Why ASL is its own language, with its own grammar

A complete language

American Sign Language, usually shortened to ASL, is the main sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and much of Canada. It has its own vocabulary, its own word order, its own ways of marking time and questions, and its own rules for using the space in front of the signer. People use it for jokes, arguments, poetry, lectures and bedtime stories, the same range of things any spoken language is used for.

Hearing learners often assume that a signer's hands are spelling out an English sentence one word at a time. The assumption is understandable, because many hearing people have only seen signing next to speech. Still, it causes trouble later, because habits built on English word order have to be unlearned once a class moves past vocabulary.

Where ASL comes from

ASL took shape in the United States in the early nineteenth century. When the first schools for deaf children opened, French Sign Language was brought into the classroom. It met the home signs and local sign languages that Deaf Americans were already using, and over generations of Deaf children and adults, that mix became the language used today.

One result surprises people. ASL is closer to French Sign Language than to British Sign Language, even though the United States and Britain share a spoken language. Sign languages develop inside Deaf communities, and they do not follow the spoken language around them. That is also why there is no single sign language for the whole world.

ASL keeps changing, as living languages do. New signs appear for new things, older signs shift in shape, and signers of different ages and regions sometimes sign the same idea differently.

Word order and topics

English relies heavily on a fixed order of subject, verb and object. ASL can use that order, and it often uses another pattern as well: name the topic first, then say something about it.

Where an English speaker says "I went to the store yesterday," an ASL signer might sign something closer to YESTERDAY STORE I GO. The time sign comes first and frames everything after it. The topic comes next, often with raised eyebrows that mark it as the topic. The comment follows.

A few other differences show up early in a first class:

1. No signs for "a" or "the." Pointing and placement in space handle that job.
2. No sign for "is" or "are." A sentence like MY SISTER TEACHER is complete as it stands.
3. Time is set once. A signer establishes past or future near the start, and it holds until something changes it. Verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

Learners who try to produce a sign for every English word end up with long, slow sentences that feel stiff to a fluent reader. Learners who adopt ASL patterns look more natural sooner, even with a small vocabulary.

Grammar that lives in space

Spoken English has no close equivalent to this part of ASL. The space in front of the signer works as part of the grammar.

Placing people and things

A signer talking about two friends can place one on the left and one on the right. After that, pointing left refers to the first friend and pointing right refers to the second, with no need to repeat their names. The space keeps track of who is who, for the signer and for the person watching.

Verbs that move

Some verbs show who is doing what through the direction of their movement. The sign GIVE can move from the signer toward the person watching, which means "I give it to you." Moving it the other way means "you give it to me." One movement carries the subject, the verb and the object together.

Classifiers

ASL also has handshapes that stand for a category of thing, such as a vehicle, a person or a flat object. Once a signer has named a car, a classifier handshape can represent it and show exactly how it moved: up a hill, around a corner, into a ditch.

Consider a description of a drive to work. Signed in English order, it takes a long string of signs. In ASL, a signer can set a house on one side of the signing space and an office on the other, then move a vehicle classifier between them, slowing it at the bridge where traffic backs up. The route, the distance and the delay all appear in one short passage.

The face carries grammar

Hearing learners are often told to "use more expression," as if the face only adds feeling. In ASL the eyebrows, eyes, mouth and head also carry grammar. Raised eyebrows can turn a statement into a yes-no question. Lowered brows go with questions that use WHO, WHAT or WHY. A head shake can make a sentence negative, and certain mouth shapes show that something is thin, huge or done carelessly.

A sentence signed with a blank face can leave out information that a fluent reader expects. The details are in facial expressions and non-manual markers.

Signing in English word order

Several signing systems put signs in English word order and add invented signs for English word endings such as "-ing" and "-ed." They were designed for particular educational purposes, and some people use them. They are separate from ASL, and a learner who wants to talk with Deaf adults in the community should know the difference from the start.

Relying on strict English order holds learners back. It is slow to watch, because a fluent reader has to wait through signs that add nothing and then work out the meaning anyway. It also skips the grammar that carries the most meaning, so a learner who never uses space or the face never practices those parts of ASL.

The biggest cost shows up when watching others. When a fluent signer uses space, classifiers and facial grammar, a learner trained only in English order has nothing to hold on to. Understanding signs is already the harder skill, as practicing receptive skills explains.

Every learner's signing carries some English at first, and Deaf teachers of hearing adults are used to it. The useful habit is to notice it and keep moving toward the language as Deaf people use it.

Learning it from the people who use it

A book or a video can show a sign. It cannot show how the language behaves in a real conversation, when someone changes the subject, tells a joke or corrects you kindly. That comes from time with Deaf signers.

The most reliable way to learn ASL grammar is in a class taught by a Deaf teacher, followed by time at community events where the language is used. Choosing a first ASL class covers what a good class looks like, and where to learn describes the kinds of classes available.

While you look for a class, two habits help. When you want to express something, ask how a Deaf signer would say the idea, instead of asking for the sign for each English word. And when you watch fluent signers, look for how they use space and the face, even when you understand only a few signs.