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| Classic Songs,
Carols, Hymns, Prayers and Pledges Adapted for Signs |
Sign a Phrase of Praise a Day |
ASL Baby Signs
& Baby Signs, TOO! Flash Card Sets |
ASL Seasons Signs: Summer, Fall, Winter Printable Flashcard Sets |
Introducing ASL to Health Care Professionals |
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| You are HERE >> Languages : American Sign Language (ASL) |
American Sign
Language
for the Deaf Lesson 1
By Elaine
Ernst Schneider
March
5, 2001
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One
baby in one thousand is born with a hearing loss so severe that he or
she
cannot understand speech through hearing alone, even with the use of a
hearing aid. These children most often converse through use of Total
Communication,
which is a combination of American Sign Language (ASL), informal
gestures,
finger spelling, facial expressions, body language, and spoken words.
American
Sign Language is the visual/gesturing part of Total Communication,
which
is the primary means of communication for deaf people in American and
most
of Canada.
American Sign Language is flourishing and is so extensively used that many colleges, air lines, commercial companies, and educational institutions recognize it as a second language. Some high schools and home school associations accept ASL as a foreign language credit, right alongside Spanish, French, and German. Those who sign can find professional fields in many areas, including science, law, community, and education. American
Sign Language often combines gestures and finger spelling to make a
visual
expression of language. For example, the same basic sign represents
“car”
when made with a “c” hand, “taxi” when made with a “t” hand, and “bus”
when made with the “b” hand position. Because some signs double for
several
related words, finger spelling is important when a certain word is to
be
conveyed and therefore is the first thing to be learned. Below is the
sign
language alphabet. These pictures were made from engravings by
Professor
Joseph C. Gordon, M.A., of the Deaf-Mute College. They were first
published
by Brentino Brothers in 1886. While signs for words have evolved and
changed
with time (1886 was before the Modern Rocket Age; hence, there was no
need
then for the gamut of rocket signs available today), finger spelling
has
remained much as it was in Professor Gordon’s day. Note the alphabet
markings
that are on the cuff links so that you may easily denote A – Z hand
signs.
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