I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again but it is absolutely an example of civilizational inadequacy that only deaf people know ASL
“oh we shouldn’t teach children this language, it will only come in handy if they [checks notes] ever have to talk in a situation where it’s noisy or they need to be quiet”
My mom learned it because she figured she’ll go deaf when she gets old
My family went holiday SCUBA diving once, and a couple of Deaf guys were in the group. I was really little and I spent most of the briefing overcome with the realization that while the rest of us were going to have regulators in our mouths and be underwater fairly soon, they were going to be able to do all the same stuff and keep talking.
The only reason some form of sign language is not a standard skill is ableism, as far as I can tell.
For anyone interested in learning, Bill Vicars has full lessons of ASL on youtube that were used in my college level classes.
https://www.youtube.com/user/billvicars
and here’s the link to the website he puts in his videos:
https://www.lifeprint.com/
Update: you guys this is an amazing resource for learning asl. Bill Vicars is an incredible teacher. His videos are of him teaching a student in a classroom, using the learned vocabulary to have conversations.
Not only is the conversation format immersive and helpful for learning the grammar, but the students make common mistakes which he corrects, mistakes I wouldn’t have otherwise know I was making.
He also emphasizes learning ASL in the way it’s actually used by the Deaf community and not the rigid structure that some ASL teachers impose in their classrooms
His lesson plans include learning about the Deaf community, which is an important aspect of learning ASL. Knowing how to communicate in ASL without the knowledge of the culture behind it leaves out a lot of nuances and explanations for the way ASL is.
Lastly, his lessons are just a lot of fun to watch. He is patient, entertaining, and funny. This good natured enthusiasm is contagious and learning feels like a privilege and not a chore
And it’s all FREE. Seriously. If you’ve ever wanted to learn ASL
Yeah, it’s important to know that ASL (American Sign Language) is not mutually intelligible with BSL (British Sign Language), Auslan (Australian Sign Language), or NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language), even though they’re all from countries where English is the primary spoken/written language.
(BSL, Auslan, and NZSL are mutually intelligible with each other, afaik, just not with ASL.)
ASL is much more closely related to LSF (French Sign Language/Langue des Signes Française) than it is to the other Anglosphere sign languages.
(Irish Sign Language is in the same language family as LSF and ASL, but it also has a lot of influence from BSL and I don’t know whether or not it’s mutually intelligible with ASL.)
ASL is used in the USA, Canada, West Africa, and a few other places, and but it won’t necessarily help you communicate with Deaf people in other English-speaking countries (unless they’ve learned ASL as a second language).
It can definitely be useful to learn at least one sign language, but it would probably be a good idea to prioritize learning the specific sign language that’s going to be most useful in your area.
