American Sign Language
Spoken in	North America, West Africa
Native speakers	(unknown)
Language family	French FSL-based creole[1] American Sign Language
Dialects	Black American Sign Language Puerto Rican Sign Language Bolivian Sign Ghanaian Sign Nigerian Sign
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ase
300px   Areas where ASL or a dialect/derivative of ASL is the national sign language   Areas where ASL is in significant use alongside another sign language

American Sign Language (ASL) is a sign language, a language in which the hands, arms, head, facial expression and body language are used to speak without sound. ASL is not related to English, and features an entirely different grammar and vocabulary.^[2] In the 1960s, ASL was sometimes referred to as "Ameslan"^[3] but this term is now obsolete.

ASL is the dominant sign language of deaf communities in the United States and English-speaking parts of Canada.^[4] Although the United Kingdom and the United States / Canada share English as a common oral and written language, British Sign Language (BSL) is a completely different language from ASL, and they are not mutually intelligible. ASL is instead related to French Sign Language.

Besides North America, dialects of ASL or ASL-based creoles are used, sometimes alongside indigenous sign languages, in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Mauritania, Kenya, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Barbados, Bolivia, China, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Like other sign languages, its grammar and syntax are distinct from any spoken language, including English.

Population[link]

The number of ASL speakers is unknown. Determining the number of people who use ASL is difficult because, unlike most oral languages, ASL use is not associated with a specific ethnicity, location, or even household. Rather, people learn ASL because they are deaf, hearing impaired or, less commonly, speech impaired, or because they have family or friends who sign. Further, most deaf children are born to hearing adults and thus learn ASL mainly at school, rather than from their parents, so it is often not the language of the home.^[5][6]

ASL is frequently, though incorrectly, cited as the fourth- or fifth-most-spoken language in the United States.^[7] These figures misquote a 1972 survey that actually concluded that ASL speakers constituted the fourth-largest population requiring an interpreter in court. Several other languages were more widely spoken, but many of their speakers were bilingual in English.^[8] The survey only questioned deaf people on whether they signed "well", it did not distinguish ASL from other sign languages, and it did not investigate how many hearing people among their friends and family, such as their children, might also sign.

From that incomplete 1972 data, it was extrapolated that there were at most 500,000 home signers, both deaf and hearing, in the United States at the time, with an unknown percentage being ASL signers. There has been no reliable estimate since the 1972 study. The US population has also grown by 50% in the roughly 40 years since 1972, and education for the deaf, including access to ASL, has greatly improved. In addition, the number of profoundly deaf people in the country (approx. 2.5 million in the year 2000), a figure commonly given as the upper bound in ASL estimates, cannot be used, as the majority (roughly 75%) of these people became deaf after age 65 and are unlikely to use ASL well, if at all.^[8][5]

Variations in signed English[link]

ASL words are also used with English grammar and word order plus, in some systems such as Signing Exact English ("SEE"), invented or modified signs for English inflections such as "-ing" and function words such as "the". These forms of signing, generically called Manually Coded English (MCE), are not ASL, but manually coded forms of English. See Manually Coded English for more information on these and other non-vocal language systems.^[2]

SEE and similar language codes are often used to teach English, its structure, grammar and syntax, to native ASL speakers. In addition, many hearing people, interpreters, and Deaf people when signing to a hearing person use what is commonly called Pidgin Sign English (PSE), or 'Contact Sign', a blend of English and ASL grammar and syntax using sign vocabulary. PSE can range from very English-like PSE (more like sign-supported English) to a very ASL-like PSE, which uses mostly ASL grammar and words, but may not use the finer ASL grammatical points.^[2]

History[link]

A sign language interpreter at a presentation

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In the United States, as elsewhere in the world, hearing families with deaf children have historically employed ad-hoc home sign, idiosyncratic systems of hand gesture that do not amount to full language, for rudimentary communication. There were however exceptions, such as the community of Martha's Vineyard, where a large percentage of the population was deaf and the entire hearing population was able to sign a true sign language. Elsewhere the development of sign language required the emergence of deaf schools, which brought large numbers of deaf children together. The story of ASL begins with deaf education, Martha's Vineyard, and a minister, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who was enlisted by a father to educate his deaf daughter, Alice Cogswell in 1814.

Prior sign languages[link]

France[link]

The French had a natural sign language, which is often referred to as Old French Sign Language (OFSL). OFSL was the language of a large community of Deaf people living in Paris. This language was passed down from deaf person to deaf person, and may be the oldest sign language of Europe. The Abbé Charles-Michel de l'Épée was the first to acknowledge that signed language could be used to educate the deaf.

An oft-repeated deaf folk tale explains Épée's role in the origin of LSF (and later, ASL): While visiting a parishioner, Épee met two deaf daughters conversing with each other using OFSL. The mother explained that her daughters were being educated privately by means of pictures. Épée was inspired by these deaf children and in 1771 established the first educational institution for the deaf.^[9] He created a series of grammatical signs to represent French grammatical markers (called "methodical signs") and taught those to his students so that they might learn grammatical French. At Épée's school, a large group of Deaf children lived together for the first time in France and it is this generation of native speakers which most likely developed OFSL into a full language. The combination of OFSL, methodical signs, and possibly other influences came together and evolved into French Sign Language, LSF, or langue des signes française.

United States[link]

Little is known of sign languages in the United States before 1817. In most communities there were few deaf people, and home sign was used. However, there were several communities with a high incidence of congenital deafness (30× the national average) where village sign language was used, and from where students attended the first schools for the deaf. The most famous of these was on Martha’s Vineyard. (See Martha's Vineyard Sign Language.)

