SLHS 1100 Guide to Resources: ASL 1

Covering the period of 1780-1970, the essays in this collection explore deaf peoples' claims to autonomy in their personal, religious, social, and organizational lives and make the case that deaf Americans sought to engage, claim, and protect deaf autonomy and citizenship in the face of rising nativism and eugenic currents of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

People who first encounter sign language often ask if deaf people around the world sign the same language. Frequently, they are surprised to learn that there are different sign languages in different nations worldwide, as well as variations of these languages. One variation, Black ASL, has been recognized for years as a distinct form of sign language but only through anecdotal reports. This volume and its accompanying DVD present the first empirical study that begins to fill in the linguistic gaps about Black ASL.

American Indian nations of the Great Plains and cultural groups bordering this geographic area developed an elegant language of the hands that cut across spoken language barriers, which continues to serve a vital role in traditional storytelling, rituals, legends, prayers, conversational narratives, and as a primary language of American Indians who are deaf. This volume contains the most current descriptions of all levels of the language from phonology to discourse, as well as comparisons with other sign languages.

A biographical work about a young Deaf girl, Lynn Spradley, and her family.