American Sign Language - An Overview

Here is a quick overview of American Sign Language (ASL), including a few tips about what to expect when attempting to build your ASL skills.

American Sign Language is the main language used by deaf people in Canada and the United States. In fact, it is the fourth most used language in the United States after English, Spanish and Chinese. ASL has its own system for grammar and semantics, which has no likeness to English.

To the uninformed observer, it may appear as though people communicating via ASL rely predominately on hand movements. In fact, American Sign Language utilizes the whole body and even the immediate environment surrounding a "signer". Those using ASL will typically use their faces, hands and space around themselves to exchange ideas and information.

In terms of how to learn American Sign Language, the first thing to keep in mind is that it's not like any other sign language. Many countries have their own versions and just because two countries may share the same spoken and written language, there is no guarantee that their respective sign languages will be the same or similar. British and American Sign Language are for example, substantially different.

American Sign Language has a relatively complex grammatical system too. While in oral languages, what is communicated is limited to the sounds evoked by a speaker's words and tones, communication in a sign language is not so limited. Since signers can use their face, hands and body. They can engage in multiple gestures at once, and thereby communicate more information at the same time.

To acquire proficiency in ASL, a learner needs to devote plenty of time to developing their signing skills - at least two years of education and training, according to the United States based National Deaf Association.

There are a number of approaches you can take to acquire signing skills. These vary from enrolling in programs offered by local colleges and schools for deaf students, to web based programs, to home study DVD courses, to picture books. Nevertheless, practicing with other signers is definitely the best way to get up to speed as fast as possible.

Depending on your goals, it's not essential to become an eloquent American Sign Language user. If your main aim is merely to adequately communicate with signers, learning the major gestures and movements, the alphabet, and numbers may be sufficient.