ASL is Alive
American Sign Language (ASL) has been oppressed for many years, and although it is a fully functioning and recognized official language, it still sees many negative views and is always being shut down by medical professionals. The use of sign language has
William Stokoe (above) been around for as there have been Deaf people on earth. The language known as American Sign Language derives mostly from French Sign Language and has seen many changes and modifications. There is no true history on the language until around 1814 when Deaf education begin in America. ASL itself as an official language is only a very recent success for the Deaf community, dating only as far back as the early 1960's A man named William Stokoe who was a linguistic scholar recognized ASL as an official language upon his arrival at the only Deaf University in the world and assisted in the publishing of the first ASL dictionary in the late 1960. (Michelle Jay, 2008-2015) Stokoe also advocated for the rights of Deaf people and their education. "Stokoe proposed instead that ASL was, in fact, a fully formed human language in the same sense as spoken languages like English. Stokoe set about devising a descriptive system for the language that could be used to demonstrate this point to other linguists and the general public. This work culminated in the first modern linguistic treatment of a signed language, a monograph entitled Sign Language Structure, published in 1960. This was followed by the first dictionary of ASL, the 1965 volume A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles that Stokoe compiled with two deaf colleagues at Gallaudet, Carl Croneberg and Dorothy Casterline" (D. Armstrong 2000). Since it's recognition ASL is now the fourth most used language in the world. Well that's fantastic isn't it? Not exactly. Although ASL has been recognized for the last 60 years or so, it still faces many challenged revolving around oppression caused heavily by hearing privilege. |
Hearing privilege is something most if not all hearing people who are not educated about the Deaf culture or visual languages. it becomes an issue of naivety. It's not to say that all hearing people are acting this way on purpose, not everyone can know everything about other cultures. People are known to care only for which applies to them. The point of this article is to broaden the horizons of those interested in this wonderful community.
Gaulladett University (above)
For more information on William stokoe and Gaulladett University visit: http://gupress.gallaudet.edu/stokoe.html & http://www.gallaudet.edu/history.html |