After a recent workshop in which a colleague of mine and I were interpreting, we began discussing the very nature of the language we were just immersed in. What is known as American Sign Language, or ASL is a unique language in many ways. While it is quite naturally acquired, it was only formally recognized as a language with its own linguistic features in 1960. Up until that point the common belief was that is was a form of either elaborate pantomime or hand coded English, neither of which is true.

Our discussion centered around detail retention. During the meeting, while I had been interpreting for my 20 min turn, a workshop date and time was mentioned. I presumably interpreted this information correctly, as confirmed by my coworker, but I could not now recall what date and time had been announced. This is a common phenomenon known to those who interpret this language, one can very rarely retain what one is interpreting. The reason this is true is just one of the many reasons Sign Language is fascinating.

The brain is engaged in a minimum of 30 functions at any given moment during the interpreting process. This kind of mental energy is exhaustive and new interpreters often become quite exhausted easily. Sign Language interpreting is unique from all forms of language interpreting because it most typically is done simultaneously. Foreign language interpreting is executed through a method called consecutive interpreting. Here is an example: Speaker A is communicating in English, Speaker B in Spanish, and Speaker C in ASL. If we had a English/Spanish interpreter, commonly called terps, for speakers A&B it would go something like this. Speaker A would say a few sentences and pause. Interpreter would translate. Speaker B would respond and then pause. This would continue back and forth in sort of a relay form of communication. The reason for this is obvious. Both language are received through auditory channels and occupy the same pathways, physically and mentally, hence the need for a interpreting "traffic light" system.

Sign Language, however, is received through visual channels and so the auditory and visual channels can be used simultaneously, albeit at the cost of great metal exertion. So the situation my colleague and I had just interpreted went along as follows: Speaker A is talking and I raise my hands to start signing after I get the general idea of the first sentence, I continue until Speaker C has something to say and then they raise their hands which indicates they want to interject and they wait for me to finish my signed translation and then I switch over and began voicing for the signs I am seeing. Only because Sign Language is a visual language is this efficiency in translation possible. It is not much of surprise then when one considers that the interpreter is operating in two distinct languages with only a second or two of lag time that detail retention is just something the brain sacrifices in the strive to be coherent.

After my fellow terp and I laughed about how you can feel fairly stupid after a long interpreting assignment we chatted over lunch about the intrinsic nature of Sign which is evidenced by the recent studies showing sign acquisition in babies as young as 6 months. Sign Languages exist all over the world and before they were formally recognized and taught every deaf child had stockpile of what are called "home" signs. Home signs, while better than nothing, were not language and were an elaborate system of individualized gestures. Most babies, hearing or deaf, will point and indicate things with their hands. Unfortunately, these bumbling beginnings are not often reinforced and that natural first language goes by the wayside with the development of the vocal chords and the everyday bombardment of speech.

The importance of early language access is well understood now, as development experts often refer to the "critical period" of language acquisition. Imagine if all babies were taught sign and could express themselves however rudimentarily as early as 6 months. Much crying and frustration would be alleviated for both baby and mother! The potential for enhancing brain development is an obvious benefit.

A common misconception is that Sign Language is universal. Although I, certainly wish this were true, American Sign Language is unique from other sign languages across the world. Although due to historical factors, it is closely related to French Sign Language. Within the Deaf and signing communities in the United States there is a spectrum of strict adherence to what is formally and grammatically proper ASL and a signed version of English. Most fluent signers and most deaf people find the ease of ASL preferable, because it developed as a visual manual language and its grammar and structure reflect that. While it is certainly possible for someone to sign in English, by using special initialized signs and following the grammar and word order of English, it feels like a communication system and not a language. ASL has a fluid beauty inherent in its linguistics. Thus storytelling and poetry have emerged as powerful art forms within the ASL community.

ASL has a unique word order and syntax and what spoken language users convey in tone of voice, signers convey in expression. There are strict rules about the raising or furrowing of the eyebrows to indicate questions and to make clear whether that question is a yes/no question or an open ended question. What is termed "body shifting", the movement of the shoulders back and forth or a slight turn indicates spatial relations between subject in a direct discourse as well as timelines of the events being discussed.

ASL is limited in one way, that due to its very short historical life as an linguistically accepted language, its vocabulary in advanced academics is limited. For example, a word like postmodernism, word be fingerspelled in using manually coded English alphabet letters. These signs are being developed and incorporated as more Deaf people have equal access to higher levels of education through interpreters. However, this deficiency is nicely compensated by the close contact nature of ASL culture which allows for the formation and desemination of new words quite quickly.

As my coworker and I finished up our lunch and had revived our weary brains we shared a moment of excitement because we realized we are fortunate enough to take part in a language that not only is unique but is still developing. And while that maybe true to some extent of all languages with the exception of Latin and the other "dead" languages. American Sign Language is like a bold teenager, just spreading its linguistic wings under the recognition that is an equal among greats in a proud human tradition. What a beautiful thing in which to participate.

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