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ASL is a Language Summary paper.
Language is a socially shared code that uses conventional system of arbitrary symbols to
represent ideas about the world that are meaningful to those to those who share the code. It
means that language is governed by a system, there is grammar and certain rules (you can't
say ahmed name is salman my).In order to be understood you say it in a grammatically correct
sentence and the rules are defined and understood by all speakers of English. And only those
will understand who know the same code (language). Like if I talk to John in Urdu he will not
understand. Or if a Spaniard talks to a Chinese in Spanish, there will be a communication gap
because both of them do not share the same code i.e. same language. There was a misconception
that ASL (or any sign language) is not a language. It is a set of gestures that the deaf people have
developed themselves. But researches have proved that it is a complete language and is governed
by rules (grammar) just like spoken language. ASL is one of the modalities of language, the only
difference is that instead of speech one uses sign to express. The purpose of this essay would be
to proof that ASL is a language too.
I will be discussing few things that occurred in the history of American Sign Language.
In the year 1770, a deaf book binder named Pierre Desolges who hailed from Persia,
wrote "Observations of a deaf Mute", the purpose of his book was to explain the signs used by
Language is a socially shared code that uses conventional system of arbitrary symbols to
represent ideas about the world that are meaningful to those to those who share the code. It
means that language is governed by a system, there is grammar and certain rules (you can't
say ahmed name is salman my).In order to be understood you say it in a grammatically correct
sentence and the rules are defined and understood by all speakers of English. And only those
will understand who know the same code (language). Like if I talk to John in Urdu he will not
understand. Or if a Spaniard talks to a Chinese in Spanish, there will be a communication gap
because both of them do not share the same code i.e. same language. There was a misconception
that ASL (or any sign language) is not a language. It is a set of gestures that the deaf people have
developed themselves. But researches have proved that it is a complete language and is governed
by rules (grammar) just like spoken language. ASL is one of the modalities of language, the only
difference is that instead of speech one uses sign to express. The purpose of this essay would be
to proof that ASL is a language too.
I will be discussing few things that occurred in the history of American Sign Language.
In the year 1770, a deaf book binder named Pierre Desolges who hailed from Persia,
wrote "Observations of a deaf Mute", the purpose of his book was to explain the signs used by