122 FOR HEARING PEOPLE ONLY Chapter 18 "How do I know if someone is using ASL or signed English?"

How do I know if someone is using ASL or signed English? I have some sign skills which I have learned from family members who are deaf but just recently I learned that there is a difference. I always thought it was just one lan- guage, that is, . So I am wondering if you would inform me a little bit more about ASLj maybe some rules or some examples if possible.

-Shelley MacLean, Sydney, Nova Scotia

hen sign-language students talk about all the different kinds of sign systems, Manu- ally Coded English systems, and variations thereof, they use the term "continuum." What's a sign-language continuum, anyway? It's a diagram representing the entire population of sign- language users-from the purest Signing-Exact-English ap- proach to the purest ASL approach, and all possible blends or variations in between. Think of a broad arc. On the right are the "pure ASL" users; on the left, the "pure English users. Pidgin Sign English, which borrows features from both ASL and English, would be situated in the middle of the arc, a bit towards the right. Signed English would be a bit more to- wards the left. But both are distinct from ASL. As we've already noted, English and ASL are two very distinct . One is orally/ aurally based; the other is visual/gestural/spatial. It's possible to transpose any En- glish sentence into a visual/ gestural/ spatial equivalent-at the crudest level, it can be done with , which simply shows each letter as a different -a manual CHAPTER 18 I 7.~ FOR HEARING PEOPLE ONLY 125 I&I sorts. ASL is very expressive, eruptive. Since the face is used code. It is considerably more difficult to render ASL into as a grammatical marker, expressions are "exaggerated" and spoken or written English- Every time it gets translated, it held momentarily. There is very little mouthing of words. loses something. When you say "signing," it can be a basic Signs and phrases are often repeated for emphasis: "YOU- manual rendition of English, or it can be true ASL. There are GO-FINISH, WHY?. . .WHY?" ("Why did you go?") many shades of possibilities-and many opportunities for One way to "tune intorfASL is to try to catch the sentence confusion as well. ASL, it should be emphasized, is not synonymous with subject. In ASL, the subject, the topic of the sentence, often If sign language." The term "sign language" can be loosely comes first. Modifiers (such as adjectives) often come after the employed to mean any sort of sign-based communication, subject. Signed-English systems follow the syntax of spoken including manually coded systems. So taking a course in English, and thus place verbs and modifiers before the sub- "Basic Sign," "Basic Sign Communication," or even "Basic ject. This makes signed sentences a bit easier-or more diffi- Sign Language" won't necessarily introduce you to ASL, but cult-to "read." It depends on your visual-communicative to some or many of the components of communicatingin ASL. background. "Signed English" is not strictly the same as "Sign English," As for the political ramifications, be aware that some ASL but for the sake of simplicity, that's the term we're using here. advocates look askance at Signed English (i.e., as an everyday We define "Signed English" as English rendered into sign, medium of communication among deaf people). Signed En- essentially following the syntactical pattern (sentence struc- glish, in this view, "dilutes" and "distorts" pure ASL. It ture) of English, not ASL. The signs may be borrowed liber- employs many initialized signs, a number of which have ally from ASL usage; the arrangement follows English word found their way into "permanent" ASL usage, and are cer- order. English markers such as -ly are denoted by special tainly acceptable to most Deaf people. But woe betide the signs or are spelled out. signer who inadvertently uses one of them while talking to a How do you tell ASL from Signed English on sight? Very purist! roughly speaking, you have to catch the rhythm of the sign- What many people, purists included, may not realize is that ing. ASL has a different flow, a different "look" from Signed "pure" pre-Signed-English ASL absorbed a number of initial- English. The rhythm is entirely different because the syntax ized French signs, such as "look at/see," with the distinct "V" of ASL is so different from Signed English. In ASL you would handshape, which was borrowed directly from the LSF sign sign "YOU BUY CAR MAYBE YOU?" or "CAR BUY YOU for voiv. This sign is often described as iconic, with the MAYBE?" or "YOU-CAR BUY MAYBE?" (depending on extended index and middle fingers supposedly mimicking your emphasis and signing style), while using the facial- the two eyes as they look (rather like snail's eyes on stalks). grammatical questionmarker, the eyebrow raise/brow crease, But it's actually an old initialized French sign. Research has and a subtle tilting forward of the head. In Signed English or uncovered the "real meaning" of more of these signs. Pidgin Sign English you'd sign something like "WILL YOU So it cannot be said that initialized signs are automatically BUY CAR, MAYBE?" with more mouthing of the English bad, intrusive, non-ASL usage. Which contemporary initial- words. ized signs are acceptable ASL and which are not is a matter of To someone not familiar with the language, an ASL conver- dispute. Don't let that stop you. Keep practicing, and have sation looks like a lightning-quick, intense "pantomime" of fun.