Linguistics of American Sign Language: An Introduction

Annotation Unrivaled among linguistic works on American Sign Language, exceptionally well written and illustrated, this volume provides an open door for nonsigners to begin to appreciate ASL. Study of Second Language Acquisition The new Linguistics of American Sign Language features recent discoveries on iconic signs in American Sign Language (ASL) and the relationship between metaphor and iconicity in signed languages. The authors have also added findings from their seven-year study of variation in ASL, along with related readings. The section on the function of space reflects new research, revealing that space can have many functions in ASL. Also, the third edition introduces a new area of study, the artistic forms of ASL, including storytelling, percussion signing, drama, comedy, and poetry. Updated references and authoritative readings address the fundamentals of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and the use of language. It also features homework questions, themes for classroom interaction, and study sheets, centering on a story signed in ASL on the course videotape.