Communicating in Sign Creative Ways to Learn American Sign Language (ASL) [Paperback]

American Sign Language (ASL) is the primary means of communication among the 22 million deaf and hard-of-hearing people in this country—and those who live and work with them.
Communicating in Signrevolutionizes the way ASL is taught by offering a beginning vocabulary based on the grammar and syntax of native signers and illustrating the eye contact, facial expressions, and body language that accompany hand and mouth movements. This breakthrough approach to mastering ASL, written for a general audience, is an invaluable resource for anyone eager to learn a language that is rapidly becoming part of our mainstream culture and also for educators, businesses,and organizations working to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Communicating in Signplaces ASL within the context of Deaf culture and etiquette, delineating the components that contribute to its depth and richness.Chapter

Emotions

American Sign Language (ASL) is a beautiful language full of emotions. When we speak, we use our vocal chords, tongue, mouth, and ears. When we sign we use our hands, eyes, lips, jaw, and sense of touch. Our sense of touch, our feeling sense, springs to life when we sign. As we make the signs for emotions, we are really expressing how these emotions touch our body and our soul. If we are hungry, if we are happy, these basic feeling states easily transcend the spoken word. Learning to express emotions in American Sign Language is the key to understanding its power and immediacy.

The Five Basic Components of ASL

Imagine that you cannot speak or hear. You must find a way to communicate your feelings to others. Immediately, the almost unconscious physical responses to emotions that our bodies naturally make become our most basic vehicle for expression, instead of merely enhancing the words we speak. These physical responses are sometimes so second nature to us that we do not even realize our bli