SASL Newsletter - Spring 2017 Issue Issue 5 - Spring 2017 | Page 13

Finally, if we examine the sign for PICTURE / IMAGE in the 1856 French Sign Language
dictionary of Pélissier, we see elements of both the facial contact and the hand contact in the
following sign sequence:
Fig. 4: “Picture / Image” (Pelissier, 1856, PL. V, image 8)
This older sign in France included both single-digit contact with the face, and a following
contact with the hand, using a different handshape. From the many variants we see today, including
the SMSD sign, we can see how the signs in communities in North America evolved to retain
different elements of the original expression for “picture”.
In this research, sociolinguistic questions include: What were the influences on the
development of ASL at St. Mary’s School for the Deaf? Was it the fact that the 3 original members of
the Sisters of St. Joseph who came to America learned sign at the school for the deaf in St. Etienne,
France, instead of Paris? Was it the fact that the Catholic schools for the deaf network encouraged
far-flung enrollment and connections to other Catholic schools for the Deaf in Canada and the United
States? Based on our community-focused questions and discoveries, I look forward to continuing
research into the Buffalo, NY-region variety of ASL.
As I close in considering what ASL means to me, the answer is: “Everything -- from intellectual
challenge to family connection, to community membership.” I have made this choice and it has been
WONDERFUL!
References
Bailey, C. S., & Dolby, K. (2002). The Canadian dictionary of ASL. Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta Press.
Hockett, C. F. (1960). The origin of speech. Scientific American, 203(3), 88-96. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0960-88
McDonald, B. H. (1982). Aspects of the American Sign Language predicate classifier system (Doctoral dissertation). University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
Pélissier, P. (1856). Iconographie des signes, avec des notes explicatives. Paris, France: Paul Dupont.
Shroyer, E., & Shroyer, S. P. (1984). Signs across America. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
The Power of ASL
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Spring 2017 – Issue 5