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American Sign Language As A Heritage Language, Sarah Compton

Sarah Compton

This chapter considers how American Sign Language (ASL)—a visual-manual language—is a heritage language of deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people in the United States. Traditionally, heritage language education and maintenance efforts have centered on spoken languages. This chapter aims to broaden the scope to include signed languages. It begins with a historical overview of ASL, explicates for whom ASL is a heritage language, and examines the influence of current policy trends and technological advancements on language shift and language maintenance. Particular attention is drawn to the role of deaf communities in fostering language maintenance despite concerted efforts to restrict …