I am very ignorant when it comes to sign language in general.
Why is it called American Sign Language? Is it based off of English? If so why not English Sign Language?
For example is their a Chinese sign language? Would someone who knows Chinese sign language be able to communicate with an American Sign Language person?
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There are variations to ASL like “Signed English” or “Exactly English” that try and use ASL vocabulary with English grammar, but these are not ASL.
ASL has its own grammar, structure, and vocabulary. It’s its own language. The primary crossover is in finger spelling, where the alphabet is used to perform an English word. And some ASL words derive from the English (like apartment, which is APT).
But you can say the equivalent in other languages too. Typewriter is typewriter in Japanese, because they just took the English word for it.
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