Black ASL

A distinct dialect of American Sign Language that developed within the Black Deaf community, shaped by the history of racial segregation in Deaf education in the United States. Black ASL has its own lexical, phonological, and syntactic features that distinguish it from other ASL varieties, including differences in signing space, two-handed sign production, and incorporation of African American English influences. Recognition of Black ASL is important for sign language education, interpreter training, and sign recognition technology, as systems and curricula that do not account for dialectal variation may exclude or misunderstand Black Deaf signers.