What is American Sign Language?

American Sign Language （ASL）is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body. 【小题1】 It is also one of several communication options used by people who are  deaf or hard of hearing.

Is sign language the same in other countries?

No one form of sign language is universal. 【小题2】 For example, British Sign Language（BSL）is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL may not understand BSL.

【小题3】

The exact beginnings of ASL are not clear, but some suggest that it arose more than 200 years ago from the intermixing of local sign languages and French Sign Language （LSF）. Today's ASL includes some parts of LSF plus the original local sign languages , which over the years have combined and changed into a rich,complex, and mature language. Modern ASL and modern LSF are distinct languages. 【小题4】

How does ASL compare with spoken language?

【小题5】 But for people who are deaf （particularly those who are profoundly deaf）, the sounds of speech are often not heard, and only some speech sounds can be seen on the lips. Sign languages are based on the idea that vision is the most useful tool a deaf person has to communicate and receive information.

   What is body language? Body language is a term used to describe the method of communication using body movements or gestures instead of spoken language or other communication. Body language also includes many movements that most people pay no attention to, such as winking（眨眼）and slight movements of the eyebrows and other facial expressions.

Perhaps body language is one of the most powerful forms of human expression, which makes up 50% or more of what we are communicating to other people. If you wish to communicate effectively, besides the words, you can use your body to say what you mean. Also, body language is one of the easiest ways for you to tell what’s really going on in a conversation with another person. The body language that you observe from other people will tell you whether or not those people are telling you the truth, or whether there is something more that’s not being said. Watch, look and observe. Sometimes you can tell more by a person’s body language than his words.

Besides, body language can be used for all sorts of things, such as showing confidence and winning respect in any situation. You can use body language to make people less nervous and make friends quickly persuaded and influenced.