When there are no sounds, there may be signs

When words failed, Harvey Rosenstock signed.

Rosenstock relied on American Sign Language to communicate after a brain tumor partially paralyzed him.

He signed for wine and ice cream when he got tired of hospital food. Crossing his heart, he expressed love to his wife, Hannah Merker.

"Harvey lost speech but he didn't lose the ability to sign," said Merker of her husband, an engineer who died in 1999. "There was little conversation in his final year of life. But we had that communication. It was quite beautiful."

The unique gifts of signing are recognized by the 500,000 to 2 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing, and use it as their primary language.

ASL increasingly draws a wider audience of both hearing and deaf Americans. Users discover that ASL offers insight into self-expression, language, early childhood development, even the arts.

What is American Sign Language? It is a visual language that uses hand signs, body movements and facial expressions instead of voice and spoken words. It does not mimic English, nor is it "broken" English.

Hearing adults often learn the basics of signing as a fun challenge. Others study ASL to communicate with a loved one who is hard of hearing or deaf.

Rosenstock was not hard of hearing. He originally learned to sign after meeting Merker, who is deaf. Yet ASL enabled him to express his deepest thoughts when he could no longer see, talk or write. It fulfilled a most basic human need for communication and connection.

"Signing allowed us to explore communication in other ways than words and speech," said Merker, a 74-year-old writer from New York. She chronicled her hearing loss from a skiing accident in Listening: Ways of Hearing in a Silent World.

Growing demand

Interest in ASL is only likely to grow as more Americans reach their 60s and 70s, a life stage when hearing loss is common. Nearly one in three Americans 65 and older are hard of hearing.

Hearing aids help. They are effective, convenient and "customized" to fit a listener's needs. But signing can provide another layer of communication -- conveying nuance, images and inner emotion with simple precision.

Signing also enhances brain function: ASL users can process visual images much faster than people who only know a spoken language.

"ASL is dynamic and always changing," said Dennis Cokely, the 60-year-old chair of the Modern Languages Department at Northeastern University in Boston.

Cokely, who directs ASL studies at Northeastern, describes himself as a lifelong learner of signing. As a graduate student in theology, Cokely met a deaf student and was fascinated by ASL. He immersed himself in deaf culture and embarked on a new career course. "That friendship changed my life," Cokely recalled.

Today demand for ASL courses surges at American colleges and universities. ASL ranks as the third most-used language in the U.S., after English and Spanish.

It is easier than ever for people of all ages to study, learn and practice ASL. There are several reasons for this trend:

• A number of states have passed laws recognizing ASL as a distinct language, with its own grammatical structures and syntax. More universities and colleges let students study ASL as their language requirement.
• Signing classes are available in most U.S. communities to students of all ages and skill levels. They are popular as adult-education courses and offered at community colleges, community centers and online.
• ASL clubs, often affiliated with universities, are open to all skill levels. They let members - deaf, hard of hearing and hearing -- immerse themselves in deaf culture and language. They help dispel old stereotypes of deaf people as deficient.

A complete language

American Sign Language is considered a complete or natural language, on par with spoken languages. It has all the components of language - with rules for grammar, punctuation and sentence order.

Just like learning any other language, it is easy to pick up basic phrases. But it takes years of practice to be fluent.

ASL, like spoken languages, also has its own rich culture and history. Surprisingly, ASL is nothing like English. In terms of syntax, it is more similar to spoken Japanese, according to the Deaf Resource Library.

ASL uses an array of visual cues that include hand shapes, hand movements, body movements, gestures and facial expressions.

Many of the gestures seem intuitive: They are similar to natural body movements people use when speaking. Raised eyebrows can signal a yes-no question, for example, or a rhetorical question that doesn't require a response.

Becoming fully competent at ASL is a challenge for anyone. But Jim Schneck, a veteran instructor in Pennsylvania, says that most of the adults he teaches are simply curious about signing. They have seen deaf interpreters at performances or in classrooms. Or they may have a friend or relative who is deaf or hard of hearing.

"Adults new to ASL should not expect to become fluent," said Schneck, who co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language.

"But they can get a taste of a different language and culture."

Merker, who lost her hearing at age 39, believes that older Americans can pick up ASL just as easily as young people.

Merker did not learn signing until she was in her mid-50s. She could lip-read and had the help of a hearing guide dog. Divorced, she lived independently aboard a houseboat in Long Island Sound, N.Y. She felt she was doing just fine.

Then she fell in love with Rosenstock, a widower and weekend sailor. He said they needed better communication as a couple. He insisted they learn ASL.

"When I met my husband, he wanted to use this medium," Merker said. "He felt it was important. It turned out to be an incredible communication system for us."