American Sign Language Studies
AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE (ASL) is not simply a set of hand-gestures for spelling or signing English words. Rather it has been shown to have the full linguistic structure of a complete natural language. Indeed it is the native tongue of many Deaf men and women and their children, whether hearing or not. It is a complex visual-spatial language used by the Deaf community in the United States and English-speaking parts of Canada. Not only is it a genuine language, it really is a foreign language distinct from English http://www.unm.edu/~wilcox/ASLFL/asl_fl.html having its own literature and culture. Speakers of ASL probably number in the range of a half-million or more. ASL shares no grammatical similarities to English. It is not a broken, mimed, or gestural form of English. It has a topic-comment syntax, whereas English uses Subject-Object-Verb. Syntactically ASL shares more with spoken Japanese than with English. Hand gestures, facial gestures such as eyebrow motion and lip-mouth movements, and use of space surrounding the signer all are significant components of ASL. There is high demand for certified teachers of ASL. For more about ASL certification, see http://www.aslta.org/national/index.html In many contexts a qualified Interpreter for the Deaf is needed and sometimes mandated by law. Job opportunities in this rapidly expanding profession have increased especially since the enactment of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Qualified Interpreters for the Deaf are employed by public and private agencies or institutions within education, social services, rehabilitation, medicine, mental health, criminal justice, business, and the arts, especially the theatre. TTU offers six semesters ASL courses. In Fall 2004 we began a minor in ASL. Supporting the teaching of ASL is a special testing facility where signing performance can be observed and filmed from behind one-way mirrors. Future expansion plans call for eventually equipping this facility with state-of-the art technology for teaching, testing, and evaluating ASL proficiency. American Sign Language Courses can be used to satisfy TTU Foreign Language Requirements. CONTACT INFORMATION: (806) 742-1560 (voice only) (806) 742-3306 (fax) Box 42071, Lubbock, TX 79409-2071 Ms. Melissa Hays Instructor and Coordinator of ASL Studies Melissa.hays@ttu.edu Ms. Kristi Thrasher Instructor Kristi.p.thrasher@ttu.edu COURSES: ASL 1301 - American Sign Language I ASL 1302 - American Sign Language II ASL 2301 - American Sign Language III ASL 2302 - American Sign Language IV ASL 3301 - American Sign Language V ASL 3302 - American Sign Language VI ASL 3312 - Deaf Culture MORE INFORMATION: ASL at TTU Brochure (Word Format) www.depts.ttu.edu/classic_modern/undrgrad/ASL/ASL-brochure.doc Interpreting www.tcdhh.state.tx.us www.rid.org Deaf Education www.sbec.state.tx.us Teaching ASL www.aslta.org www.sbec.state.tx.us ASL & the Deaf Community www.gallaudet.edu ENROLLMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR NONDEGREE STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE LUBBOCK COMMUNITY: Persons possessing a bachelors degree or higher may take undergraduate language courses as a Nondegree Student. Admission is simple: Obtain an application at www.ttu.edu/gradschool, apply for admission as a Post Graduate (PRGD) Nondegree Student, pay the $50 application fee, and submit transcripts of all previous college level study. When admitted enroll in the appropriate language course. Once admitted you may register indefinitely in undergraduate TTU courses. For more information contact the CMLL Academic Program Advisor, Liz Hildebrand, liz.hildebrand@ttu.edu, 200 Foreign Languages Building, 806-742-4055.
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