American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language and the predominant sign language of deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. It is a complete, organized visual language expressed through both manual and nonmanual features. Beyond North America, ASL dialects and ASL-based creoles are used in parts of West Africa and Southeast Asia, and the language is also widely learned as a second language and lingua franca. ASL is most closely related to French Sign Language, and some linguists have proposed that it descends from French Sign Language as a creole, though it shows features atypical of creole languages, such as agglutinative morphology. ASL is not based on English and is not a universal sign language; it is one of between 200 and 300 officially recognized sign languages worldwide.
Facts
RegionUnited States and most of Anglophone Canada, ASL's primary domain; ASL-based sign languages, spread through schools founded on the ASL model, are also used across parts of West Africa and Southeast Asia 1 Speaker CountReliable estimates for American ASL users range from 250,000 to 500,000, drawn from Schein and Delk's 1974 National Census of the Deaf Population report; commonly repeated figures well above 500,000, sometimes as high as 15,000,000, conflate ASL users with the broader deaf population and are considered unreliable. Proto-Language StatusNo single proto-language is reconstructed: ASL emerged in the early nineteenth century from language contact rather than gradual divergence, drawing on Old French Sign Language, indigenous sign languages including Martha's Vineyard Sign Language, and home sign systems brought together at the American School for the Deaf; some linguists have proposed treating it as a creole of French Sign Language, though ASL shows features atypical of creole languages. 1 In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Africa, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: East Asia, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: North America, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: Southeast Asia, found in there.
- Also in Geography Atlas: West Africa, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: American Sign Language
Wikimedia Foundationlead section
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada.
Basic history section
Reliable estimates for American ASL users range from 250,000 to 500,000 persons, including a number of children of deaf adults (CODA) and other hearing individuals.
Classification section
ASL emerged as a language at the American School for the Deaf, co-founded by Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc in 1817, which brought together Old French Sign Language, several indigenous sign languages, Martha's Vineyard sign language, and various home sign systems.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.