American Sign Language, usually abbreviated to "ASL", is
the principal sign language in North America, including the United States of
America (with perhaps 2 million people knowing the language), and
English-speaking parts of Canada, as well as parts of Mexico. ASL is also
used to some degree in a number of other countries around the world, but it
should be emphasized it is not mutually intelligible with the sign language
used in the United Kingdom which is known as British Sign Language ("BSL")
and is in fact quite different (ASL is in fact very similar to modern French
Sign Language, and has about 60% vocabulary in common with it).
ASL has its own grammar, syntax and idoms, that are
distinct from spoken English. The language traces its origins to the 19th
century, and many people attribute its early development to the Reverend
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet who was the first principal of the Hartford School
for the Deaf in Connecticut, which is today known as the American School for
the Deaf.
American Sign Language is of course principally used
by the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and by their families and others to
communicate with them. Many families do use ad hoc sign languages to
communicate with deaf children, but ASL classes are widely taught in
secondary and postsecondary schools in the United States. For those who wish
to learn ASL at home, or perhaps brush on their skills, the Internet can be
helpful - for example, you can find downloadable courses that teach it.
