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.

References

• {{Book reference|Author=Groce, Nora Ellen|Year=1988|Title=Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard|Publisher=Cambridge: Harvard University Press|ID=ISBN 067427041X}}
• {{Book reference|Author=Klima, Edward, and Bellugi, Ursula|Year=1979|Title=The Signs of Language|Publisher=Cambridge: Harvard University Press|ID=ISBN 0674807952}}
• {{Book reference|Author=Stokoe, William C.|Year=1976|Title=Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles|Publisher=Linstok Press|ID=ISBN 0932130011}}