Ebonics

Generally speaking, many people do not know much about American Sign Language, if anything at all. This is attributed to the fact that many do not consider it a language of its own, simply because it does not have a written form. Truth is, it is ranked the third most used non-English language here in the United States. There is much to learn about the language, and people should set forth and attempt to become more familiar with the deaf community and their form of communicating.
American Sign Language otherwise referred to as ASL has had an enduring history. The origins of the language are drawn to the development of a significant large population of deaf people centered around the first school for deaf children in France at around 1761. Less than a decade after, in 1817, a Deaf teacher from the school helped establish the first public school for deaf children in the United States. Although his language was incorporated into the early curriculum, the children’s own gestural systems mingled with the official signed language, resulting in a new form that was no longer identifiable as French Sign Language. This is why a lot of the ASL signs reflect the French signs today, but the languages are still different enough to be considered distinct. At the time, not many would have known, but this was the beginning of something that was going to alter lives forever.
Overall, the Deaf community is pretty accepted in society. Every state has at least one school for the Deaf. Since the founding of the first school in Hartford, Connecticut in 1817, residential schools play a prominent role in defining the Deaf community. Ample children grow up together in a residential setting, learn to develop friendships, and this is something vital. Socializing is a key factor in the lives of Deaf, just like anybody else’s. Schools for the Deaf are like a haven for the Deaf culture, they offer a lifestyle that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Along with this, it is only obvious that the... [continues]

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