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What is American Sign Language?

'Say It With Sign'    In America there are various kinds of signing systems. Manually coded English (MCE) sign systems follow the English syntax and grammar rules. Some of these systems include Seeing Essential English (SEE I), Signing Exact English (SEE II), English Sign Language (ESL), and many others. Even though some Deaf people choose to use MCE systems, they are not considered languages because they share the grammar rules of English.

    However, American Sign Language (ASL) is a language used by several Deaf individuals. Sometimes referred to as Ameslan, ASL ranks the 3rd or 4th most commonly used language in the United States. ASL does not follow English grammar but has a distinct syntax and structure of its own.

    Explore the structure of ASL through the sections below on this page. Be sure to check out the video examples. Then, explore the Deaf-World and ASL by reading the information provided on the pages listed in the menu at the left. Click your way through a journey into the Deaf-World!

All information provided in the ASL section of Matt's World has been collected from reference materials and is true to the best of my knowledge. Any questions about my references for this section should be sent to my e-mail address listed at the bottom of this page. Thank you!

The Structure of ASL

MCE versus ASL

    As stated earlier, there is a great grammatical difference between MCE systems and ASL. Manually coded English systems, such as SEE I & SEE II, follow the English grammar rules and syntax. English word-order also applies. American Sign Language is presented in a grammar structure of its own. Typically, the order is presented as such:

Time Tense

Topic or Subject

Color

Any Other Adjectives

Action or Information About the Topic/Subject

Click below for some examples. Images may take a while to load.

Initialized Signs

    Sometimes a sign may be altered to represent another English word similar to the original sign. In ASL this practice is not too common. In Signing Exact English, the sign BEAUTIFUL is similar to the ASL sign. However, in SEE II, the letter 'P' is used to perform the sign for PRETTY. Some signs in ASL are also presented by initializing a 'root' sign with a letter from the manual alphabet.

Click below for some examples. Images may take a while to load.

Directional Signs

    A cool feature about ASL includes signs that can emit communication of more than one word with just a single sign. For instance, some signs can communcate who something is being given to just by forcing the sign in the direction of the person. If you are going to help a girl, you would present the sign HELP in the direction of the girl. If you are going to ask a person a question, you would present the sign ASK in the direction of that individual.

Click below for some examples. Images may take a while to load.


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Last modified: November 08, 2000