Plains Indians[link]

In 1541, 1688, 1740, 1805, and 1828, there were reports that the Plains Indians developed a sign language to communicate between tribes of different languages. This sign language is believed to have developed in the lower Rio Grande prior to the Europeans settling and to have spread northward and become what is known as Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL). There is no evidence to show that it influenced the development of American Sign Language. By 1885, PISL had an estimated 110,000 users of various tribal dialects, but today it has only a small fraction of that number. It was not a language strictly for deaf people but an integral part of the language along with spoken components. It was also a common language between tribes who had different spoken elements.^[10]

Birth of American Sign Language and the American School for the Deaf[link]

In 1815, a Protestant minister, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, left his home in Hartford, Connecticut to visit Europe. Dr. Mason Cogswell had asked Gallaudet to investigate methods of teaching his deaf daughter, Alice Cogswell. While in England, Gallaudet hit a roadblock when directors of the Braidwood Schools, who taught the oral method, refused to share their methods of teaching. Nevertheless, while in London, Gallaudet met with Abbé Sicard, director of the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris, and two of his students, one of whom was Laurent Clerc. Sicard invited Gallaudet to visit the school in Paris. He did not go immediately, but instead traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland where he again met the directors of Braidwood. They again refused to teach him their methods. Gallaudet then traveled to Paris and learned the educational methods of the Royal Institution for the Deaf with sign language, a combination of Old French Sign Language and the signs developed by Abbé de l’Épée. Gallaudet persuaded Clerc to return with him to Connecticut and become a teacher for the deaf. Gallaudet and Clerc opened the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons (now called American School for the Deaf) in April 1817. Clerc used French Sign as the language of instruction. The largest group of students during the first seven decades of the school were from Martha’s Vineyard, and they brought their sign language with them. There were also 44 students from around Henniker, New Hampshire, and 27 from a settlement in southeastern Maine, each of which had their own sign language. Because these languages were not documented, it is unclear how much influence they had in the emerging ASL. Many of the students did not come from such areas, however, and arrived with nothing more than home sign. Nonetheless, Clerc reported that he often learned the students' signs rather than conveying FSL:^[1]

I see, however, and I say it with regret, that any efforts that we have made or may still be making, to do better than, we have inadvertently fallen somewhat back of Abbé de l’Épée. Some of us have learned and still learn signs from uneducated pupils, instead of learning them from well instructed and experienced teachers.

(Clerc, 1852, from Woodward 1978:336)

On the other hand, it is clear that the new language was not simply MVSL: Students returning to Martha's Vineyard from Hartford used signs that the islanders did not recognize.

Clerc also directed the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf for a year beginning in 1819, and one of his hearing students, Ronald MacDonald, established the first Canadian school for the deaf in Quebec in 1831. Canadian students attended the school in Hartford. Clerc spent the rest of his life in the US, providing a continuous influence of FSL. Nonetheless, the percentage of FSL signs in ASL is only moderate, at about 58%. ASL is thus not a dialect of FSL. Woodward (1978:339) characterized the result of this contact—between the FSL of Clerc and the village sign of many of the students—as a "massive abrupt change due to creolization".^[1]

Growth and standardization[link]

American Sign Language Convention of March 2008 in Austin, Texas

From its synthesis at this first public school for the deaf in North America, the language grew in an unbroken chain to the rest of the US and Canada. Graduates went on to found schools of their own. The only competing Deaf-community sign language was Quebec Sign, which was primarily restricted to francophone areas. Within the US, Deaf associations were formed, such as the National Association of the Deaf in 1880. Members from across the country met at national conventions, which helped stabilize the language, though each school tended to have a recognizable accent, with some distinct vocabulary; due to segregation a notably distinct dialect emerged in black schools.

Oralism versus Manualism[link]

After being strongly established in the United States there was a bitter fight between those who supported oralism over manualism in the late 19th century. Many notable individuals of high standing contributed to this debate, such as Alexander Graham Bell. The oralists won many battles and for a long time the use of sign was suppressed: socially and pedagogically. ASL was discouraged in schools for the deaf in many parts of the country at this time. Deaf teachers often were forced out of teaching to prevent deaf students from being exposed to sign language. Deaf children who did not progress adequately in oral programs were labeled "oral failures".^[11] Many did not consider sign language to be a legitimate language. This was changed by William Stokoe, a professor of English at Gallaudet University hired in 1955. He immediately became fascinated by ASL and began serious study of it. Eventually, through publication in linguistics journals of articles containing detailed linguistic analysis of ASL, he was able to convince the scientific mainstream that ASL was indeed a "language" on a par with any other.^{[citation needed]}

The modern language[link]

The language continues to grow, adding new signs for changes in culture and technology. For example, there is a sign for INTERNET and a one for Video blog (the L hands, touching at thumb tips, rotate up from palm down to palm forward). Hip-hop has been signed on YouTube.^[12]

Linguistics[link]

Two men and a woman signing.

ASL is a natural language, as proven to the satisfaction of the linguistic community by William Stokoe, and contains phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics just like spoken languages. Like other sign languages, it is a manual language and a visual language: information is encoded not in sounds but with the shape and movement of the hands and other parts of the body, and with facial expressions, including mouthing. Sign languages are commonly misunderstood as being gestural, but while gesture is used in sign languages just as it is in spoken languages (and indeed home sign is largely gestural), a sign language is fundamentally different from gesture in what it conveys and how it conveys it.

Iconicity[link]

The topic of iconicity in signed languages is a sensitive one. According to Saussure, one of the most important tenets of a real language is that the mapping between form and meaning (sign and signifier) must be completely arbitrary. As a result, linguists have tried to downplay the role of iconicity in signed languages. Since the onset of the Cognitive Revolution more research has emerged showing that all languages, including spoken languages, have iconic tendencies. As a result, linguists are taking a second look at iconicity in signed languages.

A common misconception is that signs are iconically self-explanatory, that they are a transparent imitation of what they mean, or even that they are pantomime. Signed languages typically have a higher degree of morphophonological iconicity than do spoken languages (called mimesis or onomatopoeia), and pantomime does play a much more extended role in signed languages compared to spoken language.

