ASL Not Foreign Language?

Do You Think ASL Should Be Counted As Foreign Language?

  • Yes

    Votes: 25 71.4%

  • No

    Votes: 9 25.7%

  • Not Sure

    Votes: 1 2.9%
  • Total voters
    35
D

DeafCapricorn

New Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
82
Reaction score
0
Do you think ASL should be considered a Foreign Language Course?

Does anyone know anything about this...

I've noticed that ASL is not counted as a foreign language... why is that?

Just wondering...
 
I think it's because people don't understand that ASL is not based on spoken English. It's only recently that ASL is recognized as language separate from English.

That's why some states are attempting to get it recognized as national language instead of foreign language for bills so they have better chances of not getting it veto. That way students who take ASL will have it credit as foreign language and this will encourage more students to take ASL classes.

You could say it's a shortcut to get it accepted as language itself and bypass the ignorance congress.
 
ASL is foreign language for everybody. School and College now has that course and credit for it.
 
I voted yes...it is foreign to the general hearing population, right?
 
Yes I do and I also think that it should be taught at public schools as a forigen language that students can get credit for. Maybe then more of the hearing population will know sign language.
 
No, I disagree, because for example: when American visit to any countries (China for example), and they identity American as foreigner, right? Now, hearing person who take ASL as foreign course, and hearing person will consider deaf person as foreigner? That doesn't sound right.
 
authentic said:
No, I disagree, because for example: when American visit to any countries (China for example), and they identity American as foreigner, right? Now, hearing person who take ASL as foreign course, and hearing person will consider deaf person as foreigner? That doesn't sound right.
Click to expand...

That was the debate in one of my graduate classes at Gallaudet. LOL!
 
authentic said:
ha! :D
Click to expand...

Yea and I remember either I or another student brought up how ASL is foreign to the majority of the population in the US so therefore it should be considered foreign. That stopped the debate right there. We are talking about a language not about the people who use it.

Think about it...I was born deaf but didnt know ASL until 28 years old so all of my life, it was foreign to me. Then, there is my coworker who is a CODA whose first language is ASL so that means she is foreign? No..but instead of looking at the people, look at the language itself.
 
^ Ah I can see why it shut up the class. lol What you are saying is true.

English itself is foreign to many deaf people, and yet that doesn't make them foreigner to US.
 
Silentwolfdog said:
^ Ah I can see why it shut up the class. lol What you are saying is true.

English itself is foreign to many deaf people, and yet that doesn't make them foreigner to US.
Click to expand...

Right. Foreign when applied to a language only means "unknown" or "different".
 
It should be counted, yes. It is not simply a different method of conveying the English language- it is a language, with grammar and structure of it's own. One I'm certianly still having enough trouble catching onto. :P
 
True that Alesser... I can barely memorize the structure and there's so many different classifiers and stuff that I can't seem to catch onto...
 
shel90 said:
Yea and I remember either I or another student brought up how ASL is foreign to the majority of the population in the US so therefore it should be considered foreign. That stopped the debate right there. We are talking about a language not about the people who use it.

Think about it...I was born deaf but didnt know ASL until 28 years old so all of my life, it was foreign to me. Then, there is my coworker who is a CODA whose first language is ASL so that means she is foreign? No..but instead of looking at the people, look at the language itself.
Click to expand...

That reminds me of a forum that I used to belong to that had mostly American Indians. Many of the traditional Indians still speak their nation's language and they're native too. So yes, their languages and ASL should be considered foreign languages despite the fact neither Deaf or NDNs (indians) came here from different countries.
 
Hmm...If English becomes the official language of the United States, then will ASL truly become a "foreign" language? Or will English become the official spoken and written language, and ASL the official signed language of the United States? There are several twists and turns to this. :hmm:
 
i would have agree with Reba

i would never learn foreign sign languages before but i little learn in England when im visit in 2002 and some same sign languages in England again i never see that before! and im really like to learn foreign sign languages sometimes who taught as foreign sign languages in England.

but im mostly sign lots in American than foreign
 
Back
Top