The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language

by Clayton Valli (Editor), Peggy Swartzel Lott (Illustrations), Daniel Renner (Illustrations)

Created by an unparalleled board of experts led by renowned ASL linguist and poet Clayton Valli,  The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language  contains over 3,000 illustrations. Each sign illustration, including depictions of fingerspelling when appropriate, incorporates a complete list of English synonyms. A full, alphabetized English index enables users to cross-reference words and signs throughout the entire volume.

       The comprehensive introduction lays the groundwork for learning ASL by explaining in plain language the workings of ASL syntax and structure. It also offers examples of idioms and describes the antecedents of ASL, its place in the Deaf community, and its meaning in Deaf culture. This extraordinary reference also provides a special section on ASL classifiers and their use. Readers will find complete descriptions of the various classifiers and examples of how to use these integral facets of ASL. The Gallaudet Dictionary of American Sign Language is an outstanding ASL reference for all instructors, students, and users of ASL.

*Please note that this paperback edition does not include the DVD found in the hardcover edition. 

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Linguistics, Language, Dictionaries

600 pages, Paperback

First published April 17, 2006

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and very helpful!

[Kristy Lichtenfeld · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I love how it has many words in one sign. that's help. Gallaudet did good job.

[Sunday Kofax]

I got this primarily for the CD that comes with the book - I can use it on my iPhone. Now that I have the book in front of me, I'm really enjoying reading the introduction, which gives a great history and linguistical background to the language.

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

yep.

[Tamra · Rating 2 out of 5]

It must be Gallaudet's style to give no textual explanations. I'll be buying a different ASL dictionary, thank you.