However, in some aspects of signed languages, iconicity does not seem to play a significant role. Research on acquisition of pronouns in ASL (Petitto, 1987) ^[13] has shown that children do not always take advantage of the iconic properties of signs when interpreting their meaning. Petitto showed that when children were acquiring the pronoun ‘you’ the iconicity of the point (at the child) was often confused, and treated more like a name. This is a similar finding to research in spoken languages on pronoun acquisition.

Klima and Bellugi^[14] devised three categories of explicitness in signs:

• Transparent: Non-signers can usually correctly guess the meaning
• Translucent: Meaning makes sense to non-signers once it is explained
• Opaque: Meaning has no apparent relation to the sign itself

There are differences in degrees of iconicity across sign types. Classifiers are very iconic. There is a need for more research on this, since this is not a topic that researchers easily agree on.

Grammar[link]

ASL grammar is completely unrelated to that of English. It lacks the inflections of English, such as tense and number, and does not use articles such as "the", but its spatial mode of expression has enabled it to develop an elaborate system of grammatical aspect that is absent from English. ASL grammar was obscured for much of its history by the practice of glossing it rather than transcribing it (see Writing systems below), a practice which conveyed little of its grammar apart from word order.

Variation[link]

When looking at variations it needs to be kept in mind that different groups of people do not always sign one way and not the other, rather they prefer and use a particular form of a sign more often.^[15] Furthermore, each individual signer has their own style of signing depending on various factors, such as where they went to school, if they were mainstreamed (see Mainstreaming (education)), who taught them ASL, at what age they learned ASL, and how active they are in the Deaf Community.^[16]

The American Sign Language used in different regions across North America reflects the spoken language around them.^[17] This may include the speed of their signing and names for local places.^[16]

Regional variation in Canada[link]

According to The Canadian Dictionary of ASL ^[18] there are five broad regions of ASL variation in Canada, the Pacific, Prairie, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic regions.

Regional lexical variation[link]

Throughout these regions only lexical variations have been explored. For example the word learn can be signed two different ways. There is the standard way to sign the word learn that seems to be used by most signers of ASL in Canada, and there is also an Atlantic regional variation. Another example is about, which has three different ways of signing it; these are the standard way and two regional variations (Atlantic and Ontario). The videos on the right hand side of the page highlight the different ways to sign the word about.^[18]

About – General sign

About – Atlantic Variation

About – Ontario Variation

Regional variation in the United States[link]

ASL has many regional and subcultural varieties and accents. "Just as there are accents in speech, there are regional accents in sign. People from the South sign slower than people in the North—even people from northern and southern Indiana have different styles."^[19]

Lexical variation[link]

The most obvious regional difference is in local signs. For example, there are more than six signs for birthday in ASL, just as in English one can say couch and sofa, or soda and pop, to mean the same thing.^[15]

Phonological variation[link]

According to Lucas, Bayley, and Valli, each sign has a handshape (see handshape section in American Sign Language grammar) and these handshapes can resemble signs of numbers or letters. Some signs that are created with a 1 handshape can also be made using an L or a 5 handshape (open handshape). There is a variation among regions in the United States when it comes to which handshape signers prefer to use. Signers from California, Missouri, Massachusetts and Louisiana favor the 1 handshape over the L handshape and open handshape, while signers from Maryland, Washington and Virginia prefer the L handshape and open handshape over the 1 handshape.^[20]

Black American Sign Language[link]

Black sign language is influenced by African American English (AAE). This is especially evident in the younger Black deaf community, with use of signs for AAE words like my bad and whassup.^[21] This is a language contact feature.

History[link]

Black ASL evolved out of racial segregation in the United States, especially in the South. While White and Black children were both instructed in ASL, only Black teachers were permitted to instruct Black deaf children.^[20] Black sign language was born out of this isolation. This isolation, as well as minimal adult input, contributed to the fact that Black Sign Language displays traditional sign language elements as well as the adoption of words used by younger hearing Black people.^[22]

Phonological variation[link]

Black sign language speakers prefer to use two hands opposed to one, for example: remember.^[21] Black sign language speakers are also more likely to sign higher on the body. A sign that may be lowered to the cheek level by an ASL speaker is more likely to be produced by a Black Sign Language speaker on the forehead, for example: teacher.^[20]

Lexical variation[link]

The sign for rabbit provides a good example of variation between Black and White Signers. While both communities use the forehead location and neutral space location with the H handshape, Black signers also have a separate sign for rabbit, with a bent V handshape and different hand movement.^[15]

Varieties outside North America[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

ASL is perhaps the most widespread of the world's sign languages, though BANZSL is also spoken around the world. As a language of deaf education, ASL has been introduced to numerous countries, where it has often diverged into a separate dialect. Bolivian Sign Language, for example, is essentially ASL, apart from changes in initialized signs to make them match the spelling of Spanish. A similar French influence is seen in classroom ASL in francophone West Africa, where ASL was introduced along with formal education for the deaf by the deaf American missionary Andrew Foster. Local variants such as Ghanaian Sign Language and Nigerian Sign Language arose in anglophone countries as well.

Other languages, such as Thai Sign Language, developed as a creole of ASL and indigenous sign; a similar situation may have occurred with Malaysian Sign Language, which in turn was the base of Indonesian Sign Language. Cyprus Sign Language is reported to be a blend of ASL and Greek Sign Language, which may itself have developed from a combination of ASL and FSL. Moroccan Sign Language was developed by the American Peace Corps on a base of ASL along with incorporating local signs.

