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American Sign Language (ASL), a true natural language,
is as different from American English as Spanish, Korean, or
French. Fluent ASL is conveyed through sight alone and does not
have a spoken or written form. English (a traditionally spoken
and written language) can be conveyed through sight alone with
the visual components of the Cued Speech
system and/or sychronized with the individual sounds of speech
(phonemes).
Languages (ASL, English, Spanish, etc.) are acquired through
clear access to fluent models and meaningful interaction with
native users of the language. A
strong, complete language base (knowledge and understanding of
the language) is needed to obtain literacy.
It may be difficult for hearing parents not fluent in ASL
and using signing alone to provide a complete, accurate language
model for a child who has a hearing loss during the critical
early months and years of language acquisition. (See The
Difference Between Speech and Language.) |
The
mastery of a first language in childhood, it would seem, establishes
the neurological basis for language learning in adulthood. When
mastery of a first language has not been attained by the onset
of adolescence, as typically 
