American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, natural language that has the same linguistic properties as spoken languages, with grammar that differs from English.
ASL is expressed by movements of the hands and face.
It is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf and hard of hearing and is used by some hearing people as well.
Besides North America, variations of ASL are used in many countries around the world, including much of West Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.
No person or committee invented ASL. The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear, but some suggest that it arose more than 200 years ago from the intermixing of local sign languages and French Sign Language (LSF, or Langue des Signes Française).
Today’s ASL includes some elements of LSF plus the original local sign languages; over time, these have melded and changed into a rich, complex, and mature language.
Modern ASL and modern LSF are distinct languages.
While they still contain some similar signs, they can no longer be understood by each other’s users.
American Sign Language is taught at E.C. Drury School for the Deaf in Milton, Ontario, Robarts School for the Deaf in London, Ontario, and the Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in Belleville, Ontario.
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