Is American Sign Language a ‘foreign’ language?

This article brings up many intriguing questions about language and culture. Some universities have declared American Sign Language an official foreign language because it is “distinct from spoken English and that its coursework provides a new perspective akin to the cultural immersion they'd experience in French, Spanish or other traditional language classes.” Critics argue that it is not a foreign language because it is an indigenous language and does not have academic literature. Also, it does not have “the same elements of culture as other foreign language courses.” But deaf people would argue that there is a culture surrounding sign language, including poetry and history. Now, many universities are changing the names of their foreign language programs to “world languages” or “classical and modern languages” to incorporate those languages that were previously rejected from the foreign language program. The article ends with a powerful quote from a professor at Central Connecticut State University: “One of the worst things you can do to a human being is to say, ‘Your language doesn’t count.’”

The article questions the very definition of a language. Even after people have been using language for centuries, there is still a debate surrounding what exactly makes something a language. Additionally, the article questions what culture is defined by. And does language have to be linked to culture? There is no definite answer for any of these questions. A language to one person may not be a language to another; similarly, a culture to one person may not be a culture to another. Who has the ability to define culture though?

The Center for Applied Linguistics defines language and culture, but clearly these topics are still uncertain for many universities that have yet to adopt ASL as a foreign language. The Center for Applied Linguistics discusses many of the concerns surrounding American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language. The Center claims that ASL is a language because it is fully developed and has a complex grammatical structure. Some people do not consider ASL a foreign language because it is indigenous to the U.S., but so are many Native American languages that are considered foreign. The Center recognizes the Deaf culture, including history and arts like dance, theater, and poetry that the Chicago Tribune article referred to. It also notes that there is a writing system for ASL, but it is not well known.