American Sign Language is a beautiful language that is used by millions of Deaf people in America and Canada. It is a language that has been around for many years and continues to grow and change just like every other language. In this blog, I will be sharing some fun facts about American Sign Language.
American Sign Language Origins – Not British or English!
People tend to think that American Sign Language is related to English or is related to British Sign Language. That’s not true at all. American Sign Language was created by two people, a Deaf French Educator named Laurent Clerc and a hearing pastor, Thomas Gallaudet. Together, they carried French Sign Language from France to America. But how did it become American Sign Language? French Sign Language eventually was mixed with Martha Vineyard Sign Language and Indigenous Sign Language which eventually rose to the American Sign Language we know.
Spy-Proof and Perfect Weapon
American Sign Language is bug-proof, meaning even the CIA cannot “hack” American Sign Language. So, use ASL if you don’t want other people to know what you are talking about!
How American Sign Language Influenced Sports
While Deaf people often participate in Deaf sports, their influence has also spread to hearing sports. Throughout the years it has influenced both baseball hand signals and football huddles. Today sports all over the world can thank American Sign Language for creating some of the hand signals used in games.
How ASL is Processed in the Brain
Even though American Sign Language is a different modality than the spoken modality, the use of American Sign Language and any spoken language both are processed in the language region of the brain.
So as you can see, American Sign Language is a beautiful language with many interesting fun facts. Hope you enjoyed learning something new today!
‘Til next time, ta ta! 😄🤟🏻
