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Development of sign language
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My Reflection on the American Sign Language
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American Sign Language, or ASL, has come a long way since it first originated. Before the language was established in the United Sates by Galludet and Clerc, the deaf didn’t know any of the established sighs and were not being taught anything. If the family had money, the deaf were sent off to an asylum. Once ASL was taught, Deaf people were being forced to learn how to speak verbally—many were not even allowed to sign and had to sit on their hands or hands were being slapped with rulers. American Sign Language is one language that has opened my eyes to a whole new community—one a majority of people does not know about. One I personally did not know. Learning ASL as a second language was easier for me to learn than Spanish. I found that the language was simple and easier to remember. Most of the signs are easy to understand, and make sense for what people who speak ASL are trying to convey. I still remember every one of the signs I was taught from more than a year ago. Everyone should learn ASL as a second language because it is one that has opened my eyes to a new world that everyone else needs to know about too. There are many benefits to learning ASL and developing a deeper meaning and understanding of the deaf culture. One of these benefits are all of the jobs that are available for people who are fluent in ASL. Some jobs include: interpreters, teachers, audiologists, and many more. Just by knowing ASL I know that I will always have access to a job. As an interpreter I would …show more content…
As advocate is a person who helps supports groups of individuals. By using my ASL and being an advocate, I can help by giving the deaf a voice. Often the deaf are misunderstood. People look at the deaf and think of them as disabled. This is not the case. Being deaf is not something you should feel sympathetic about. Deaf is not an illness. Often times, they are proud of their deafness and become offended when someone is sympathetic of
In my family, I have a close cousin who is Deaf, and I know that many of my family members have questions about Deaf culture but are too afraid to ask. I felt the same way, which was a main reason I decided to take the ASL class. The class not only opened my mind to the study of American Sign Language, but also how Deaf culture is used in our society. This book has helped me learn a lot, from ways to respect Deaf people and to understand them, which is why I have advised my family to give the book a look as well. I definitely agree with points this book makes, because nearly all of them relate to today’s society and the world that we live in right now. Although, occasionally, some points were a bit confusing and took me off-guard, I performed some critical thinking on it and made a list of those I didn’t quite understand or agree with.
In Ben Jarashow’s Journey Into the Deaf World, he explained Deaf culture and how it feels to be deaf within the world of those who hear. People who are born deaf have a loss of what is commonly viewed as the most important sense, hearing. This leaves them with four senses instead of five; most important sense now being sight followed by touch. In return, this means that a language must be developed that is based heavily on sight. In the United States, it was not until 1960 that American Sign Language (ASL) was recognized as its own language.
Acquiring a Language: American Sign Language vs. English In the Unites States and Canada, an estimated range of 500,00 to 2 million people speak/use American Sign Language. According to the Census Bureau, ASL is the leading minority language after Spanish, Italian German and French. ASL is the focal point of Deaf Culture and nothing is dearer to the Deaf people’s hearts because it is a store of cultural knowledge and also a symbol of social identity, and social interactions. It is a fully complete, autonomous and natural language with complex grammar not derived and independent of English.
“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things” (American). For centuries, people from all walks of life have been using their hands to communicate with one another, and for centuries people from all walks of life have been learning. Today I am following in their footsteps with a passion from God for the deaf language, culture, and souls. For almost a decade, an intense ardor for American Sign Language and a desire to reach its native users for Christ seeded itself in my soul, wove its roots deeper and deeper, and blossomed into one of the greatest loves of my life. American Sign Language is a unique language with a rich history that not only provides a service to people in the deaf culture, but also to hearing people who seek to attain fluency.
Sign language is a natural human language, they have their own vocabularies and sentence structures. Sign language comes into practice wherever Deaf societies come into existence. Sign language is not identical worldwide; every country has its own language and accents; however, these are not the verbal or transcribed languages used by hearing individuals around them.
When considering language, people often fail to include non-verbal language in the definition, in particular American Sign Language used by those who are deaf. Many believe that people who are deaf share the same culture as those who can hear, as the difference between hearing and non-hearing individuals raised in the same society is believed to be only sensory oriented. Yet deaf individual have been shown to have their own culture and many choose to use ASL exclusively, teaching it to their children, as the view it to be a critical aspect of maintaining deaf culture (Gallaudet).
