Secondary Research (Part Two)

• There has been no reliable census to find the number of ASL users in the United States, but estimates are between 500,000 and 2 million.

• ASL is a different language than English. It has its own grammar and culture.

• In 1817, Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Callaudet founded American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb,which is now (for apparent reasons) called American School for the Deaf.

• ASL adds new signs all the time to keep up with the new technology and such.

• Signs are grouped into categories:

1. Transparent: Non-signers can usually guess the meaning correctly
2. Translucent: The sign makes sense to non-signers once explained
3. Opaque: The meaning can't be guessed by people who don't sign

• Most signs are categorized as opaque.

• ASL is a visual language as opposed to a written one. Therefore, when it is translated to writing, the characters written aren't the exact same as they are when signed.

"American Sign Language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia."
8 Oct. 2008 "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_sign_language"