American Sign Language 101 Class Notes 6/10/2019

Important Class Info

● Another classs added ASL 101-02 8:00 am - 11:35 am Reg Code: 619772
● No office hours in summer
● Email anytime if you have any questions?
● Class is 6 weeks short bu long and accelerated, covering about a unit per week
● Homework is all done on canvas

Class Notes
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● What is ASL?
○ C. ASL is a language and is fully capable of expressing any ideas, abstract or
concrete. ASL couldn’t flourish if it we’re not capable of meeting all the needs of
Deaf people to communicate their ideas, needs and thoughts.
○ E. ASL uses space and movement to convey ideas.ASL is a visual/spatial
language and three-dimensional.
■ Car, house tree
■ Friends having a conversation
● Historically, ASL is related to French Sign Language
○ Historically, ASL is related to:
■ French Sign Language
■ Laurent Clerc who was Deaf himself came from France in the early
1800’s to help establish the first school for deaf children in America,
Hartford, Connecticut. The school was instrumental in standardizing ASL
with may signs borrowed from Langues des Signes Francais (LSF).
■ Many people think ASL is Universal - FALSE!
■ Mexico - LSM
■ English - ESL/BSL
■ American - ASL
● ASL is used by most deaf people in which of the countries - us & canada
● Approximately 90% of deaf people marry are married to other deaf people
○ The deaf world has the highest rate of intermarriages of any ethnic groups,
around 90%. Deaf people marry other Deaf people for love and the comfort
factor where Deaf people share a common language (ASL), share friends, and
networking and have common identify and life goals within the community.
● ASL is traditionally handed down from generation to generation through deaf family
members and residential schools for the deaf
○ Deaf family members and residential schools for the Deaf.
○ Traditionally in language minority/cultural groups, language is learned naturally
from one’s family. It is different for most Deaf people. Only 10-13% of Deaf
children are born to families with other Deaf members. For them, ASL is likely to
 be their “mother tongue.” Traditionally, for the rest of Deaf children the Deaf
residential school was the primary venue for learning ASL. The constant
exposure to signing Deaf peers, Deaf teachers and Dorm counselors made it
possible for children to develop fluency in language.
○ That is old Stats: New Research reveals 97% Deaf babies are born to hearing
parents. Only 3% Deaf children have deaf parents.

● The role of facial expressions, head movements and eye gaze in ASL is grammatical
○ Grammar in ASL is in the Face
○ Although you will notice facial expressions used with all of the above. Are
primarily grammatical functions.
● While watching another person sign, it is appropriate to focus on the signer’s face
● Among ASL signers, fingerspelling is mainly used in what ways to give names to people
and places, to specify brand names
○ Fingerspelling rules:
■ Name of person
■ Name of Place
■ Brand names
■ Title
○ Fingerspelling is used mainly for giving names
○ However, you may experience Deaf people fingerspelling words to you.
It may be because they either think you may not know the sign or that it is easier
for you to follow them when English words are fingerspelled.
○ Fingerspelling is not used interchangeably with signs - will beon quiz

● ASL makes use of the space in front of signers body to: convey distance, express time
concepts, and to contrast two people, places, things or ideas.
○ Expressions are important in ASL - Non Manual Signals (NMS)
○ Person, Place

● To get the attention of a deaf person who is looking the other way, you should tap them
on the shoulder
○ Tapping is the most appropriate way.
■ Wave in their face - acceptable if the Deaf person is looking in your
direction. Do not wave in front of their face.
○ Using an intermediary -
■ Using another person close to you to get your attention
○ Too Distracting to wave

● If your path is blocked by two signers conversing with each other you should go ahead
and walk through
○ Walk through is least distracting
○ Go ahead and walk through because it doesn’t interfere with the flow of the
conversation. Don’t run through. What would it be like for you if that happened?
○ If you wait until they stop talking before you pass through the signer will be
irritated because it is an unnecessary interruption of their conversation.
● The following are considered rude by Deaf people:
 ○ Watching a signed conversation and talking (using voice) in the presence of Deaf
people. Both of these are the most disrespectful.
■ Deaf people assume they are the only ones around that sign (even
though it is “public”).
■ It is not considered rude nor is it considered making fun of a person to
describe a feature of a person.
● The least effective communication strategy between Deaf and hearing people is speech
and lipreading.
○ Speech and lipreading is the least effective around 30% of speech if visible on
the lips.
● Other than the word Deaf, a culturally appriopriate way to identify Deaf people would be
none of the above (“deaf and dumb & deaf mutes”, “hearing imparied”, “deaf and hard of
hearing”)
○ Most people think that is the best way. Deaf and HoH (hard of hearing) people
do not think so
○ Why? It focuses on Disability (impaired).
○ Over the years, different terms have been used to refer to Deaf people. Some
older terms are offensive today and should not be used by the public, especially
“deaf and dumb” and “deaf mute.” The terms “hearing impaired” or “deaf and
hard of hearing” have been used by public institutions and political groups as an
inclusive term that focuses on what is lacking or lost. Many Deaf people prefer to
be called “Deaf” with a capital “D” because it focuses on identity and on what
they have: culture and language.

Sentences/Phrases to learn:

Hello
Goodbye
Nice to meet you
What is your name?
ASL Structure: Your name, what?

Wh question - furrow brows (Frown): who, what, where, why, when how? For grammar