your ASL education, make sure you’re using good sources as your teacher. Although there are many free and widely available resources out there, many are made by hearing people who may not use ASL the same way most deaf people use it.
You can learn ASL through classes at:
- Community colleges
- Libraries
- Local colleges and universities
- Community centers for deaf people
- Speech and hearing centers
- Deaf education programs within local mainstreamed schools
Other organizations can point you to resources or may offer their own classes, such as:
- American Sign Language Teachers Association
- National Association for the Deaf
- State commissions/Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- State chapters of the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID)
How to Practice Sign Language
A useful way to practice ASL is by practicing with a willing partner who’s deaf and uses ASL. Through conversation with someone who uses it daily, you’ll pick up faster on the proper way to communicate through ASL.
You can also:
- Go to events
- Join a class
- Watch videos online
- Use apps that teach ASL
- Hire a tutor
Most importantly, stay consistent. The more often you try to use ASL, the more comfortable you’ll get with it.
Takeaways
American Sign Language (ASL) is a type of sign language typically used by deaf or hard-of-hearing people in the United States and Canada. It’s a separate language from English, with its own grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structures. ASL uses signs, fingerspelling with hands, and facial expressions.
American Sign Language (ASL) FAQs
Can I teach myself American sign language?
While it’s possible to teach yourself ASL, you’ll get the best practice through a certified teacher. You’ll also want to practice with another person who knows ASL to really get the hang of it.
Can I give myself a sign name?
Giving yourself your own sign name if you’re not a part of the Deaf community is frowned upon. This custom is similar to the Indigenous custom of giving names to honorary members from the outside.
Is American Sign Language hard to learn?
ASL may seem difficult to learn because of its distinct grammar and sentence structure rules. The addition of hand movement adds a layer to learning that makes it more complex. But the process is similar to learning a different spoken language.
What’s the difference between sign language and ASL?
Sign language is the umbrella term for any language you use to communicate by hand, finger, and facial gestures instead of spoken words. American Sign Language (ASL) is a specific sign language used by people who live in the U.S. and Canada.
How long does it take to learn American sign language?
It takes around three months to three years to have a solid working knowledge of sign language. But it can take many more years after that to have a complete, advanced understanding of ASL. Some people pick up these skills faster than others. How long it takes you will depend on how seriously you practice. If you’re able to practice often, you’ll advance quicker than if you’re more casual in your lessons.
Is there a free way to learn ASL?
Many videos and apps are free to use and can teach you ASL. Some of them are free to download and access basic features, but you may run into fees as you get further into your learning. Make sure that any free resource you use is based on ASL in the way that the Deaf community uses it, not simply in the way a hearing person who has learned ASL would. Hearing people may not model it in the same way a deaf person would.
Can you learn ASL in 3 months?
While you may be able to learn many of the basics – and be good at them – in three months or less, it typically takes years to be fluent in ASL, just as it would for any other language you learn.