American Sign Language

American Sign Language (ASL, also Amslan obs., Ameslan obs.) is the dominant sign language in the United States, English-speaking Canada and parts of Mexico. It is also used in the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Kenya, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe. As with other sign languages, its grammar and syntax are distinct from the spoken language(s) in its area of influence. There has been no reliable survey of the number of people who use ASL as their primary language; estimates range from 200,000 to 2 million http://library.gallaudet.edu/dr/faq-asl-rank.html.

"Baby Sign"

:(For complete article see Baby Sign)

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In recent years, it has been shown that ASL has had a positive impact on the intellect of hearing children who are exposed to it. When infants are taught the language early, parents are able to respond accordingly to the infant at a developmental stage when verbal speech, which requires extremely fine control of many interacting parts, is not yet able to be formed. The ability of the child to actively communicate and interact earlier than would otherwise be possible may accelerate the language development and general cognitive development of the child.

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However, children too young to speak often also lack the hand coordination required for ASL, so systems of "Baby Sign", which rely on simpler hand shapes and movements, are often used instead.

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