In the Philippines, ASL is widely understood by the Deaf community, though it is not the ancestor of Philippine Sign Language as sometimes thought. In some countries, such as Zimbabwe, it is widely used alongside a national sign language. Countries where ASL or a derivative of ASL is the national or a widespread language include Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana (with BSL), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, the Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya (minority use), Liberia, Madagascar (minority use), Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Philippines (L2 use), Puerto Rico, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, and Zimbabwe (with ZSL). See American Sign Language family for an incomplete list of ASL varieties used outside North America.

Classifiers[link]

Sign languages exhibit the use of polymorphemic constructions referred to as classifiers (not all researchers term these constructions classifiers). These constructions can convey shape, size, motion, location, movement, stative-descriptive, and/or handling information. These constructions are highly inflectable.^[23] There have been few studies on how frequent classifiers are used in ASL. Ranging from 4.2% to 7.68% in a corpus study. The nature of classifiers and their constructions allows the signer to use them more frequently in narratives; one study found this to be 17.7%.^[24][25] Classifiers are highly iconic.

Fingerspelling[link]

The American manual alphabet. Most of the letters are shown as the viewer would see them, but some (C, D, G, H, K, P, Q, and to a lesser extent F, O, X) are shown from the side for clarity.

Fingerspelling as the main form of communication is known as the Rochester Method, also known as Visible English. The Rochester Method focuses on oral language and speech, spelling spoken words. It was the primary form of instruction at Rochester School for the Deaf.

Writing systems[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

The phrase "American Sign Language" in ASL, transcribed in Stokoe notation

The phrase "American Sign Language" in ASL, transcribed in Sutton SignWriting

For much of its history, ASL was not written. It was instead glossed with English words written in all capital letters. However, there is no one-to-one correspondence between words in ASL and English, and the inflectional modulation of ASL signs—a dominant part of the grammar—is lost.

Since in spoken languages the elements of sound are for the most part produced linearly in time (that is, in a word like cat the a sound comes after the c sound, and the t sound comes after that), they can generally be easily written in a linear (one-dimensional) writing system such as an alphabet. There are only a few aspects which are produced simultaneously, such as tone in some languages, or vowel and consonant harmony, and which are therefore not straightforward to write with an alphabet. In sign languages, however, several channels operate simultaneously—hand shape, often with the two hands operating independently, hand location, hand motion, facial expression, mouthing—making an alphabetic script more complicated than just stringing letters together in the order sounds are produced.

In the 1960s linguist William Stokoe created the first writing system for a sign language, the so-called Stokoe notation, which he designed specifically for ASL. It is alphabetic, with a letter or diacritic for every phonemic (distinctive) hand shape, orientation, motion, and position, though it lacks any representation of facial expression, and is better suited for individual words than for extended passages of text. Stokoe used it for his 1965 A Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles, the first dictionary with entries in ASL—that is, the first dictionary which one could use to look up a sign without first knowing its conventional gloss in English.

The usage of Stokoe's system is currently restricted to academic circles. Several additional candidates for written ASL have appeared in over the years, including Sutton SignWriting, Sign Script, ASL-phabet, and Si5s. Of these, only SignWriting has much following, being used for example in college newsletters.

ASL and baby sign[link]

In recent years, researchers have shown that exposure to sign language has a positive impact on the socialization of hearing children. When infants are taught to sign, parents are able to converse with them at a developmental stage when they are not yet capable of producing vocal speech, which requires fine control of both breathing and the vocal tract.^{[citation needed]} The ability of a child to actively communicate earlier than would otherwise be possible appears to accelerate language development and to decrease the frustrations of communication.^{[citation needed]} In a study, more than 140 families were randomly assigned to two groups: signing and non-signing. Babies using sign language showed a three-month developmental advancement at 24-months, speaking like 27-month olds. At 36-months, they were developing like a 47-month old, showing a whole year's advancement. By age 8, those who were signing as babies scored an average of twelve points higher on the WISC-III IQ test.^[26]

Many parents use a collection of simplified or ad hoc signs called "baby sign." However, parents can learn to recognize their baby's approximations of adult ASL signs, just as they will later learn to recognize their approximations of oral language, so teaching an infant ASL is also possible. Typically, young children will make an ASL sign in the correct location and use the correct hand motion, but may be able only to approximate the hand shape, for example, using one finger instead of three in signing water. Deaf children from deaf families will often "babble" in sign, just as their hearing counterparts babble in speech, making nonsensical hand gestures.

ASL has come a long way from its condemned days of banned use to being viewed as a grammatical language, which is the main form of communication in American Deaf culture. Many parents today purchase “Baby Signs” DVDs and books which incorporate ASL signs for infant and toddler communication. “Baby Signs” was developed by Dr. Linda Acredolo and Dr. Susan Goodwyn in the early 1980s, and has become a persistent trend in child development.

However, there is an interesting contrast between the belief that exposure of signs to a hearing infant will aid them in language development, whereas a deaf infant at times must show the inability to learn a spoken language before they are taught sign language. This thought had originated due to the idea that sign language hinders the development of a spoken language in deaf children (Mayberry, 2008).

See also[link]

• American Sign Language grammar
• American Sign Language literature
• ASL Idioms
• Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada
• Bimodal Bilingualism in the American Deaf Community
• Child of deaf adult
• Cued Speech
• Philippine Sign Language
• Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
• Sign Name
• Signing Exact English

References[link]

