Online Language Review

By Sunil Tanna

American Sign Language ("ASL") is the a sign language used by the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. It is the most widely used sign language in the United States, with perhaps 2 million people knowing the language. ASL is also used in English speaking parts of Canada, parts of Mexico, and a wide variety of other countries around the world, including many African and Asian countries. ASL is however quite different from British Sign Language ("BSL") which is used in the United Kingdom. This because ASL is in fact closely related to modern French Sign Language - ASL and French Sign Language actually share about 60% common vocabulary.

American Sign Language traces its roots back into the 19th century. Many people attribute the development of the language to Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who was the first principal of the American School for the Deaf (known as the time as "The Hartford School for the Deaf").

In many homes containing a deaf child, parents use ad hoc sign languages to communicate with their children. However, ASL is taught formally in secondary and postsecondary schools in the United States, and thus provides a method of communication which the whole community can understand and use to communicate with each other. If however you missed the opportunity to learn ASL at school and wish learn it now, or if you simply want to brush on your skills if they have perhaps become rusty, then the Internet may the answer - you can for example download Internet courses that teach American Sign Language.

Discover How to Learn ASL

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