SIGN LANGUAGE
•American Sign
rd
Language is the 3
most used
Baby Sign
• One of the hottest trends in child
development is that infants can
communicate basic needs before
they can speak. It also boosts
lingual and intellectual
developments.
Spicing it up
• Sign Language, in its
natural state, adds spice.
Visual-spatial arts, and
bedtime storytelling, are part
of the spices.
Persons With Disabilities
• Signs break communication
barriers for hearing people
with chronic and acute
disabilities who have delayed
or little verbal skills.
Professionals
• Visual-gestural communication is the
primary mode for stock traders on the
floor, flying hands filled with numbers
and codes. Partially modified
International Sign Languages may be
extremely beneficial for stock traders,
scuba divers, firefighters and several
other purposes in the fields.
Animal Sign
• Human interest in
communicating with animals
(and possibly vice versa) has
been around for a long time,
via speaking, signing and/or
painting.
ARISTOTLE
• 384-322 B.C.
A Greek Philosopher, Aristotle,
pronounced that “Deaf people
could not be educated without
hearing, people could not
learn”.
16th Century
• Geronimo Cardano, a
physician of Padua, in
northern Italy, proclaimed that
deaf people could learn and
understand via sign
communication
17th Century
• Juan Pablo de Bonet published
the first book on teaching sign
language to deaf people that
contained the manual alphabet in
1620. Although, sign language
was already instinctively
developed by deaf signers.
18th Century/Romantic Period of art
• Abbe L’Epee of Paris founded the first free
school for the deaf people in 1755. He
demonstrated that deaf people could develop
communication with themselves, and the
hearing world through a system of conventional
gestures, hand signs, and fingerspelling. He first
recognized and learned the signs that were
already being used by deaf people in Paris, and
developed his sign system. He added a signed
version of spoken French.
Samuel Heinicke
• Leipzig,
Germany
• Established
first public
school for the
deaf people
• Did not use the
manual method
of
communication
19th Century
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
• A Congregational minister who helped a
girl named Alice Cogswell, traveled to
Europe in 1815. He studied the methods
of communication for the deaf.
• In England, Abbe Roche Ambroise Sicard
invited him to his school for deaf in Paris.
• Gallaudet then returned to the United
States with Laurent Clerc, a deaf sign
language teacher
Gallaudet and Clerc
• Thomas Hopkins
Gallaudet founded
the first American
public school for
deaf students in
Hartford,
Connecticut in
1817.
• Laurent Clerc
became the
United State’s
first deaf sign
language
teacher.
Baseball Signals
• William “Dummy”Hoy ( 18621961) the first deaf Major
League baseball player, was
the reason umpires adopted
hand signals : out, safe, and
strike.
Football Huddle
• 1894: The Gallaudet University
football team invented the football
huddle to keep the opponents
from eavesdropping on the
quarterback in American Sign
Language.
International Sign
• 1924: Comite International des Sports des
Sourds (CISS) was founded in Paris on
August 16th during the first World Games
for the Deaf held in Paris, France on
August 10th to 17th, with six nationsBelgium , Czechoslovakia, France, Great
Britain, Holland, and Poland-participating
in the competitions in Athletics, Cycling,
Football (Soccer), Shooting and
Swimming.
WFD
• 1951: The First World Congress of the
World Federation of the Deaf ( WFD ) took
place in Rome, Italy, with participants from
25 countries. The Deaf were able to
discuss and decide on the Constitution in
Gestuno ( now International Sign ). (WFD)
The International Sign and English are the
official languages of the WFD.
Linguistic Book
• 1960: William Stokoe of United States published a first
linguistic book of Amercan Sign Language as a language
• 1970: Linda Bove ( Deaf Signer ) was a guest for the
American children’s populare TV show, “ Sesame Street”
in
• 1970: Eventually, she became a regular actress in 1976
• 1979: Klima and Bellugi conducted a first linguistic
research on the American Sing Language
• Phyllis French was the first Deaf Signer to win a Tony
award ( The Best Actress ) , for playing a “Sarah” role in
the play, “ Children of a Lesser God”.
Diana, Princess of Wales
• 1983: Diana, Princess of Whales, who
acceptd an invitation to be the Royal
Patron of the British Deaf Association in
1983, later studied British Sign Language
The Smurfs
• 1983: “ The Smurfs “ became the first
cartoon to use sign language in America
on TV. The “ Smurfing in Sign Language “
show had the highest ratings that “ The
Smurfs “ had ever had.
Oscar Award
• 1986/1987: Marlee Martin ( hard-ofhearing Signer, 21 ) became the first daeaf
Signer to win the “ Best Actress “ Oscar
award for playing “ Sarah “ role in the film,
“ Children of a Lesser God “.
ASL Recognized in Manitoba
• 1988: On December 6th in Winnipeg,
Canada, a private member’s resolution
was passed unanimously which officially
recognizes the cultural uniqueness of the
deaf community and American Sign
Language ( ASL ) as a distinctive language
of deaf people in Manitoba.
ASL Recognized Alberta
• 1990: MLA ( Member of Legislative Assembly )
Bill Payne of Calgary proposed Motion 216: “ Be
it resolved that the Legislative Assembly urge
the Government, given the cultural uniqueness
of Alberta’s deaf community and the linguistic
uniqueness of American Sign Language as a
language of the deaf in Alberta; and to
incorporate it into Alberta’s grade school and
post-secondary curriculum as an available
language of instruction.” The Legislature passed
the motion on June 19th, 1990
SL Recognized in Slovak Republic
• 1995: The National Council of the
Slovak Republic passed a law
recognizing “ Sign Language as a
language of communication of the
Deaf “ June 26th, 1995
SL Recognized in Finland
• 1995: The Sign Language was
recognized in the Finnish
Constitution in August
SL Recognized in Uganda
• 1995: On October 8th, 1995, the sign
language was recognized and included in
Uganda’s new Constitution after the
Uganda National Association of the Deaf
and its allies campaigned to promote sign
language awareness in Uganda.
Benefits of ASL
• Expands your native language,
culture, and values
• Beautiful, unique, and graceful
• 3 dimensional language
• Communication is more wholistic
Benefits of ASL
• Bilingualism expands your cognitive
processes
• You can sign with your mouth full
• Underwater communication for scuba
divers
• You can talk through windows of
buildings from a distance
(Unspeakable)
Benefits of ASL
• You can be sure that nobody can
overhear you through doors/walls
• You can use signs in a library or
church
• Communication is easier in noisy
bars, clubs, discos
• Benefits others with special needs
(autism, communication problems)
Benefits of ASL
• Communicate with toddlers at a
younger age
• Communicate with animals
(Koko)
• Develop linguistic, intellectual,
and literate skills earlier than with
spoken language