Additional Reading

• Bailey, C. S. & Dolby, K. (2002). The Canadian dictionary of ASL. Edmonton, AB: The University of Alberta Press.
• Barnard, Henry (1852), "Tribute to Gallaudet—A Discourse in Commemoration of the Life, Character and Services, of the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet, LL.D.—Delivered Before the Citizens of Hartford, January 7, 1852. With an Appendix, Containing History of Deaf-Mute Instruction and Institutions, and other Documents." (Download book: PDF Saveourdeafschools.org)
• Groce, Nora Ellen (1988). Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-27041-X. 
• Lane, Harlan L. (1984). When the mind hears: A history of the deaf. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-50878-5.
• Hill, J. & Lucas, C. (2009). A Presence Ignored: The Case of the Black Deaf Community in the US [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from blackaslproject.gallaudet.edu
• Lucas, C., Bayley, B., & Valli, C. (2003). What’s your sign for pizza?: An introduction to variation in American Sign Language. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
• Mayberry, Rachel I. (2007). “When Timing is Everything: Age of First-Language Acquisition Effects on Second-Language Learning.” Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, pp 537–549 doi:10.1017/S0142716407070294.
• McCaskill, C., Lucas, C., Hill, J. & Bayley, R. (2010). The Intersection of African-American English and Black ASL [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from blackaslproject.gallaudet.edu
• Solomon, A. (2010). Cultural and Sociolinguistic Features of the Black Deaf Community. (Honors Thesis). Retrieved from repository.cmu.edu
• Padden, Carol; & Humphries, Tom. (1988). Deaf in America: Voices from a culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-19423-3.
• Sacks, Oliver W. (1989). Seeing voices: A journey into the world of the deaf. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-06083-0.
• Stokoe, William C. (1976). Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles. Linstok Press. ISBN 0-932130-01-1. 
• Stokoe, William C. (1960). Sign language structure: An outline of the visual communication systems of the American deaf. Studies in linguistics: Occasional papers (No. 8). Buffalo: Dept. of Anthropology and Linguistics, University at Buffalo. 

External links[link]

• "What is American Sign Language?" presentation by Leo M. Jacobs, 1980.
• Culinan.net – Dictionary development & Sign Language Network
• Mains Diamant – Blog, News, Culture

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of American Sign Language

Look up Category:American Sign Language in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: American Sign Language

• List of every ASL online dictionary (English) – (French)
• American Sign Language (ASL) resource site. Free online lessons, ASL dictionary, and resources for teachers, students, and parents.
• The American Sign Language Linguistics Research Project
  • Publications of the ASLLRP
  • The Syntactic Organization of American Sign Language: A Synopsis (.pdf)
• About ASL – article at deaflibrary.org
• Ethnologue entry on ASL
• Video Dictionary of ASL
• Some Cultural Info about ASL
• Athabaskan Satellites & ASL Ion-Morphs
• American Sign Language is a Foreign Language – a research/argumentative paper for the consideration of ASL to fulfill University foreign language requirements.
• ASL Helper Type an English word, links to vocabulary sites. Vocabulary only; no syntax or grammar; some inaccuracies.

This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (November 2011)

Owl City
Adam Young performing in 2009
Background information
Origin	Owatonna, Minnesota, United States
Genres	Electronica, synthpop
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Universal Republic
Associated acts	Sky Sailing, Lights, Breanne Düren
Website	owlcitymusic.com
Members
Adam Young

Owl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement. Owl City developed a following on the social networking site Myspace, like many musicians who achieved success in the late 2000s, before signing with Universal Republic in 2008.

After two independent releases, Owl City gained mainstream popularity with the 2009 major label debut album Ocean Eyes, which spawned the quadruple-platinum^[1] hit single "Fireflies". The album was certified Platinum in the United States in April 2010.^[1]

In 2011, Owl City released its third studio album, All Things Bright and Beautiful.

History[link]

Early years (2007–2009)[link]

Suffering from insomnia while working loading Coca-Cola trucks in his hometown Owatonna, Minnesota, Young turned to composing music.^[2][3][4] He began uploading songs recorded in his parents' basement to Myspace.^[4][5] He started to receive favorable attention for his music and then helped cultivate this nascent fanbase by being an open and accessible web presence, responding to any messages he received and constantly posting blogs.^[6] His manager Steve Burksy later highlighted the significance of Young's engaging online manner in building his following saying: "People feel like they know him, like they've got a direct connection to him because of how he approaches his connection with them online."^[6] Through a deal with the digital aggregator CD Baby, he then started making the songs available for sale through iTunes.^[6] In 2007, Owl City released an EP titled Of June, followed by the 2008 release of the album Maybe I'm Dreaming. Of June reached No. 15 on the Billboard Electronic Albums chart, and Maybe I'm Dreaming peaked on the same chart at No. 13.^[7]

The viral phenomenon that was building through Myspace caught the attention of Universal Republic presidents Avery and Monte Lipman who approached Young with a view to signing the artist.^[6] Republic recommended Young partner up with 27-year-old manager Steve Bursky of Foundations Artist Management and the two began working together in late 2008. When later asked by HitQuarters why the label chose him for a major label act given his relative inexperience, Burksy said:

"I think they saw Owl City as representing the future of our business. This idea of a kid in a tiny town in rural U.S. being able to make songs in his basement that sound like Top 40 radio could never have happened ten years ago. By hiring a young management company who understands the business circa 2011 over a seasoned industry vet, who might not understand the online spaces well, showed a lot of understanding of where this kid was going to end up having success."^[6]

Owl City's label deal with Universal Republic was finally confirmed in February 2009.^[8] According to Bursky there was initially some disagreement about the direction Owl City should follow, telling HitQuarters: "They were ready to send him into the studio with big producers and polish him up to try to become this thing that he wasn't. But we put our foot down and said, 'Look, the reason you signed this kid is because it’s working. Whatever it is about him - his music, his interaction with his fans, his brilliance in the online space - these things are connecting with people, and as soon as you change that you lose what’s special about this artist.' To their credit, they really listened and they got it."^[6]

[edit] Ocean Eyes (2009–2010)

