Alpha Teach Yourself American Sign Language in 24 Hours

by Trudy Suggs

Book Overview

A guide to the fourth most-commonly used language in the U.S. From the Alpha Teach Yourself series comes this self-paced, step-by-step approach to learning ASL. It teaches readers the unique syntax... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592571301
• ISBN13: 9781592571307
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Alpha Books
• Length: 476 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.4" x 9.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Fascinating book on Deaf culture and ASL

While I agree with another reviewer that the signs in this book are not represented as well as I have seen in other books (many of which I own), I did buy a copy of this one and recommend it. The book is broken into chapters, the author calls them "hours" to follow the Teach-yourself-in-24-hours theme. Each "hour" is followed by a short quiz, answers in the back, that reinforce the material covered. I like this. Chapter One -- oops, Hour One -- is a short history of American Sign Language. The next hour discusses Deaf culture, and the one after starts to present some signs and discusses the language itself. One thing it deals with is accents, I had not ever considered the fact that people in distant parts of the country might sign the same concept differently, that is, using a different accent. But this makes a great deal of sense. It's also interesting to note that some signs might be presented differently by a man and a woman. Then on to conversational basics. How to get attention. How do you handle situations when two people are signing and you have no choice but to walk between them? Or suppose you're signing with a deaf person and a hearing person comes over to talk to you, what should you do? Then on to letters, numbers, and grammar. Look for the section on name signs. The book has a lot more to cover, but you should get the idea by now. This book is not just a book teaching American Sign Language signs, it is a snapshot into the world of the Deaf.

Outstanding book!

What makes this book stand out from other ASL books? Many excellent qualities come to mind. The book opens with the history of ASL and a look into Deaf culture. The author is Deaf, born to Deaf parents, so this is home turf for her, and the window into the world is fascinating to me. The explanations of the history of Deaf people and Deaf culture are very interesting and provides a solid basis for the lessons that follow. I enjoyed the writing style, many of the facts were new to me, and the book was easy for me to follow. This book is an excellent tool to help learn ASL.Each chapter has a lesson plan with clear goals that are achieved in the chapter. I enjoy the photographs, because this is what real ASL looks like. All of the individuals are Deaf native signers, which gives this book a level of authenticity I've not seen elsewhere. Other books I've read use drawings of the hands, but this book allows me to see the placement and movement of the hands, the body language and the facial expressions. To a person learning ASL, this is a huge gift. If a sign involves motion, multiple photographs are used, and the movement of hands is obvious from following the photographs.The author covers a very wide range of topics and signs, from moving around the house, to numbers, to telling time, to sports, to the role of Deaf people in September 11th, and many more areas. Anyone who learns a basic command of these signs and grammar as shown in the book will be able to communicate in many different topics in ASL.Not to be missed is the emphasis that is placed on practice, and getting to know Deaf people. ASL is the third most popular language in the United States, and the benefits to learning ASL are very rich indeed. This book, combined with practice, a good teacher (nothing beats having a Deaf teacher who is fluent in ASL!) and socializing in the real world with Deaf people will provide the maximum benefits for the student of ASL. This combination will give a person the skills they need to enter into the the community of the Deaf, enter their culture, and communicate in their beautiful language, thus opening up a whole new world of friends and opportunities.

Excellent resource

Great book - good quick overview on the language and culture. Though the title is misleading (24 hours of lessons rather than a day), the book is comprehensive and informative. Shows just how much difference an author who is a deaf, native user of the language makes, rather than if this was done by a hearing, non-fluent signer. A great Christmas gift!