This 1978 article presents general principles of sign selection, standardization and development, guidelines for sign selection, standardization, and development based on the American Sign Language lexicon, and a process for selection, evaluation, development, recording of vocabulary, signs, and fingerspelled words. The selection of…

Although American Sign Language (ASL) has a long and rich history in America and scholarly research on ASL is in its third decade, ASL has been slow to garner any degree of status in the academic community, although some higher education institutions are beginning to consider ASL for their foreign-language curriculum. (CB)

A discussion of the field of clinical linguistics outlines the scope of the discipline, notes its relationship to other speech- and language-related fields, and describes the components of an undergraduate program for individuals in a linguistically relevant clinical field. It suggests general linguistics curriculum components for clinical…

American higher education must extend its notion of pluralistic recognition and inquiry to the language and culture of the deaf community and appreciate the individual gifts that this cultural group brings to the whole society. (CB)

Although American Sign Language (ASL) currently lacks an accepted writing system, one of the common reasons why it is not accepted for credit in foreign language programs, ASL does have a rich literary tradition. Several curricular remedies to improve those sign language courses are proposed. (CB)

An anthropological study of the American Deaf Culture points out that its members do not merely constitute a subculture and that study of American Sign Language, like many other foreign languages, offers knowledge of not only a natural language but also the culture in which it is used. (CB)

Academic acceptance of American Sign Language (ASL) and its speakers can be achieved if higher education institutions make affirmative action training and employment commitments to deaf individuals. (CB)

Examines the educational purposes of foreign-language requirements and asserts that the study of American Sign Language meets these goals in ways in which other "languages" (English dialects, computer languages) do not. (CB)