Welcome!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog! As this is my first post regarding my study of American Sign Language (ASL), I wanted to introduce myself and my motivation for this project before anything else.

My name is Will Lindsey, I am a sophomore at Durham Academy, and as of the new year, I am participating in our school’s independent study program! Independent Studies offer an alternative learning outlet for students, particularly those who wish to investigate a subject that may not be offered by the school. In my case, this was ASL. Durham Academy currently offers four different language courses — Chinese, Spanish, Latin, and French — but unfortunately ASL is not one of these options.

In addition to being presently enrolled in both Spanish and Chinese, my passion for language extends even beyond that and encourages me to pursue ASL. As someone who has always been fascinated by the study of languages, I am especially excited to compare the differences and similarities between spoken and visual languages. In addition to my study of the language itself, I’m thrilled to couple that with a study of the evolution and cultural significance of ASL, along with the struggles faced by those who practice it. I have so many questions that I can’t wait to investigate, like how nuances, emotions, or slang can be expressed using ASL or how ASL compares to LSE (Spanish Sign Language) or CSL (Chinese Sign Language).

As I begin this journey, I hope you’ll consider subscribing and joining me throughout my study of ASL!