During the discussion we focused on introducing different non-voiced communication forms and on linguistic anthropology/linguistic creativity. We postponed theoretical linguistics until another time (in which we did some experiential learning on morphology). This page consists of a set of links, prepared videos, and notes designed to support real-time interaction with students at the linguistics club at Montgomery Blair High School.
The big take-away is that American Sign Language is not “English on the hands”. ASL is independent from English both in grammar and linguistic culture.
Introduction
- Caveats for posterity: I’m hearing, I don’t possess native-like fluency in ASL, and I don’t have an advanced degree in this; I do have general and ASL linguistic training, I read widely, and I’m more or less aware of what I don’t know
- What are some ways deaf people communicate? [YouTube]
- Compare ASL structure [.avi | .ogv | .gif] with PSE structure [.avi | .ogv | .gif] with English structure [.txt]
- Charts might help [fingerspelling: ASL | BSL | LSF] [cued speech]
Anthropological Linguistics
- Big idea: Linguistic creativity
- ABC stories [YouTube]
- Sign jokes [King Kong, “please but”, environments, CODAs]
- Music & poetry [YouTube]
- Rhyme (handshape, movement path, location, non-manual markers)
- Rhythm (movement, handedness)
- Meter (heavy & light syllables)
- Also, Black ASL [WaPo | HuffPost | YouTube (uncaptioned but 5:37 has a chart)]
Theoretical Linguistics [postponed]
- Big idea: Spatial grammar
- Basic structure
- English consonants have place and manner of articulation, plus voicing [IPA chart]
- Place of articulation (cat/tat/pat)
- Manner of articulation (pat/bat/mat)
- ASL signs have five “parameters”
- Handshape (think/know) *
- Location (summer/dry) *
- Palm orientation (sock/star)
- Movement (sit/chair) *
- Nonmanual markers (late/not yet)
- English consonants have place and manner of articulation, plus voicing [IPA chart]
- The movement piece is more complicated (Christian/Congress, one-handed children/die) –> movement-hold theory
- M (always)
- H (color, study)
- M H (think, know, my, sit)
- H M H (week, guess)
- M H M H (Congress, flower)
- M M M H (chair, school, paper)
- Other structures are possible, but not any other structure (e.g., exclude H M)
- Nonmanual markers are extremely important grammatical markers; they are frequently unrecognized by hearing people
- Questions (yes-no/wh)
- Rhetorical questions
- Adjectives and adverbs (mm, th, cha, cs — more in a .doc)
- Topicalization
- Grammatical use of space of ASL (verb classes, classifiers, aspect, etc.)
Further Resources
- Deaf people with linguistics training
- ASL [language | grammar]
- Gallaudet University [map]
- 10th-12th grade summer ASL immersion [link]
- Linguistics department [dept. | event blog]
- Center for Continuing Studies teaches ASL courses for $230/credit (most classes are 3 credits) [dept.]
- Theatre performances are captioned or voice-interpreted [link]
- Books
- Linguistics of American Sign Language by Valli et al. (ASL linguistics textbook)
- Signing Naturally (ASL language textbook series)
- The American Sign Language Handshape Dictionary by Tennant and Brown (dictionary)
- For Hearing People Only by Moore and Levitan (deaf culture/language in context)
- Apps
- Media
- “Switched at Birth” (ABC Family)
- YouTube has a variety of performances, lectures and vlogs