Misconception: Just a few sign languages are in use around the world.
Fact: Sign language developed differently in various countries.
Misconception: ASL is not a real language but just a system of symbols.
Fact: ASL is its own language with its own rules of grammar.
Misconception: ASL is English in sign form.
Fact: It is a language of its own. Like any language, ASL has its own vocabulary and grammar.
Misconception: A deaf person is less intelligent if that person speaks or writes English with broken grammar.
Fact: People who are born deaf have no access to the primary form of English, which is the spoken word.
Misconception: ASL is easy to learn.
Fact: It can take years to gain fluency, though a great deal of the basic language can be learned fairly quickly.