Ocean Eyes, Owl City's third full-length album and major label debut, was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, with the physical release following on July 28, 2009. The album debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard 200. Owl City has released three official singles from this album: "Umbrella Beach", "Vanilla Twilight" and "Fireflies".^[9] "Fireflies" topped the US and Canadian charts. Ocean Eyes reached the top ten on the US album charts, topped the US electronic charts, and also reached Amazon MP3's top 10 most downloaded album list. By April 2010, it was certified Platinum in the United States. On January 24, 2010, Owl City reached the No. 1 spot in the UK Top 40 Singles chart with "Fireflies". The song "Tidal Wave" also received significant airplay on Christian music radio stations.^{[citation needed]} On January 2, 2011, it was revealed "Fireflies" was the 20th most downloaded song of all time in the UK.^[10]

Young is joined by Breanne Düren on several tracks; the most notable example of which is "The Saltwater Room". Owl City's live band consists of Breanne Düren (background vocals/keyboards), Casey Brown (drums), Laura Musten (violin), Hannah Schroeder (cello), and Daniel Jorgensen (vibes).^[11]

Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen has toured and collaborated with Owl City on several tracks, including "Fireflies", where Matt can be heard providing the backup vocals. Young also produced Relient K's song "Terminals".

	"Fireflies" (2009) noicon Sample of the song "Fireflies" from Owl City's third album Ocean Eyes.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

	"Umbrella Beach" (2010) noicon Sample of the song "Umbrella Beach" from Owl City's third album Ocean Eyes.
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"Fireflies" was released as a free download on the game Tap Tap Revenge 3 by Tapulous. Prior to the July 14, 2009 internet release of Ocean Eyes, and the "Fireflies" single, Steve Hoover was hired as a director for a music video for "Fireflies". The video was to have had an exclusive premiere on MySpace,^[12] but had been leaked onto YouTube and Dailymotion hours earlier. "Fireflies" became a big sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for the week ending November 7, 2009.^[13]

Owl City is featured on Soundtrack 90210 with a song titled "Sunburn", which was released on October 13, 2009.^[14] Owl City has toured with The Scene Aesthetic, Lights, John Mayer, Maroon 5 and Brooke Waggoner. He was also guest featured in the soundtrack to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland with a song entitled "The Technicolor Phase" that had already been featured in his debut album.^[15]

In 2010, Young revealed a new musical project known as Sky Sailing, which moved away from his usual electronica genre of music and introduced acoustic guitar and piano accompaniments into his work. The unrefined tracks were recorded in the summer of 2007 before he began making music as Owl City.^[16] His first album under this new project is entitled An Airplane Carried Me to Bed, and was released July 13, 2010 via iTunes.^[17]

In May 2010, Adam Young collaborated with high-profile British electronic composer, producer, musician, and songwriter Nick Bracegirdle. Under his Chicane alias, Bracegirdle released the single "Middledistancerunner" on August 1, 2010 featuring Adam Young on vocals. This is the first single from the fourth Chicane album Giants. He also worked with famed Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, appearing on a track called 'Youtopia' from the van Buuren album Mirage on September 10, 2010.

On September 21, 2010 "To the Sky" was officially released via iTunes on the soundtrack for Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole.

On October 25, 2010, Young released a cover version of the praise and worship song "In Christ Alone" as a streaming MP3 on his website.^[18][19]

On November 13, 2010, a new album called Flight was released on iTunes for one of his other musical projects, Windsor Airlift.^[20]

On November 23, 2010, a new Christmas single called "Peppermint Winter" was released. A preview had been released the previous week on Facebook.

[edit] All Things Bright and Beautiful (2010–2011)

Production on Young's third studio album began around mid-2010, with Young being announced as the executive producer of the album.^[21][22]

On October 18, 2010 Young wrote an entry on his blog regarding his third studio album, saying that the album was nearing completion.^[23]

In February 2011, the title of the album was announced to be All Things Bright and Beautiful and that the album would be released on May 17. However, on April 6, Young released a statement on his website, along with lengthy previews of four of his songs (Dreams Don't Turn to Dust, Alligator Sky Featuring Shawn Chrystopher, Galaxies, and Deer in the Headlights), that the release date for All Things Bright and Beautiful would be pushed back to June 14.^[24]

	"Alligator Sky" (2011) noicon Sample of the song "Alligator Sky" from Owl City's fourth album All Things Bright and Beautiful, featuring Californian rapper Shawn Chrystopher.
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On March 22, "Alligator Sky" was released as the lead single from the album on iTunes.

In late March and early April, tickets went on sale for The All Things Bright and Beautiful World Tour,^[25][26][27] and All Things Bright and Beautiful became available for preorder.^[28]

On April 19, "Galaxies" was released as the second single from the album.

Owl City performing at the 9:30 club in Washington D.C in November 2011.

On May 6, the music video for "Alligator Sky" was released. Young discussed the concept in a making-of video posted on Owl City's VEVO account, "The concept is basically about these two guys who are leaving Earth. Rather than it being this very dark post-apocalyptic vibe, it's very optimistic, and so it's like people are excited to leave earth."^[29]

On May 23, "Deer in the Headlights", the third single from the album, was released on iTunes.

On June 14, All Things Bright and Beautiful was released on iTunes. Although only a few days prior on May 20, almost all of the album leaked onto the internet.^[30]

On June 30, the music video for "Deer in the Headlights" was released. It features Young driving through the night in the DMC DeLorean featured in the Back to the Future trilogy and Canadian musician Lights makes a cameo appearance in the video.

On July 19, "Lonely Lullaby" was released as a single on iTunes, which was previously available only to Owl City Galaxy members.

Young was interviewed in the August issue of Cliché Magazine. He also appeared on the cover of the magazine and the issue also featured some of Young's very own artwork.

