The origin story behind the school was that the school’s founder traveled to Europe and learned about the French Sign Language (LSF). But, it wasn’t until 1817, with the creation of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, CT, that a formal sign language was instituted in the US. There have long been “home-signing” languages that families developed for deaf members, and there is some evidence that Native Americans of the plains created a universal signing language to unite various tribes. It’s what is called a “natural language,” as opposed to a “constructed language” (such as that used in computer programming) or an “auxiliary language” (one created as a communication tool between regions, tribes, or nations). Just as oral languages developed naturally and organically, so did ASL.

ASL is most similar to French Sign Language (LSF), due to the influence of LSF in the creation of ASL (we’ll get to its origins in a moment).

Imagine being able to communicate with people in China, Bolivia, or Chad!Įuropean countries have their own signing languages though, and in some cases, more than one. But, it’s clear that ASL is recognized in more places around the world than Mandarin, so there’s that. We’re not sure which is easier for the ambitious traveler to learn: a language like Mandarin or American Sign Language. And, in recent years, there has been a push to accept ASL as a “foreign language” component on college and high-school campuses in the United States.

There is also an International Sign Language (ISL), but it’s not widely used and consists of a very standardized vocabulary which doesn’t really change.ĪSL is used as a common second language, or lingua franca, in Deaf communities throughout the world. Interestingly, those countries include the Philippines, Singapore, Jamaica, China, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cambodia, and Bolivia-a varied group. There are other sign languages (used less frequently in the US), including Signed Exact English (SEE) and Pidgin Signed English (PSE). English speakers in Canada and in a handful of other counties use ASL, too. American Sign Language, or ASL, is the visual signing language used by the Deaf community in the United States.

Another word for sign language