American Sign Language (ASL) is a unique and structured way of communicating. ASL has developed as a combination of Old French Sign Language and Old American Sign Language (Moore and Levitan 37). The former was brought by Laurent Clerc, whereas the latter is an indigenous sign language used on Martha’s Vineyard (Moore and Levitan 37). Hereditary deafness was spread in the communities of Chilmark and West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard, leading both Deaf and hearing residents to employ signing in their everyday lives (Moore and Levitan 37-38). Many young people from Martha’s Vineyard attended “Old Hartford” school, co-founded by Laurent Clerc (Moore and Levitan 37-38).
“Old Hartford” initiated sign-based education for Deaf people in the Western Hemisphere, and Clerc had impaired hearing and was the first teacher of the Deaf in the United States (Moore and Levitan 37). Residents from Martha’s Vineyard who studied at “Old Hartford” combined their native sign dialect with the one utilized at the school and circulated the new language in their communities (Moore and Levitan 38). The blend of French Sign Language and indigenous sign language of Martha’s Vineyard has produced ASL.
As a system of communication, ASL has its distinctive features. ASL is a visual language with no written form, and people rely on using English words to write about ASL (Moore and Levitan 75). Although ASL can be coded, glossed, or translated into English, the text would not convey the true meaning of ASL (Moore and Levitan 76). Furthermore, Deaf people learn sign language from each other (Moore and Levitan 79). Through the years, Deaf children who have parents with impaired hearing have been taught ASL to other Deaf children at residential schools (Moore and Levitan 79). About 90% of Deaf children have hearing parents, and the remaining percentage have Deaf parents (Moore and Levitan 79). Although it is difficult to express ASL in a written form, sign language is a primary way of communication for many people.
Work Cited
Moore, Matthew, and Linda Levitan. For Hearing People Only. Deaf Life Press, 2016.