ASL Links and Resources

The Philadelphia Signs Project:

Dr. Jami Fisher (Penn ASL in the Dept. of Linguistics), Dr. Meredith Tamminga (Penn Dept. of Linguistics) and  Dr. Julie Hochgesang (Gallaudet University Dept. of Linguistics) are working in and with the Philadelphia Deaf community to record naturalistic data of native Philadelphia signers for preservation, research, and educational purposes.  For more information see the following links:

Philadelphia Signs Project website:  Stories, signs, and research from and with the Deaf community in Philadelphia

PRI’s The World in Words:  “There’s a distinctly Philadelphia accent in American Sign Language“:

Smithsonian: “There’s a Philly Sign Language Accent”

Penn School of Arts and Sciences 60-Second Lecture  “Changing Sounds and Changing Signs in Philadelphia Dialects”

The following are useful ASL and Deaf Studies Resources:

ASL and English bilingual e-books:  an innovative e-book series developed by Swarthmore College and Gallaudet University students to promote ASL and English literacy.
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center A clearinghouse for learning sign language, working with, and parenting Deaf children