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American Sign Language: A Step-by-Step Guide to Signing
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While learning a new language isn t a knack for everyone, Knack American Sign Language finally makes it easy. The clear layout, succinct information, and topic-specific sign language partnered with high-quality photos enable quick learning. By a bilingual author whose parents were both deaf, and photographed by a design professor at the leading deaf university, Gallaudet, it covers all the basic building blocks of communication. It does so with a view to each reader s reason for learning, whether teaching a toddler basic signs or communicating with a deaf coworker. Readers will come away with a usable knowledge base rather than a collection of signs with limited use.
Barron's 500 Flash Cards of American Sign Language
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Full-color photos on flash cards present close-ups of a model demonstrating 500 American Sign Language (ASL) signs. The meanings, brief descriptions of hand and arm motions, and related words are listed on the reverse side of each card. Correct formations of hand shapes and facial expressions are clearly shown to eliminate any possible confusion regarding intended word meanings. Where appropriate, photos include directional arrows that show hand or arm movements. Each flash card has a hole in one corner to accommodate a metal ring included with the boxed set. Users can select and fit any combination of cards they please to combine relevant words and create statements, or to review signs that they have difficulty identifying. Here is an ideal method for recognizing and memorizing American Sign Language vocabulary--a fine learning resource for all who plan to work with deaf people.
The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language
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Created by an unparalleled board of experts led by renowned ASL linguist and poet Clayton Valli, The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language represents the culmination of more than five years of meticulous assessment and labor. More than 3,000 illustrations arrayed in this volume display the most useful selection of signs to be found in any single ASL reference resource. Each sign illustration, including depictions of fingerspelling when appropriate, incorporates a complete list of English synonyms. A full, alphabetized English index enables users to cross-reference words and signs throughout the entire volume. The comprehensive introduction lays the groundwork for learning ASL by explaining in plain language the workings of ASL syntax and structure. It also offers examples of idioms and describes the antecedents of ASL, its place in the Deaf community, and its meaning in Deaf culture. This extraordinary reference also provides a special section unique to this volume on ASL classifiers and their use. Readers will find complete descriptions of the various classifiers and examples of how to use these integral facets of ASL. The full-color DVD included with this dictionary features a diverse group of native ASL signers demonstrating how to form each of the 3,077 signs. Fully searchable, users can view a sign and quickly go to its synonyms. This and the many other exclusive features in The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language combine to make it the outstanding ASL reference for all instructors, students, and users of ASL.
Gallaudet Encyclopedia of Deaf People and Deafness
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Here for the first time is a comprehensive single source, providing information on every possible aspect of the issues and culture of the deaf and hearing-impaired community. Published under the sponsorship of Gallaudet College, Washington, DC, the world's only liberal arts college for the deaf, and written by 300 experts from around the world in the fields of sociology, audiology, law, education, psychology, history, and rehabilitation, this unique and authoritative three-volume reference work is broad in scope and international in coverage. It features 271 articles on sign languages and other methods of communication hearing, audiology, and auditory disorders organizations, associations, publications of the deaf community, rehabilitation, demographics, religion, biographies of distinguished deaf individuals, educational programs, and the conditions and status of the deaf community in most of the major countries around the world. This unique encyclopedia, including an 8,000-entry index and bibliographies for most articles, meets the needs of both professionals and laypersons for clearly written, comprehensive information about the deaf and hearing impaired. library... and is especially useful for government agencies, rehabilitation centers, and all individuals involved in any way with the deaf community... and, of course, for the deaf and hearing-impaired themselves.
Grammar, Gesture, and Meaning in American Sign Language
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In sign languages of the deaf some signs can meaningfully point toward things or can be meaningfully placed in the space ahead of the signer. This obligatory part of fluent grammatical signing has no parallel in vocally produced languages. This book focuses on American Sign Language to examine the grammatical and conceptual purposes served by these directional signs. It guides the reader through ASL grammar, the different categories of directional signs, the types of spatial representations signs are directed toward, how such spatial conceptions can be represented in mental space theory, and the conceptual purposes served by these signs. The book demonstrates a remarkable integration of grammar and gesture in the service of constructing meaning. These results also suggest that our concept of 'language' has been much too narrow and that a more comprehensive look at vocally produced languages will reveal the same integration of gestural, gradient, and symbolic elements.
A Historical and Etymological Dictionary of American Sign Language: The Origin and Evolution of More Than 500 Signs
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The story of how American Sign Language (ASL) came to be is almost mythic. In the early 19th century, a hearing American reverend, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, met a Deaf French educator, Laurent Clerc, who agreed to come to the United States and help establish the first school in America to use sign language to teach deaf children. The trail of ASL's development meanders at this point. No documentation of early ASL was published until the late 19th century, almost seven decades after the school's founding. While there are many missing pieces in the history of America's sign language, plenty of data exist regarding ASL etymology. This book is the first to collect all known texts featuring illustrations of early ASL and historical images of French Sign Language--langue des signes francaise (LSF)--and link them with contemporary signs. Through rigorous study of historical texts, field research in communities throughout France and the U.S., and an in-depth analysis of the cultural groups responsible for the lexicon, authors Emily Shaw and Yves Delaporte present a compelling and detailed account of the origins of over 500 ASL signs, including regional variations. Organized alphabetically by equivalent English glosses, each sign is accompanied by a succinct description of its origin and an LSF sign where appropriate. Featuring an introductory chapter on the history of the development of ASL and the etymological methodology used by the authors, this reference resource breaks new ground in the study of America's sign language.
