Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Americas > United States > American Sign Language
American Sign Language
ISO 639-3: ase
| Population |
No accurate census figures available that distinguish language use from audiological deafness. Reportedly third largest language in USA (1993 Honolulu Advertiser); has 100,000 to 500,000 primary users (VanCleve 1986) out of nearly 2,000,000 profoundly deaf persons in the USA (1988), Below 1% of USA population. |
| Region |
Also in Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Togo, Zimbabwe. |
| Alternate names |
ASL |
| Dialects |
Black American Sign Language, Tactile ASL (TASL). Some lexical variation across the United States and much of Canada, but intelligibility is high among all dialects called ASL. Black American Sign Language developed in schools for African-American Deaf people due to segregation in the southern U.S. It contains some distinctive vocabulary and grammatical structure. Tactile ASL (TASL) is used throughout the United States by and with deaf-blind people, especially those with Usher’s Syndrome, concentrations of which are found in Louisiana and Seattle. TASL uses ASL vocabulary and grammar, except (1) the deaf-blind person receives signs through touch by feeling signs in the palms, and (2) minor syntactic modifications to compensate for the deaf-blind person’s lack of access to the signer’s facial expressions. Some Deaf-blind people have learned Braille for reading English. Dialects or closely-related languages derived from ASL, are used in many other countries. Lexical similarity: 57% between modern ASL and French Sign Language (LSF) [fsl] on a comparison of 872 signs. Although the 2 are related, ASL has undergone substantial creolization (Woodward 1975, 1976). |
| Classification |
Deaf sign language |
| Language use |
Used natively by many hearing children of deaf parents, and as L2 by many other hearing people. Interpreters required for many legal and civic situations. Lingua franca of the deaf world, used widely as L2. Reportedly is a primary language in Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, China (Hong Kong), Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, Togo, and Zimbabwe. |
| Language development |
Literacy measures are almost always based on English rather than ASL. Deaf people’s English varies from highly literate to illiterate, but the average deaf student graduates from high school with a 3rd or 4th grade reading level. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. NT: 2005. |
| Writing system |
SignFont Notation, limited use. SignWriting, limited use. Stokoe Notation, limited use. |
| Comments |
ASL is different from ‘Signed English’, which refers to a range of signing registers that reflect some influence from English. At the extreme end are Signing Exact English (SEE) and Seeing Essential English (SEE2), artificially-constructed systems that attempt to match English word and morpheme order exactly. English-influenced signing that does not follow English grammar exactly is generally called ‘contact signing’ or ‘Pidgin Signed English’. Deaf schools and interpreters in mainstream settings may use any one of these registers. SVO, topic comment structures; adjectives, numerals, genitives, question word initial or final, relative clause after noun head. |
Also spoken in:
| Language name |
American Sign Language |
| Region |
English-speaking areas of Canada. |
| Alternate names |
ASL, Ameslan |
| Language use |
Sign language interpreters required for deaf in court. Used for deaf college students, important public functions, job training, social service programs. Sign language instruction for parents of deaf children, classes for hearing people, organization for sign language teachers, committee on national sign language. |
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Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:
Academic Publications
Anonymous. 2012. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test 01 (using USA Text 01 and questions from Peru Text 15).
Anonymous. 2012. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test 02 (using USA Text 01 and questions from Peru Text 16).
BICKFORD, Albert; PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 08.
BICKFORD, Albert; PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 09.
BICKFORD, Albert; PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 10.
BICKFORD, Albert; PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 11.
BICKFORD, Albert; PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, researchers. 2012. American Sign Language Variety Text 01.
BICKFORD, J. Albert, author. 2010. "1-handed PERSONs and ASL morphology."
BICKFORD, J. Albert; FRAYCHINEAUD, Kathy, authors. 2008. "Mouth morphemes in ASL: a closer look."
DENNIS, Dannah; THOMAS, Man Di, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Wordlist 05.
DENNIS, Dannah; THOMAS, Man Di, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Wordlist 06.
DENNIS, Dannah; THOMAS, Man Di, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Wordlist 07.
DENNIS, Dannah; THOMAS, Man Di, researchers. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Wordlists 05, 06, and 07.
DUFOE, Shelley, author. 1993. Review of: American Sign Language: Linguistic and applied dimensions, by Ronnie B. Wilbur.
JORDAN, Linda; NETZLEY, Jillian, authors. 2012. "American Sign Language Video Comprehension Testing in the Ethiopian Deaf Community."
PARKHURST, Dianne; PARKHURST, Stephen J., authors. 1995. Language and the Deaf.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author. 2011. "The Deaf People of Haiti."
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2011. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Anguilla.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Antigua and Barbuda.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Bahamas.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Barbados.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Belize.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Bermuda.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - British Virgin Islands.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Cayman Islands.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Dominica.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Dominican Republic.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Guyana.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Haiti.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Jamaica.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Montserrat.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Puerto Rico.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Saint Kitts and Nevis.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Saint Lucia.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Trinidad, Saint Vincent, and Grenada.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - Turks and Caicos Islands.
PARKS, Elizabeth, author; PARKS, Jason, editor. 2012. Americas Area Sign Language Survey Report Video Summaries in American Sign Language - U.S. Virgin Islands.
PARKS, Elizabeth, researcher. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 02.
PARKS, Elizabeth, researcher. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 03.
PARKS, Elizabeth, researcher. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 04.
PARKS, Elizabeth, researcher. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 05.
PARKS, Elizabeth, researcher. 2010. American Sign Language Variety Recorded Text Test (USA Text 01) Response 06.
PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, authors. 2008. "Sociolinguistic survey report of the deaf community of Guatemala."
PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, authors. 2010. Investigating sign language variation through intelligibility testing: The recorded text test retelling method.
PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, authors. 2012. "Sociolinguistic Profiles of the Deaf Communities in Trinidad, St. Vincent, and Grenada."
PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason, researchers. 2012. American Sign Language Variety Wordlist 01.
PARKS, Elizabeth; PARKS, Jason; WILLIAMS, Holly, authors. 2010. Sign language use in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic Power Point Presentation.
PARKS, Elizabeth; WILLIAMS, Holly, authors. 2011. "Sociolinguistic Profiles of Twenty-four Deaf Communities in the Americas."
PARKS, Elizabeth; WILLIAMS, Holly, authors. 2012. "The Puerto Rican Deaf Community."
TUGGY, David H., author. 1996. Report on 1995 LSA Summer Institute.
