Deaf in America Chapter 5 Summary PDF

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Before I read this chapter I never thought about the fact that the term American Sign Language (or ASL) was not always used to refer to Sign Language. I had assumed that the term ASL had been used as long as sign language had existed in America. I never stopped to ponder the possibility that just like everything else, everything about ASL had to evolve over time. As ASL evolved new terminology appeared, just like with a lot of things that are created. In the beginning of the chapter there was a statement made about a man’s family never called signing anything. I found that statement very interesting because it reminded me of how my family and I never call talking anything. I mean the word talking already has a definition, but most people do not go around stating that they are talking. I then thought about it is going to be the same for any language, just with slight differences. For example, with ASL you are not going to go out of your way to say what you are doing to someone, who already knows and understands ASL. I truly found it interesting that people, in the past, never really called the ability to sign anything. To those people it was just a normal part of their lives, just like English is a part of mine. I found the statement about how signing has changed interesting. I found it interesting because I had never really given much thought to the fact that sign language, and ASL, evolved over the years. Regardless of that, it made me think of the truth of the statement. I mean everything in life changes and/or evolves, no matter what it is. For example, when we are babies we learn sit, then crawl, then stand, etc. That’s just one way we, as humans, evolve in each of our personal lives. So, why wouldn’t it be the same for a form of communication. Every form of communication evolves throughout the years. And just like when other things change, the changes in how people sign, and refer to it, can often go unnoticed. However, when I think about the changes mentioned, in the chapter, I am amazed. It amazes me how much things can change over the years. I am also shocked by how much influence our views on society, and society’s view on each of us, can have in the way things evolve. Which makes me wonder what, if anything, would be different if how we view things did not make as big of an impact on the changes in a language. By the end of the chapter, I had several other things that I found interesting. Each of those things are interesting in their own way, and have helped me see things in a different way. Overall, I found this chapter pretty interesting....