FREE ESSAY ON AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE

In learning about the deaf culture I have taken on a new understanding about the people it
includes. Through readings and the lessons, I have learned that being deaf has both its
hardships and its blessings. The beauty of the language alone makes one want to learn all
that he or she can about it. In this paper I will discuss the beauty of the language and
the misconceptions the hearing world has about deafness.
The deaf culture has often been labeled as the deaf- and- dumb culture. This is not only
an insulting term it is also very inaccurate. Deaf people are just as intelligent as
hearing people. In the early 1800's when ASL was first brought about in the United States
Being deaf was considered shameful and defective. The first school for the deaf was
called The American Asylum for the instruction of the Deaf and Dumb ; in those days this
was an acceptable term to use. There are many other terms that are unacceptable to the
deaf, such as : deaf-mute, mute, hearing handicapped, disabled, dummie etc.. Even in
today's day and age some people still use these terms. Another common assumption of the
hearing is that all deaf people can or should read lips, this is not so- lip reading is
very difficult to master. Verbalization is also expected from the deaf by the hearing,
this is also very difficult for the deaf because most deaf people have never heard their
own voice and cannot know if their intonation, pitch and volume are used correctly.
Another misconception about the deaf is that different from the hearing, most hearing
people mean well, but speak to the deaf as if they are mentally challenged, this is why a
deaf person may walk away or give a disapproving look.
The hearing world often believes that all deaf people are deaf from birth, this is not
always the case. A childhood illness could have affected the persons hearing, adult
deafness also occurs, this is the most difficult for the person to deal with in some
cases depression sets in and suicide becomes the result. An adult that goes deaf feels
they can lose alot; friends, a job, a marriage.
I have watched three movies about the deaf culture, each has helped me to understand the
Deaf World a little better.
The first movie I watched was Mr. Holland's Opus, which was about a musician whose son
was born deaf. This was very upsetting to the musician because his son would never be
able to hear the music that was so important to him. As a result father and son drifted
and never really had the connection that a father and son should have until the father
realized that his son wasn't so different after all. I could relate to this movie because
the one thing I think deaf people are missing out on is the beauty of music. Music is
such an important part of my life that I would dread to have a life without it.
The movie Love is Never Silent  consisted of a hearing child left alone with deaf parents
when her younger hearing brother dies. This movie shows how she was her parents sole link
to the hearing world. It also showed how her parents were looked at by the hearing world
and how they looked at the hearing world. They had a certain distrust for the hearing.
The daughter was ashamed to have deaf parents and to sign in front of hearing people
because she didn't want to be different. Her parents had control over her life and she
would nit allow herself a life because of them. The mother and daughter wind up resenting
each other and fighting. In the end the mother realizes that the way they clung to her
was wrong and an understanding was reached and love was once again flowing between them.
This showed what kind of hardships deaf people face not only in the outside world but
inside themselves.
The movie A Bridge to Silence was about the opposite- a deaf child with hearing parents.
The mother blamed herself for her daughters deafness due to a case of spinal meningitis
the daughter had contracted as a child. The mother never fully accepts the daughter and
it shows the heartache of a deaf girl growing up trying to have her mother accept her for
who and what she is. The daughter was married to a deaf man and had a hearing child which
the mother tried to take away. In the end we learn that the mother wanted a second chance
at a healthy child, and she eventually comes to terms with her daughters deafness and
mends the relationship. In the book For Hearing People Only we read about deaf children
with hearing parents, a hearing parent is less likely to accept a deaf child for a fear
of imperfection, while deaf parents will accept both a hearing and deaf child in the sane
way because they do not fear that the child is imperfect they just love it.
In the book Deaf in America (Voices from a Culture) through stories told by deaf people
we see certain aspects of their lives that we wouldn't otherwise understand. A story from
the first chapter struck me not strange but purely coincidental. Sam Supella tells his
story of a hearing friend who thought there was something wrong with him.(p.15) Sam grew
up in a deaf house hold while his friend grew up in a hearing house hold, he thought that
her family was strange because they communicated with their mouths while his family
communicated with their hands. This struck me coincidental because we all do the same
thing when someone does things in a different way than we do. This just shows us that we
are all the same, hearing or deaf ,we all have the same type of ideals and thoughts about
different things.
What makes people so curious about ASL? The language in itself is absolutely beautiful.
The fluent a hand motions, the finger spelling and the facial expressions are
mesmerizing. When a person does not understand ASL they sit and stare, wondering what the
people who are signing are talking about and how they do that. In class when I watched
you sign a song I was amazed at how graceful and beautiful it looked. Being a new signer
I found this captivating and I knew I had to learn how to sign fluently. In classes where
there are interpreters for the deaf I find myself watching them trying to pick up some
new signs.
Another beautiful part of this language is that it is quiet, you could speak to someone
from across a crowded room and never even utter a word. When people speak about learning
how to sign, they are only going on what they see outside from deaf classmates, movies,
etc.. The language is very difficult to grasp, it is in fact a language with its own
syntax. In the movie Bridge to Silence we see plays done by the deaf and as an observer
it looks even better than a dance and it even seems more rhythmic than music.
An in-class experience we had was when Walter a deaf man came to visit. He explained many
things about himself in sign, and moved his lips to help us understand better. He told us
about his family and how he and his wife feel differently about the hearing. She would
rather not partake in activities with the hearing while he doesn't really care.
I could write a book on both of the aspects I have chosen but I feel it is very important
to get across my feelings about ASL, deaf people and the culture. The reason I chose ASL
as my language is because it intrigued me, it looked interesting and different. I have
also come to a greater understanding of cultures as a whole from this one class alone. I
can imagine all the embarrassment deaf people must have felt throughout history in this
world. The majority always feels it is superior to the minority therefore what the
minority does is viewed as wrong or weird.
In conclusion to this paper I feel that the problems we encounter as hearing people are
not so different than the problems deaf people encounter. The prejudices we encounter are
different though. While people could be prejudiced against us for our religion, color,
race etc. we are prejudiced against the deaf for not hearing or speaking. Throughout the
years we have evolved somewhat into human beings with a little more compassion for other
people. I do agree that deaf people should never have had to endure the ridicule and
humiliation for just being themselves, nor should they have been hidden away in asylums
or sterilized because they shouldn't breedthe majority of deaf children come from hearing
parents then and now. The treatment of deaf people throughout the generations has caused
the consequences we now talk about. As for the misconception that deaf people are
different, our forefathers have caused that and people have just followed along
generation after generation.
I also feel that ASL is a beautiful language and should be given as a choice in language
requirements in all grade levels. This language that was brought to us over 150 years ago
could sustain and still be useful today for within our own country unlike Italian, French
or German. It has some kind of magic that makes us want to learn and speak it when we do
not have to. The fluent and rhythmic motions are mesmerizing and captivating and anyone
with the means to learn it should.
Bibliography 
Bahan, Ben. Hoffmeister, Robert. Lane, Harlan. A Journey into the Deaf World. USA: Dawn
Sign Press.
Humphries, Tom. Padden, Carol. Deaf in America (Voices from a Culture). Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press.
Levitan, Linda. Moore, Matthew.S. For Hearing People Only. New York: Deaf Life Press.