American Sign Language Green Books, A Teacher's Resource Text on Grammar and Culture

by Charlotte Baker-Shenk, Dennis Cokely (Contributor)

This volume of the  American Sign Language  series explains in-depth the grammar and structure of American Sign Language (ASL) while also presenting a description of the Deaf community in the United States. Written for teachers with minimal training in linguistics, it includes many illustrations, examples, and dialogues that also focus on specific aspects of the Deaf community.

Genres: Reference, Language, Linguistics, Nonfiction

488 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1991

Reviews

[Protostellar Sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compendious book on ASL linguistics that explains many concepts introduced in ASL classes in a much more systematic way. The examples are concise and straight to the point. It helps with gaining theoretical understanding and also is incredibly applicable in communicating with more precision and nuance.

This book can really use an update; some signs are out-of-date (or maybe they're regional variations that we don't use here in Canada?), and there is more research done in the past few decades that can be used to fill in some intentional lacunas.

[Valerie]

This book is badly in need of an update. I found it in a college bookstore in the 1990s, where it was clearly a text for a course.

Most of the material is from studies done in the 1970s, and too often there're tantalizing promises of elaboration 'once the studies have been completed'. Surely they're complete by now?

Fascinating stuff, though. A lot of cases, conjugations, etc are not found in English, and possibly not in any spoken language (for example, describing the scene of an accident is evidently much more parsimonious in ASL than in English, and yet more information is conveyed).

There are gaps that aren't even mentioned, though. For example, I more than suspect that ASL has a
'contrary-to-fact-conditional subjunctive' (You know, as in "If I hadn't gone to Juneau, I wouldn't've met George" (but I did, so I did) or "If I should buy a bike, I would get more exercise" (But I (probably) won't, so I won't)). ASL surely needs such conceptualizations as much as any other language, but they're not mentioned at all.

I pulled up some other sources in searching for this one: Maybe they fill the gaps. I'll have to look out for them--but I have to be prepared for disappointment. If this is still a standard text, the odds are it's because there isn't a better one.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the required books for my college program. It is such a GREAT resource! I try to go back and read it again yearly. Every time I do, I learn something new. American Sign Language is so beautiful...I love that I can use it every time I go to work.

[Loreen]

An excellent resource on the linguistics of ASL. This is not for the beginner. You must have a foundation in the language to truly understand the content, and really benefit from the material presented.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

An English explanation of ASL grammar that is pretty understandable to me as a non-native signer. So exciting after only being taught minimal ASL grammar by my hearing ASL interpreter college professor!

[Tamra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required text for my ASL Grammar class at BYU. I don't remember much about the book, however, and I need to re-read it. What I DO remember is that it was during that class, and partly because of this book, that ASL grammar really clicked for me.

I'll re-rate it when I re-read it.

[S Adair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great materials although it needs to be updated.