American Sign Language (ASL) is the fourth-most studied modern, foreign (not English) language in the United States. There is a nation-wide debate whether ASL should be considered a foreign language and universities differ in how they define language.
Northern Illinois University has declared ASL to be an official foreign language for two reasons – (1) it is different from spoken English and (2) students experience cultural immersion as in other languages. Other colleges define language by attributes such as having literature for study or sharing elements of culture not available in ASL. However, ASL has other kinds of cultural components, including poetry, history, and culture.
Sign language should be considered a language. We definitely need to have ASL-fluent citizens who can work with the deaf in fields such as education and health care. Furthermore, students who study ASL learn about a new culture. Cultural immersion in ALS includes a “silent dinner” during which students learn about deaf culture from their deaf instructor. Moreover, students learn to think differently. I was very interested in the example provided in the article.
"APPEAR tooth = PAIN ++BAD DENTIST GO NEED"
It means: "It seems I have a toothache; I need to go to a dentist."
Therefore, people who use ASL think differently in ASL when compared to English. The study of languages focuses heavily on understanding a new way of thinking and meaning. Because ASL learners need to find other ways of getting a point across, they are learning a different way of thinking, as evidenced in another article I read.
New studies show that teaching a baby sign language will improve his ability to read. Readers transfer visual information (Print) into Phonological Information (like Spoken Language); that is how they are able to process print. People who know ASL develop neural pathways that connect the visual world with meaning. Thus, babies who learn ASL are more readily able to transfer visual information into linguistic information. In learning that visual symbols are meaningful, a baby can make the connection between what he sees and what something means.
All the more reason to learn ALS and give it the credit it deserves!
Articles
Is American Sign Language a ‘foreign’ language?
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-sign-language-20100416,0,2337497.story
Sign Language Can Help Children Learn to Read
Source: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/sign-language-can-help-children-learn-to-read
