![]() ![]() Yes-no questions illustrate another difference between ASL grammar and English. ASL does not lack grammar it has a grammar of its own that is different from that of English. This is one of the many differences between ASL grammar and English grammar. ASL has many ways of combining into a single sign complex meanings that can only be expressed with a sequence of words in English. These meanings, which English needs four words or more to express, are expressed with only one sign in ASL. Adding a circular movement to these signs produces signs meaning "I ask her for a long time" and "she asks me for a long time:"Ĭhanging the movement in other ways produces signs meaning "I ask her repeatedly," "I ask her continually," "she asks me repeatedly," "she asks me continually," and others. In ASL the complex meanings "I ask her" and "she asks me" are each expressed by a single sign.Ī single ASL sign can express even more. English requires three different words to express "ask," the person asking, and the person asked. The hand's orientation and the direction in which it moves indicate who is asking whom. For example, the signs below mean "I ask her," and "she asks me." Like the words of other languages, ASL signs express meanings, not English words.Ī single ASL sign can express an entire sentence that requires three words or more in English. They are expressed by two different signs in ASL, just as they are expressed by two different words in French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and most other languages. For example, the English word "right" has two meanings: one is the opposite of "wrong," the other is the opposite of "left." But there is no ASL sign with these two meanings. ![]() If ASL signs stand for English words, there would be a sign with the same two meanings as the English word. As the truth came to light in the second half of the 20th century, it surprised everyone.ĭo the signs of American Sign Language (ASL) stand for English words? A simple test is to find English words that have two different meanings. Most Americans thought it was a way to express English words with signs-a substitute for speech. Those who noticed that many thoughts are expressed differently in sign and in English assumed that sign was an ungrammatical form of English. Not even Deaf people who used sign language in their daily lives knew what it was. During most of the 20th century, no one really knew. ![]()
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