At the completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe the difference between language and communication
• Describe all the major linguistics components of a language giving an example from both ASL and English
• Identify processes within each component giving examples from ASL and English
• Describe the differences between the structure of ASL and English providing some examples
• Describe how some ASL structures are unique to signed languages
• Describe previous notions of the structure of ASL and how those ideas have developed
• Support or refute previous and current claims regarding ASL
• Demonstrate comprehension of sociolinguistics and how the users influence the language
• Differentiate different types of variation
• Demonstrate comprehension of the role of ASL in the deaf community
• Demonstrate comprehension of the role of ASL and signing systems in deaf education