The Linguistics of American Sign Language

By John O. Isenhath

This textbook investigates the underlying linguistic alterations that occur when a person moves from one language, English, to another, American Sign Language. It also serves as a practical guide for understanding ASL as a communication system and as a learnable language. The material is presented in a simple-to-complex sequence with illustrations and training exercises to facilitate learning.The teaching text is divided into two main parts. First, ASL is investigated from the point of view of how manual language enables a signer to express ideas or feelings through a visual and gestural modality. Second, the book concentrates on the grammatical structure of ASL. The reader learns how signs are modified by context and how they can become so interrelated that one sign may affect the composition of another sign within a sentence. A variety of sentence patterns are presented with a discussion of how each pattern is influenced by linguistic and situational constraints.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0899504930
• ISBN13: 9780899504933
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 255 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.