National American Sign Language (ASL) Day is on April 15th! This date honors the day in 1817 when the first school for the Deaf in the United States opened!
History of Sign Language
The earliest record of a signed language dates from the early 17th century, but signed languages have probably existed ever since civilizations began. Though American Sign Language (ASL) is a descendant of French Sign Language, it is influenced by many events that preceded more formalized sign languages that flourished since the 1700s.
One event that influenced the development of modern-day ASL, was the high number of deaf individuals at Martha’s Vineyard. It is estimated that one in four residents in 1714 were deaf. Residents created and learned Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL) to prevent communication barriers between the deaf and hearing residents.
American School For The Deaf
Founded in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut, the American School for the Deaf was originally called the Connecticut Asylum for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb Persons. It was founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who traveled to Europe in 1815 to study other deaf schools. Laurent Clerc, a deaf teacher of LFS (Langue des Signes Française), assisted in opening the school and developing the curriculum.
By the end of the first year of operations, there were 31 students enrolled, including individuals from Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts and Henniker, New Hampshire. Both of those communities had their own form of signed language. Modern day ASL was formed using those initial signs, combined with Clerc’s LSF. Those who graduated from ASD would go on to start other schools for the deaf around the United States to help spread ASL.
ASL Today
ASL is now the 3rd most popular language for college students to learn. Reports in 2019 showed that 107,060 students chose to learn ASL. It is estimated that it is used by 500,000 people – both deaf and hearing – in the US and Canada.
Despite ASL’s growth since the 1800s, more than 98% of deaf people do not receive education in sign language and 72% of families do not sign with their deaf children. However, in this modern era, there are many great free resources online to get started to learn sign language! See some of our links below to get started!
ASL Connect via Gallaudet University
Signed With Heart Youtube Channel
Related Blog: Employee Learns ASL to Communicate with Deaf Individuals