On July 21, at The Club Nokia concert in Los Angeles, Young announced that the concert was being filming for a Live DVD. The Live DVD was eventually released on iTunes in November 2011.^[31]

[edit] The Midsummer Station (2011–present)

In Young's final tour dates of 2011, he performed a new song entitled "I Hope You Think of Me".^[32]

On January 2, 2012, Young wrote an entry on his blog regarding his fourth studio album. Young said that he would be collaborating with more producers and songwriters, saying that his new record "Marks a flying leap in this direction". Young expects the album to be released around late Summer to Fall 2012.^[33] In an interview with Billboard, Young revealed that the new album is around 80-85% complete, and that Dr. Luke, JR Rotem, Norwegian production team Stargate, Brian Kennedy and Emily Wright are involved with the production of the album. He was also unsure whether or not "I Hope You Think of Me" would make the final tracklisting.^[31]

On March 5, 2012, Young, along with Jewel and Jay Sean, released a song in promotion of the Child Hunger Ends Here campaign by ConAgra Foods entitled "Here's Hope".^[34][35]

	"Shooting Star" (2012) noicon Sample of the song "Shooting Star" from Owl City's fifth album The Midsummer Station, showcasing his new musical 'style' on his most recent album.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

On April 17 2012, "Dementia", a song by Young which was intended to be included on his upcoming album leaked onto the internet. The song features additional vocals by Mark Hoppus of Blink-182.^[36]

On May 3, 2012, Young announced via Twitter that a new EP entitled "Shooting Star" was to be released on May 15. The EP features four songs off his upcoming album. Young stated that he released the EP because he wanted to give his fans a clear taste of what his upcoming album would sound like.^[37]

On May 24, 2012, Young revealed on Twitter that his fourth studio album would be titled The Midsummer Station.^[38]

Musical styles and influences[link]

Owl City's music is described as indietronica and synthpop and is often described as belonging under the "electronic music" label.^[39] Young has stated that he is inspired by disco and European electronic music, as well as instrumental genres such as drone, ambient, and post-rock. He cites his biggest influences as Johnathon Ford of Unwed Sailor and Thomas Newman. Young also incorporates a large amount of his Christian faith into his music, since he is a vocal Christian.^[40][41][42] Young's faith is evident on the new album, "All Things Bright and Beautiful", especially in "Galaxies". Explaining why the faith-filled song was added to the mix, he said, "I feel like if I were ever to hide the fact that that’s what’s so important to me, it would be a crime, that I should probably be put in jail for that." ^[43]

Owl City also has been compared to The Postal Service, often critically, for his combination of fuzzy synths, ironic lyrics and use of female guest singers.^[44] Pitchfork.com goes far enough to say that "The surprise No. 1 single in the country, Owl City's 'Fireflies,' jacks the Postal Service in such a bald-faced, obvious manner that getting into specifics feels redundant at best and tacky at worst."^[45] In response to the suggestion that his work is derivative, Adam Young suggested in a 2009 interview with The New York Times that Ocean Eyes is perhaps the "next chapter" after American band The Postal Service: "The Postal Service released a record in 2003, and that was it. There was really nothing to compare it to until some one else came along and wrote the next chapter. Maybe that's this record. Maybe that's this band." ^[46]

Band members[link]

Current members

• Adam Young – lead vocals, programming, keyboards, piano, synthesizers, guitars, bass guitar, drums, percussion, vibraphone^[47]

Current touring members

While Young writes, composes, records, and produces all of Owl City's music, during live performances he is accompanied by a group of supporting musicians:^[47][11]

• Breanne Düren – keyboards, backing vocals
• Daniel Jorgensen – guitar, vibraphone
• Laura Musten – violin
• Hannah Schroeder – cello
• Casey Brown – drums

Concert tours[link]

Discography[link]

Extended Plays

• Of June (2007)
• Shooting Star (2012)

Studio albums

• Maybe I'm Dreaming (2008)
• Ocean Eyes (2009)
• All Things Bright and Beautiful (2011)
• The Midsummer Station (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Owl City

• Owl City Official Website

Jonathan Coulton
Background information
Born	(1970-12-01) December 1, 1970 (age 41)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City
Genres	Folk rock, power pop, indie rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, banjo, ukulele, zendrum, tenori-on
Years active	2003–present
Associated acts	Paul and Storm Kristen Shirts John Hodgman Molly Lewis Ellen McLain Ze Frank RiffTrax They Might Be Giants
Website	http://www.jonathancoulton.com/

Jonathan Coulton (born December 1, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are "Code Monkey", "Re: Your Brains", "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone".

A former computer programmer employed at Cluen, a New York City software company^[1], and self-described geek, Coulton tends to write quirky, witty lyrics about science fiction and technology: a man who thinks in simian terms, a mad scientist who falls in love with one of his captives, and the dangers of bacteria. Rare topical songs include 2005's "W's Duty", which sampled President George W. Bush, and 2006's "Tom Cruise Crazy". Most of Coulton's recordings feature his singing over guitar, bass, and drums; some also feature the various other instruments Coulton plays, including accordion, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and glockenspiel.^[2]

Coulton graduated in 1993 from Yale, where he was a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs^[3] and the Yale Spizzwinks(?). He is now the Contributing Troubadour at Popular Science magazine, whose September 2005 issue was accompanied by a five-song set by him called Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms.^[4] He was also the Musical Director for The Little Gray Book Lectures.^[5]

Career[link]

Coulton's best-known works include his light-acoustic cover of the Sir Mix-a-Lot hit song "Baby Got Back" and original pieces such as "Code Monkey", which was featured on Slashdot^[6] on April 23, 2006 and linked from the webcomic Penny Arcade.^[7] It was also the theme song for an animated show on G4 called Code Monkeys.

His work has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered. Good Morning Silicon Valley featured a link to a video set to his song "Re: Your Brains".

