The most interesting thing about learning ASL and about deaf/hard-of-hearing (HOH) culture to me is that like spoken languages, ASL has various dialects that vary across country and region. One of these dialects is the result of historical audism and discrimination that resulted in the combination of ASL with English grammar rules. This form of ASL is majorily used among the older generations. An adiditional dialect presents itself in the form of Black ASL (BASL) which emerged as a direct result of racism and the segregation of deaf/HOH schools. This form of ASL is characterized by a larger signing space, more two-handed signs as well as various non-manual facial indicators not present in ASL. Of course new dialects emerge constantly, especially as the younger generatio coins new terms and phrases and creates signs related to the technological and societal advancements America has experienced since ASL has become a widely-recognized language. So while I will definitely need to expan my ASL voabulary since the same word can be signed many different ways depending on the dialect of the region. In additon I will most likely need to leverage sociolinguistic competence as outlined in Hymes' different categories of cultural competence (CC). This will enable me to understant exactly how and why each dialect emerged and more easily use signs in the correct context of their dialect. In addition, leverging strategic competence may be similarly helpful because in BASL, for example, non-manual indicators differ substantially from those utilized in ASL. Being able to recognize these non-manual indicators will help me more easily communicate across dialects, even when I don't entirely understand.
In my learning plan I have made a concious effort to incorporate ASL culture into every lesson, regardless of topic. However, I could take this a step further and prioritize attending local deaf events hosted by the demographics I identified above. For example, I could attend an event hosted by Black deaf/HOH community memebers or an event hosted by a local def/HOH school so that I be exposed to individuals in the community who are closer in age to me. Realistically it may be easier to incorporate videos from deaf/HOH creators from different regions, as my ASL isn't strong enough to communicate causally yet.
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