American Sign Language Essay

American Sign Language is a language capable of expressing abstract ideas, and utilizing space and movement to convey meaning. My assumptions about ASL were that signers sign in English sentences, but it is more about conveying abstract ideas. Now, I see it more relatable to my family’s native language. I never realized French people use their hands to convey meaning, but historically, ASL is related to the French Sign Language. I thought it were Italians that uses hand gestures the most. ASL is used by most Deaf people in the U.S. and Canada. Approximately 90% of married Deaf people are married to another Deaf person. I thought it was lower, but after thinking about it, it makes sense. Communication is key to a healthy relationship. ASL is traditionally handed

The role of facial expressions, head movements, and eye gaze in ASL is primarily grammatical. I assumed facial expressions were to show emotion and give some indication of tone, but it is for grammar, such as asking a question. While watching another person sign, it is appropriate to focus on the signer’s face. As a beginner to ASL, it is going to be challenging to keep up with continuous hand signs, focus on their face, understand what they are saying or what they are spelling, but I hope I will learn to overcome those obstacles. Fingerspelling is mainly used to specify brand names and give names to people and places. If I were to spell every word, then it would be tiresome, and it would not really make ASL its own language. ASL makes use of the space in front of a signer’s body to convey distance, contrast two people, places, things, or ideas, and express time concepts. It does not make use of the space to indicate sentence types or grammar. According to the quiz, to get the attention of a Deaf person who is looking the other way, you should tap him/her on the