Coulton accompanied John Hodgman on his "700 Hobo Names" promotional track for Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise as the guitarist (he was credited as "Jonathan William Coulton, the Colchester Kid"). Coulton also can be heard throughout the audiobook version of the same book, playing the theme song to the book, playing incidental music, and bantering with Hodgman, who reads the audio version of his work. Hodgman has also mentioned Coulton on The Daily Show: a Jonathan Coulton of Colchester, Connecticut, was Hodgman's pick to win an essay contest on overpowering Iraqi resistance to American invasion.^[8] Coulton wrote and performed "the winning entry", a song about dropping snakes from airplanes. Coulton appeared on the tour for Hodgman's second book, More Information Than You Require.

Coulton composed the title music for the show Mystery Diagnosis, and also has contributed other songs under "The Little Gray Book Lectures", a series of audio releases from John Hodgman.

Coulton, Paul and Storm, and Molly Lewis performing at Dragon*Con 2011

In 2006, Coulton began touring with comedy-duo Paul and Storm. At their first few shows, Coulton opened the concerts, but soon after his rise to fame, he was headlining.

Coulton wrote and performed a song titled "Still Alive" for the ending credits of Valve's 2007 video game Portal, with vocals by Ellen McLain. On April 1, 2008, Harmonix made this track available as free downloadable content for the game Rock Band.^[9] A version with Coulton's vocals was also included on the Orange Box Original Soundtrack,^[10] in addition to the one heard at the end of the game. "Still Alive" has also made an appearance as an easter egg in Left 4 Dead 2.^[11] The song has been called "the most influential game music".^[12] In 2011, Coulton followed up the success of "Still Alive" with a new song at the end of Portal 2, "Want You Gone".

A DVD & CD of a concert performed February 22, 2008, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, entitled Best. Concert. Ever. was released in 2009. At the concert, Coulton played the aforementioned song "Still Alive" on its Rock Band version, along with guest "musicians" and geek/celebrities Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann and Veronica Belmont.^[13]

Coulton opened for They Might Be Giants for a few shows of their March 2010 tour.^[14] He toured with them again in February 2012.

Coulton had been working on his follow-up to the Thing a Week albums, tentatively titled The Aftermath. It has since been stated that the title is merely an umbrella term to classify non-album tracks released after Thing a Week. On May 25, 2010, Coulton said on his official site that he would be working on a new album, to be produced by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants,^[15] and for the first time ever with a full band, including Marty Beller of They Might Be Giants,^[16] in a professional recording studio. The resulting album: Artificial Heart, was released on September 2, 2011.

In May 2011, Coulton was interviewed on NPR's popular economics-related program Planet Money. He disclosed that he makes about $500,000 a year from his music despite lacking a record label contact. He expressed gratitude towards his fans for his surprise success, the degree of which he called "absurd". In a broader discussion of whether or not the internet is good for musicians, Coulton answered in the affirmative, while journalist Frannie Kelley described him as a "fluke" such as the Snuggie.^[17] Coulton posted a tongue-in-cheek response on his blog about the comparison, saying "to which I say: snarkity snark snark!"^[18]

Licensing[link]

Coulton releases his songs under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license, allowing others to use them in their own noncommercial works. As a result, a number of music videos have been created using his songs, including such machinima as the ILL Clan's video for "Code Monkey" and a kinetic typography video for the song "Shop Vac".^[19]

Thing a Week[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (August 2011)

From September 16, 2005, to September 30, 2006, Coulton ran "Thing a Week", during which he recorded 52 musical pieces in an effort to push his creative envelope via a "forced-march approach to writing and recording"; to prove to himself that he could produce creative output to a deadline; and to see whether a professional artist could use the Internet and Creative Commons to support himself. Early indications are that the experiment succeeded in generating a large number of high quality songs, boosting sales of music downloads, expanding Coulton's public presence, and enlarging his fan base. The success of the financial objective is more difficult to judge, but Coulton was quoted in a September 2006 interview as stating that "in some parts of the country, I'd be making a decent living".^[20] In a February 25, 2008, interview with This Week in Tech, he stated that he made more money in 2007 than he did in his last year of working as a programmer, 40% of it from digital downloads and 40% from merchandise and performances.^[21]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• Smoking Monkey (2003)
• Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow (2004)
• Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms (2005)
• Thing a Week One (2006)
• Thing a Week Two (2006)
• Thing a Week Three (2006)
• Thing a Week Four (2006)
• Artificial Heart (2011)

Compilations[link]

• JoCo Looks Back (2008)
• Best. Concert. Ever. (Live album - 2009)

Other releases[link]

• Other Experiments (Rarities Collection) (2005)
• Unplugged (Live on Second Life) (2006)
• The Orange Box Original Soundtrack (2007)
  • 1. "Still Alive" (Sung by Ellen McLain)
  • 19. "Still Alive" (Sung by Jonathan Coulton)
• The Aftermath (2009)
• Portal 2 Soundtrack: Songs to Test By - Volume 3 (2011)
  • 13. "Want You Gone" (Sung by Ellen McLain)

Most of Coulton's songs are published on his website as MP3 and FLAC downloads. Some of them are free, and none of them are subject to digital rights management. All of his original songs fall under the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 License. "Still Alive" and "Want You Gone" are the only exceptions to this, as Coulton assigned all rights for the songs to Valve. Along with "Still Alive," Coulton's song "Re: Your Brains" appears in jukeboxes in Left 4 Dead 2. "Want You Gone" also features in the end credits of Portal 2. All three of these games were designed by Valve.^[22]

Other versions and covers[link]

Pianist Louis Durra recorded an instrumental trio version of "Code Monkey" released on "Mad World EP" and "Arrogant Doormats" (2011).

NES Rock Band I Fight Dragons covered "The Future Soon" on their "IFD Super Secret Exclusives" EP (2009).

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jonathan Coulton

• Official website
• Jonathan Coulton on Myspace
• Jonathan Coulton on Twitter
• Jonathan Coulton at the Internet Movie Database
• Jonathan Coulton at the Open Directory Project
• Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog, a profile of Jonathan Coulton in the New York Times Magazine dated May 13, 2007.