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Introduction In recent years both Deaf and hearing people have become more aware of the diversity of the Deaf community in the United States, which now includes people in virtually all occupations and of many national origins. In this book, designed to be used with the accompanying compact disc (CD), we celebrate another dimension of diversity in the U.S. Deaf community : variation in language, specifically, variation in the way Deaf people all across the United States use ASL. Variation in language means that people have different ways of saying or signing the same thing. In spoken English, for example, some people say “soda,” whereas others say “pop,” “Coke,” or “soft drink”; some people say “sofa” while others say “couch” or “davenport.” In ASL there are many signs for BIRTHDAY, HALLOWEEN, and EARLY. In this book we explore the different kinds of variation in ASL. Before we focus on variation we explain some fundamental concepts about all human language and discuss the basic structure of signs because these determine the ways that language can vary. This book is based on a large research project that lasted from 1994 to 2001.1 Deaf ASL users from seven different areas in the United States, ranging in age from thirteen to ninety-three, were videotaped while they chatted. Many of them were also interviewed. The seven areas are Boston, Massachusetts; Frederick, Maryland; Staunton, Virginia; New Orleans, Louisiana; Kansas City, Missouri, and Olathe, Kansas; Fremont and San Jose, California; and Bellingham, Washington. In all, 207 people took part in the project. Participants included men and women and African Americans and Caucasians from both Deaf and hearing families. The examples of signing that you will see on the video come from the project tapes. That is, the examples come from videotaped interactions among 1 signers in different parts of the United States that were recorded under a wide variety of conditions. The ideas about variation in ASL in this book are based on what we found during our analysis of the tapes. HOW TO USE THESE MATERIALS These materials consist of a CD and this accompanying guide, and they are designed to be used together. Both the CD and the guide provide an introduction to basic concepts about languages and variation and specific examples of variation in ASL. We advise reading a section of the guide and then watching the corresponding section of the CD. Another approach would be to first watch the CD all the way through, then read each section of the guide, and then go back and watch the corresponding section of the CD again. We have provided links in the guide to the clips that you will see. For example, when examples of the sign DEAF are shown on the CD, you will find a note in the guide and an explanation of exactly what you have seen on the CD. You will also notice that some of the sections of the CD are separated by clips of individuals signing. These clips are not specifically discussed in the guide, but they further illustrate the richness of variation in ASL. At the end of each major section we have provided questions for discussion. The final section of the guide consists of three supplemental readings that provide further information on variation in both spoken and signed languages and in the text itself. Within these readings you will occasionally see footnote numbers. These numbers refer to specific references listed at the end of the text. We've designed these materials to be used both in a classroom setting and on an individual basis. 2 Introduction ...

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