American Sign Language and Deaf Culture

Vocabulary terms covering ASL linguistics, cultural frameworks, historical figures, and seminal events from the lecture notes.

American Sign Language (ASL)

The language of the Deaf community; a visual language with its own syntax and vocabulary that has a genetic relationship to French Sign Language and is used in the United States and parts of Canada.

Fingerspelling (Manual Alphabet)

A manual system that expresses the letters of the English alphabet on the hands, directly representing the English spelling system.

Handshape

An ASL parameter referring to the shape of the hand; there are over 25 distinct handshapes used specifically in ASL.

Palm Orientation

An ASL parameter indicating the direction the palm is facing (e.g., upturned, downturned, facing toward, or facing away from the signer).

Location

An ASL parameter indicating where a sign is executed in space or on the signer's body (e.g., on the forehead, chest, or in the air).

Movement

An ASL parameter detailing the trajectory and action of the hand during a sign (e.g., upward, downward, forward, backward, diagonal, wave, or zigzag).

Facial Expressions (Non-Manual Markers)

Non-manual physical signals such as raised or lowered eyebrows, mouth movements, head movements, and eye gaze used to convey linguistic meaning in ASL.

Audiological Facet of Deaf Culture

A domain of membership in Deaf culture that refers to the actual physical loss of hearing ability.

Political Facet of Deaf Culture

A domain of membership in Deaf culture that refers to the potential ability to exert influence on matters directly affecting the Deaf community.

Linguistic Facet of Deaf Culture

A domain of membership in Deaf culture that refers to the ability to understand and use American Sign Language.

Social Facet of Deaf Culture

A domain of membership in Deaf culture determined by acceptance into the community through understanding, accepting, and identifying with Deaf culture, where attitude is prioritized over hearing loss level.

Clinical-Pathological Perspective

A viewpoint defining Deaf people as an audiological group with hearing impairment leading to learning, psychological, and communication difficulties, often treated negatively by the hearing majority.

Cultural Perspective

A viewpoint defining Deaf people as a cohesive group sharing a common language (ASL), common traditions, and a shared visual means of communication.

Signed Exact English (SEE)

A manual system that uses ASL signs along with added markers to represent English words verbatim on the hands using English syntax.

Manually Coded English (MCE)

A generic term for contrived, man-made visual systems using the hands to express English grammar and linguistic features (e.g., SEE, Signed English, fingerspelling).

Contact Style

A naturally occurring variety of manual communication that combines vocabulary and grammatical characteristics of both English and ASL as a result of cross-cultural contact.

Style (Signing)

A naturally occurring form of signing that blends vocabulary from ASL with English syntax.

System (Signing)

A contrived or man-made form of signing developed intentionally to teach English grammar to Deaf children.

CODA / KODA / SODA

Acronyms representing members of Deaf families: Child of a Deaf Adult, Kid of a Deaf Adult, and Sibling of a Deaf Adult.

Abbe de l'Epee

A hearing Jansenist priest (1712–1789) known as the 'apostle' of the Deaf in France; established a school for poor Deaf children and utilized existing French sign systems rather than inventing them.

Abbe Sicard

The successor to Abbe de l'Epee (1742–1822) who took charge of the French school for the Deaf, learned French Sign Language from Jean Massieu, and trained Laurent Clerc.

Laurent Clerc

A Deaf French educator (1785–1869) who traveled to the United States with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and became the first Deaf headmaster of a school for the Deaf in America.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet

Known as the 'Father' of education of the Deaf in America; inspired by Alice Cogswell, he traveled to Europe and brought Laurent Clerc to the United States to co-found the first American deaf school.

Alice Cogswell

A nine-year-old Deaf girl whose intelligence and inability to communicate inspired Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet to seek out effective methods for deaf education.

Hartford School for the Deaf (1817)

The first permanent school for the Deaf in America, established in Hartford, Connecticut by Clerc and Gallaudet, leading to the standardization of ASL.

Edward Miner Gallaudet

The youngest son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet who served as superintendent of the Columbia Institution and helped establish the first college for the Deaf (later Gallaudet University).

Milan Conference (1880)

The Second International Congress on Education of the Deaf where a declaration was passed endorsing oralism over sign language, resulting in deaf teachers losing their jobs worldwide.

Deaf President Now (DPN)

A historic March 1988 student protest at Gallaudet University ('the week that the world heard Gallaudet') that demanded and secured the appointment of a Deaf university president.

Dr. I. King Jordan

The eighth president and first Deaf president of Gallaudet University, appointed as a direct outcome of the Deaf President Now movement in 1988.

Noun-Verb Pairs Movement Distinction

A grammatical distinction in ASL where nouns typically employ a double movement (e.g., chair, door, window) while related verbs employ a single movement (e.g., sit, open door, close window).

Transmission of Deaf Culture

The process through which ASL and cultural traditions are passed down across generations, predominantly via residential Deaf schools and peer contact, since 90% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents.

Name Signs

Culturally bestowed designations in the Deaf community classified into two types: arbitrary (incorporating initials and neutral locations) and descriptive (reflecting physical or personal traits).