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Glite Dictionary
🤟 Sign language 💬 Age, sex, location
ASL

ASL

5 4.4
A language that uses hand signs for deaf people in the United States and Canada
  • noun
  • /eɪ ɛs ɛl/
  • US
translation icon : ASL
  • Holly, aged 24, started attending an ASL class at her college about six months after her diagnosis of RP.
  • ASL user
  • ASL interpreter
  • use ASL

There should be a marriage between cochlear implants and ASL, but there's so much controversy in Sacramento.

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Examples

  • Though many different signed languages exist, ASL is considered the most widely used manual language in the United States.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Subsequently, he became an ASL user and identified himself as a member of Deaf culture.

    Academic text (2014)

  • A lot has changed, you know, over the many years, but ASL is my primary language.

    Academic text (2014)

  • For instance, one hearing parent said, "We try to sign and use ASL with our daughter around us."

    Academic text (2014)

  • Results provided insights about the role of ASL in the lives of individuals and families.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Multiple participants, hearing and deaf alike, expressed this same feeling that ASL was central to Deaf culture.

    Academic text (2014)

  • You may be familiar with American Sign Language (ASL), which is used by some people who have hearing impairments.

    Academic text (2014)

  • In addition, the ASL interpreter and faculty member who is an ASL user assisted as Deaf culture liaisons when needed.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Bi-Bi programs use ASL as their primary form of communication and instruction (Erting & Pfau, 1997).

    Academic text (2013)

  • Many deaf individuals communicate fluently in ASL during social gatherings.

Synonyms

American Sign Language
vsASL
  • US
3 3.9

A language of hand signs and body movements used by deaf people in the United States and parts of Canada

is the shortened abbreviation used instead of the full term

Surface Forms

ASL singular
ASLs plural

Morphology

ASL = American + sign + language (semi-transparent) = A + S + L

ASL is an initialism of 'American Sign Language' so knowledge of the components gives the meaning, but the three-letter form itself is not transparently interpretable by learners unfamiliar with the abbreviation.

Etymology

ASL is a short name made from the first letters of American, Sign, Language, and it refers to the main sign language used by deaf people in the United States and parts of Canada. So remembering those three words helps you remember that ASL is the language of hand signs.