The School of Letters & Tongues · language, literature & writing
Sign Language & Deaf Studies
American Sign Language from the first handshape, and the Deaf community whose language it is.
The manual alphabet, everyday vocabulary, and the facial grammar that makes ASL a language, not a code.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~40 hours
Unit I — First Signs
The manual alphabet · Names and introductions · Facial expressions as grammar
Unit II — Everyday Exchange
Family and people · Numbers 1 to 100 · Yes/no and wh-questions
Unit III — Space and Time
Time signs and tense · Using signing space for places · Directional verbs, a first pass
Unit IV — Conversation
Describing clothing and appearance · Getting attention and taking turns in Deaf spaces · A first full conversation
Classifiers, role shifting, and narrative — the grammar in space that lets ASL paint a whole scene.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~40 hours
Unit I — Classifiers
Classifier handshapes · Describing objects and movement · Setting a scene
Unit II — Grammar in Space
Role shifting · Spatial agreement in verbs · Comparisons and contrast
Unit III — Narrative
Telling a short story in ASL · Timelines and sequencing · Non-manual markers in narrative
Unit IV — Community
Etiquette at Deaf events · Regional sign variation · Sustained conversation practice
A language community's story — from the Milan Congress to Deaf President Now — told on its own terms.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~16 hours
Unit I — A People and a Language
Deaf with a capital D · Community membership and values · Audism, named and examined
Unit II — History
Gallaudet, Clerc, and the American school · The Milan Congress of 1880 · Oralism and its costs
Unit III — The Modern Era
Stokoe and the recognition of ASL as a language · Deaf President Now, 1988 · Cochlear implants and the community's debate
Unit IV — Deaf Arts and Futures
De'VIA and Deaf visual art · ASL poetry and storytelling · Deaf spaces, in person and online
Handshape, location, movement — how sign languages carry full grammar through space, and what that proves.
Syllabus · 3 units · ~20 hours
Unit I — Sign Phonology
Parameters: handshape, location, movement · Stokoe's notation · Minimal pairs in ASL
Unit II — Morphology and Syntax
Verb agreement in space · Aspect through movement · Word order and topicalization
Unit III — Variation and Acquisition
Sign languages are not universal · Village sign languages and Nicaraguan Sign Language · Deaf children acquiring sign as a first language
Working between a signed and a spoken language — processing models, ethics, and the road to certification.
Syllabus · 4 units · ~24 hours
Unit I — Foundations
The interpreter's role and code of professional conduct · Working between Deaf and hearing parties · Processing models
Unit II — English to ASL
Meaning transfer, not word swapping · Fingerspelled loan signs · Matching register
Unit III — ASL to English
Sign-to-voice technique · Managing lag and self-correction · Team interpreting
Unit IV — Settings and Certification
Educational and medical settings · Video relay and video remote interpreting · Paths to certification