American Sign Language is considered a foreign language by 40 states around the United States. American Sign Language is not considered a foreign language, because a foreign language is defined by “any language used in a country other than one’s own; a language that is studied mostly for cultural insight”. By definition American Sign Language does not fit that description because, it is only used in America. American Sign Language is also not qualified as a foreign language because people say that a language must have literature for proper study when American Sign Language does not, also people have argued that American Sign Language lacks the same element of culture as other foreign language courses. But in other cases American Sign Language can be considered a foreign language in many ways just as it cannot be considered a foreign language. Some of the reasons that American Sign Language can be considered a foreign language are, American Sign Language is no less a foreign language than Navajo, which is also indigenous to the United States. One huge step towards the thought of American Sign Language being considered a foreign language is that the whole idea of language being foreign is disappearing. I believe that American Sign Language is a foreign language and should be accepted in more states and more schools around the country.
Sign language is a method of communication for people who have hearing or speech impairments. Sign language is a language that is made up of gestures using the hands and some facial expressions which classifies it as a visual language. There are two different versions of sign language for english, American Sign Language (ASL) and Pidgin Signed English (PSE). Both are widely used across the world, but the signer who uses the versions and the syntax will be different, while the signs and the actual use will be the same.
In the U.S. the fourth most common language is American Sign Language. American Sign Language or ASL is a way of communication for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. As common as this language is, many people know nothing about it so i decided to open myself to this challenge. I decided to dedicate myself to this topic and learn as much information on this language. I wanted to open myself up to a whole new community just like i had in learning Spanish and French. I wanted to take the next few months and learn as much as possible about something that i honestly knew nothing about. So what is American Sign Language? How much can i learn in 3 months?
For centuries, deaf people across the globe have used sign language to communicate, mostly using it privately in their own homes as a part of everyday life. Just recently, in the early ‘60s, professional linguists had discovered new truths concerning sign language and its native users. The news of these truths spread like wildfire and, thus, many turned their attention to sign language and the deaf community. With a horde of hearing people and deaf people needing to interact and exchange information with each other, how would they do so with a large-scale communication barrier? Because of this issue, the art of sign language interpreting was born. Although at first glance it seems effortless, sign language interpreting is quite a complex process
In the United States today, approximately 4500 children are born deaf each year, and numerous other individuals suffer injuries or illnesses that can cause partial or total loss of hearing, making them the largest “disability” segment in the country. Although, those in the medical field focus solely on the medical aspects of hearing loss and deafness, members of the deaf community find this unwarranted focus limiting and restrictive; because of its failure to adequately delineate the sociological aspects and implications of the deaf and their culture. Present day members of deaf culture reject classifications such as “deaf mute” or “deaf and dumb”, as marginalizing them because of their allusions to a presumed disability. (Edwards, 2012, p. 26-30)
THESIS STATEMENT (central idea + preview statement): American Sign Language didn’t begin until 1814 which is fairly new language compared to modern languages such as English, Spanish, and French. ASL started when deaf education was first introduced in America. In this speech, we will be discussing the following: where, when, and why did ASL started, the history of Martha’s Vineyard, evolution of ASL, recognition of ASL as a real language.
The documentary of “Through Deaf Eyes” has open my eyes to the deaf culture. The movie has made it “click” that deaf people are just that people and individuals like me. Deaf community has its struggles just like everyone else. They struggle with growing into who they are as a person, harmful situations, and feeling a sense of belonging. They just speak a different language like Italians and Hispanics. Communicating with a different language does not make them lesser than a hearing person. When able to learn to communicate, the deaf are able to learn and gain knowledge just like a hearing person. The only difference is they have to learn more and work harder to achieve their goals and gain knowledge, which a hearing person learns just by hearing their surroundings.
I also feel that ASL is a beautiful language and should be given as a choice in language requirements in all grade levels. This language that was brought to us over 150 years ago could sustain and still be useful today for within our own country unlike Italian, French or German. It has some kind of magic that makes us want to learn and speak it when we do not have to. The fluent and rhythmic motions are mesmerizing and captivating and anyone with the means to learn it should.
American Sign Language has grown to become a popular outlet to fill the gap between hearing and deaf communication. Because of this, many schools, colleges, and universities teach the language to their students. However, the debate is whether it should be considered a foreign language and count for a foreign language credit. Although there are several kinds of sign languages, ASL is controversial because it is indigenous to the area like Navajo, the Native American language that was present here before Europeans settled in the U.S.