It's Not What You Sign, It's How You Sign It: Politeness in American Sign Language
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The general stereotype regarding interaction between American Sign Language and English is a model of oversimplification: ASL signers are direct and English speakers are indirect. Jack Hoza's study It's Not What You Sign, It's How You Sign It: Politeness in American Sign Language upends this common impression through an in-depth comparison of the communication styles between these two language communities. Hoza investigates relevant social variables in specific contexts and explores the particular linguistic strategies ASL signers and English speakers employ when they interact in these contexts. It's Not What You Sign, It's How You Sign It is framed within politeness theory, an apt model to determine various interpretations of what speakers or signers mean in respect to the form of that which they say or sign. The variations reveal how linguistic and cultural differences intersect in ways that are often misinterpreted or overlooked in cross-cultural communication. To clarify these cross-linguistic differences, this volume explores two primary types of politeness and the linguistic strategies used by English speakers and ASL signers to express politeness concerns in face-to-face interaction. Hoza's final analysis leads to a better understanding of the rich complexity of the linguistic choices of these language groups.
The Joy of Signing: A Dictionary of American Signs
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The Joy of Signing is one of the most comprehensive guides available for mastering the current basic signs used to communicate with deaf people in either the word order of the English language or in the American Sign Language pattern. This updated third edition provides the basic vocabulary needed for persons entering interpreter training programs. Over 1,500 signs are clearly illustrated and are grouped by chapter into their natural categories. Families as well as professionals will appreciate this manual's conceptually based vocabulary. It includes sections on the history of sign language and fingerspelling, the art of signing, language patterns of signs, and an illustrated guide for fingerspelling.
Linguistics of American Sign Language
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Completely reorganized to reflect the growing intricacy of the study of ASL linguistics, the 5th edition presents 26 units in seven parts. Part One: Introduction presents a revision of Defining Language and an entirely new unit, Defining Linguistics. Part Two: Phonology has been completely updated with new terminology and examples. The third part, Morphology, features units on building new signs, deriving nouns from verbs, compounds, fingerspelling, and numeral incorporation. Part Four: Syntax includes units on basic sentence types, lexical categories, word order, time and aspect, verbs, and the function of space. The fifth part, Semantics, offers updates on the meanings of individual signs and sentences. Part Six: Language in Use showcases an entirely new section on Black ASL in the unit on Variation and Historical Change. The units on bilingualism and language and ASL discourse have been thoroughly revised and updated, and the Language as Art unit has been enhanced with a new section on ASL in film. Two new readings update Part Seven, and all text illustrations have been replaced by video stills from the expanded DVD. Also, signs described only with written explanations in past editions now have both photographic samples in the text and full demonstrations in the DVD.
Signing for Dummies
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The fast and easy way to grasp this evolving and growing language American Sign Language (ASL) is something we've all seen deaf people use in restaurants, hospitals, airports, and at work. The communication is fascinating to watch; to see people sharing ideas by using handshapes and body language is remarkable in a world so defined by sound. This new edition of Signing For Dummies gives you a general understanding of the properties of Sign, as well as an understanding of deaf culture. Designed to act as an introduction or a refresher, the book focuses solely on ASL, which is the most commonly used sign language in the United States. Categorized by subject, this illustrated guide covers grammar and sentence structure, along with the tools to get you going in basic conversation by knowing how to introduce and greet people; ask questions and make small talk; order food and chat with salespeople; handle medical emergencies; talk on the phone; get around town for fun or business; and much more. Plus, it stresses how ASL isn't just about using your fingers, hands, and arms, but also about facial expression and body language. More than 25 percent new and revised content, including the latest technological advances for the deaf; contact signing, code mixing, code switching, interpreting as a profession, and regionalism in signing Packed with "Fun & Games" sections that invite you to practice specific signs Hundreds of illustrations throughout, plus a video CD featuring demonstrations by ASL signers showing actual conversations Signing For Dummies is the fast and fun way to get you moving your hands, body, and face to convey meaning that reaches beyond linguistic barriers.
Sign Languages of the World
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Although a number of edited collections deal with either the languages of the world or the languages of particular regions or genetic families, only a few cover sign languages or even include a substantial amount of information on them. This handbook provides information on some 38 sign languages, including basic facts about each of the languages, structural aspects, history and culture of the Deaf communities, and history of research. This information will be of interest not just to general audiences, including those who are deaf, but also to linguists and students of linguistics. By providing information on sign languages in a manner accessible to a less specialist audience, this volume fills an important gap in the literature.
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