By Eddy Laird , McDaniel College
ASL , I believe , matters . Knowledge of ASL matters , as does knowledge about ASL . Attitudes and beliefs about ASL matter , as well . And yet , for the most part , Deaf people are not only bilingual , but also know very little about ASL and its linguistics . Whereas knowledge of English may be almost universally accepted as among the characteristics of educated Deaf people , the same , at least in the United States , cannot be said to be true for either knowledge of ASL or for knowledge about ASL . Such ignorance is not simply sad , either ; it , too , makes a difference . The knowledge of ( and about ) ASL does have considerable value and should not be undervalued .
ASL is , unquestionably , at the core and heart of the Deaf experience . ASL is not only what makes Deaf people unique , but it is arguably the one of the most important tools that they use in maintaining a democratic society . ASL is , in fact , like the glue that holds virtually everything else that they value as human beings . In essence , ASL is a human language .
I applaud the Society for American Sign Language ( SASL ) whose members have spent their lives studying , learning , and teaching ASL . They have not only an affection for ASL that they study and teach , but also a desire to share that affection with Deaf people , colleagues , and friends . I do know , however , that apathy ( and even antipathy ) are by far the most common responses among people toward ASL . Many , perhaps even most people , have fundamental misconceptions about the nature of ASL , its attributes and characteristics , social and cultural functions of ASL , and the role of ASL in human society .
There has been a long-standing debate among ASL educators and those interested in ASL education about the interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning ASL . Teachers have an incredibly complex and daunting task ; however , in the context of ASL education , this means that they should have achieved a high degree of competence in ASL . There are , interestingly enough , evidences that their ASL proficiency is rarely evaluated . This is especially significant because Deaf students often view teachers as their language and cultural models . Their job is not only to teach them the linguistics of ASL , but also provide them with an introduction to Deaf culture , ASL literature , and indeed , the DEAF-WORLD . Unfortunately , I must admit that all too few Deaf students have any solid understanding of ASL grammatical terminology , yet , it is quite common to find that hearing students
know more about ASL grammar in their ‘ foreign / world language ’ classes . ( Continued to page 7 ) The Power of ASL 6 Summer 2016 – Issue 2