1.

Who were the two men primarily responsible for the establishment of the first school for the
Deaf in America? (2 points)
Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc

2. About what percent of ASL vocabulary can be traced to French Sign Language (SL) cognates
(roots)? (2 points)
About 60%

3. Explain the difference between British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language
(ASL). (2 points)
ASL and BSL developed from two different sources. ASL was derived from French Sign
Language and indigenous signing, while BSL was created by the deaf community in the
British Isles, Australia and New Zealand. Also, BSL uses a two-handed manual
alphabet, while ASL user a one-handed alphabet.

4. Can a native ASL understand a native French Sign Language (FSL) user? Explain. (2 point)
Yes, they can communicate by improvising by using gestures, pantomime and
expressions until a mutual comprehension is established.

5. What is the preferred sentence structure of ASL? (2 points)

OSV (object subject verb)

6. Is ASL a written language? Why/Why not? (2 points)

ASL is a purely visual/gestural language, because in everyday usage, it's never written.

7. How can you tell if someone is using ASL or Signed English? (2 points)
ASL and Signed English have different rhythms. In ASL, you would sign "YOU BUY
CAR MAYBE YOU?"/ "YOU-CAR BUY MAYBE?" and ASL is very expressive, eruptive
and very little mouthing of words. In Signed English, you would sign, "WILL YOU BUY
CAR MAYBE?" with more meaning of the English words.

8. What have you learned from chapter 21? (2 points)

Some Deaf people would find it annoying if a hearing stranger interrupts their
conversation to offer to "help" or to "interpret". When Deaf people need help with
interpreting, they will ask for it. It is more forgivable for older children to mimic Deaf
people, but it's unacceptable for adults. In addition, Deaf people find it annoying when
attempting to do signs and fingerspelling but end up butchering it all messily rather than
a fluent signer. It's better to have a conversation in a long line in a supermarket, rather
than a bank or store when they're busy or preoccupied.
9. Explain the difference between Pidgin Sign English (PSE) and ASL. (2 points)
ASL is a distinct language which is derived from FSL and they don't map the English
words perfectly. On the other hand, PSE is the combination of ASL and American
English Signs.

10. Why don’t some Deaf people don’t like to read? (2 points)
ASL is a primarily visual language in which they use gestures and expressions. ASL has
no written form, which gives no reason for Deaf people to learn how to read. To add, it
was considered more important to teach deaf children how to have good speaking skills
rather than good reading and writing skills.