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| Linguistics of American Sign Language
From Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Cambridge University Press There are still people, including some who should know better, who believe that American Sign Language is in some sense not a “real” language. Such a position, though perhaps at least debatable 40 years ago, is simply no longer credible. There has been a vast amount of very sophisticated and competent linguistic, psycholinguistic, and sociolinguistic research conducted on American Sign Language since the publication of William Stokoe’s landmark book, Sign language structure (1960/1992). Although there are many areas of debate about specific features of the phonology, morphology, syntax, and so on of American Sign Language, as indeed is the case with every language, its fundamental status as a fully developed human language is now well beyond reasonable doubt. Since its first edition appeared in 1992, Valli and Lucas’s Linguistics of American Sign Language: An introduction has been the premier work for students of the structure of American Sign Language. Written for students of linguistics who already have at least some knowledge of American Sign Language, this third edition includes sections introducing students to basic linguistic concepts, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics as well as issues related to language change, language variation, bilingualism, discourse, language contact, and “language as art.” Each section is designed to provide students with a general introduction to the linguistic concepts and then to the specific case of American Sign Language, including exercises focusing on American Sign Language. Finally, more than half of the volume is devoted to both classic and recent seminal articles about different aspects of the linguistics of American Sign Language. As has been true of both of the earlier editions, this third edition is accompanied by a well-made videotape providing additional support for the written text. This volume is unrivaled among linguistic works on American Sign Language. Most of the published work on American Sign Language is either in the form of textbooks (of varying quality) or highly technical linguistic research that is often inaccessible to the general reader, even one whose signing skills may be quite good. This work is different in that it provides a solid linguistic foundation for the study of American Sign Language, coupled with an up-to-date analysis of what we know about the structures an operations of American Sign Language. It also provides in a single place an invaluable collection of major articles in the linguistics of American Sign Language. Although the book was written with students with a knowledge of American Sign Language in mind, I suspect that Linguistics of American Sign Language: An introduction will also be of value to nonsigners interested in learning about American Sign Language from a linguistic perspective. It is exceptionally well written and illustrated, and with the help of an American Sign Language dictionary to clarify certain descriptive and analytic points, it would provide a nonsigner who had some linguistic background with a clear overview of American Sign Language. Although much of the subtlety and beauty of the language can really be appreciated only fluent signers, this volume provides at least an open door for nonsigners to begin to appreciate American Sign Language.
-- Timothy Reagan, University of Connecticut
Clayton Valli, former Assistant Professor in the Masters Interpreting Program at Gallaudet University, now lives in Miami Beach, FL. Ceil Lucas is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of ASL, Linguistics, and Interpretation at Gallaudet University. ISBN 1-56368-097-1, 7 x 10 casebound, 500 pages, illustrations, photographs, notes, references, index $60.00s Linguistics of American Sign Language Videotape ISBN 1-56368-107-2, VHS, running time 80 minutes $45.00s
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