Welcome back to my blog everyone! Today I am going to share a little bit of background information about American Sign Language. I started by finding my old ASL 100A textbook as I will use that as my primary resource for my inquiry project. The textbook “Signing Naturally” by Smith, Lentz, and Mikos provides a 6 unit guide to introductory ASL.

I have been inspired to inquire more about ASL as I feel this form of communication can be used in the future in my own classroom. My own exposure to the language began in the first grade when my class performed “Silent Night” in sign language at our annual holiday concert. ASL is a form of communication that uses body movements to express one’s self.

The history of ASL dates back to the 1800’s. It is important to know that ASL stands for American Sign Language, and countries around the world all have their own form of sign language. For example, in France, they refer to it as “FSL” or French Sign Language. While you may assume that all sign language would be universal, just like any language, some words do not have direct translations. There might be some words in french or in FSL that we do not have an equivalent form in English, and therefore do not have a sign for that word. Below is a quick video of the history of ASL in North America and how it has evolved from Martha’s Vineyard to the rest of the continent over the past decades. During the video, you will also see the oppression of ASL and how that has impeded the deaf community.

Thanks for tuning into this blog! Next week I hope to post a video refreshing my own understanding of some of the basic signs in ASL!

– Ms. G 🙂