The American Sign Language Phrase Book by Lou Fant, Barbara Bernstein Fant, Betty Miller Page A
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vocabulary lists in favor of simply presenting everyday phrases—with a concise section on the grammatical components, sentence structure, and other unique features of ASL. An added bonus was the illustrations, by the nationally renowned deaf artist Betty Miller, which were accessible and detailed without being complicated—and which featured a stylized version of Lou!
A second edition was published in 1994 that incorporated additional vocabulary signs used by deaf people of other nationalities, in particular. More elaboration on these signs can be found in Chapter 13 , "Travel." New discoveries were made about ASL grammar, which was expanded upon in the second edition. That edition was a success as much as the first book. Combined sales of both editions reached the 250,000 mark!
I must sadly report that my husband, Lou Fant, died in 2001. An internationally known man of many talents, Lou was indeed a rare breed, and his demise was widely mourned by many. He was truly a great ambassador between the deaf and hearing worlds, leaving the
Phrase Book
as part of his legacy.
Inevitably, though, there was a need in the intervening 14 years since the second edition to bring the
Phrase Book
up to date. Technology is now a big part of everyone's lives, and this third edition acknowledges that role in Chapter 18 , an entirely new chapter featuring more than 50 phrases incorporating technologies such as e-mail, video relay services, closed captioning, and more. Once again, we've used the artistic expertise of Betty Miller to render the new phrases (this time with a stylized version of me). Also in this third edition, phrases were vetted to ensure they were still important for common use.
Since technology sign concepts were a fairly recent addition to ASL, I enlisted the aid of some dear friends and colleagues to arrive at a consensus of what signs were used by deaf people throughout the United States. (Please keep in mind there will be some regional sign differences in certain parts of the country.)
For their invaluable input and rather lively and spirited discussions, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to
Randy Bessner, Pagan A. Thomsen, Lisa J. Berke, Kellie McComas, Brenda Aron, John Plecher, Nat Wilson, Christine Visser, Eric Scheir, and Adam Novsam.
Helen and Arthur Novsam, Adam's hearing parents who chanced to be in Seattle for a visit and gladly offered some popular technology phrases.
Brenda Bessner, for the long, countless hours she spent painstakingly taking pictures of every sign concept and transferring more than a thousand of these photos to CDs.
Aline Smith and Laura Harvey for their artistic input on the cover of the third edition.
Dr. Marina McIntire, my former professor at California State University–Northridge and friend, for her perusal of the second edition and suggested changes.
Nancy Creighton, for her invaluable assistance with the new art.
Kristi Winter and Katie Roberts, for their gracious linguistic input on ASL.
Holly McGuire at McGraw-Hill, for her guidance, patience, and diplomacy throughout this project.
Bee, Fern, Marie, Lisa, Kristen, and Nancy, my sisters in spirit.
Lou, Dad, and Diana: thank you always for your love, support, and guidance in the past. Like you said, let the universe take care of itself.
I hope you will find this third edition of
The American Sign Language Phrase Book
to be as worthy and helpful as the previous two editions. Best wishes and happy learning!
—Barbara Bernstein Fant
1
How to Use This Book
Copyright © 2008 by the Estate of Lou Fant and Barbara Bernstein Fant. Click here for terms of use .
A MERICAN S IGN L ANGUAGE , commonly abbreviated to ASL and occasionally known as Ameslan, is the sign language most deaf people use when they are communicating among themselves. It has its own grammatical structure, which differs from English grammar. You must approach ASL in the same manner you would approach any foreign language—do not expect ASL to be like
A second edition was published in 1994 that incorporated additional vocabulary signs used by deaf people of other nationalities, in particular. More elaboration on these signs can be found in Chapter 13 , "Travel." New discoveries were made about ASL grammar, which was expanded upon in the second edition. That edition was a success as much as the first book. Combined sales of both editions reached the 250,000 mark!
I must sadly report that my husband, Lou Fant, died in 2001. An internationally known man of many talents, Lou was indeed a rare breed, and his demise was widely mourned by many. He was truly a great ambassador between the deaf and hearing worlds, leaving the
Phrase Book
as part of his legacy.
Inevitably, though, there was a need in the intervening 14 years since the second edition to bring the
Phrase Book
up to date. Technology is now a big part of everyone's lives, and this third edition acknowledges that role in Chapter 18 , an entirely new chapter featuring more than 50 phrases incorporating technologies such as e-mail, video relay services, closed captioning, and more. Once again, we've used the artistic expertise of Betty Miller to render the new phrases (this time with a stylized version of me). Also in this third edition, phrases were vetted to ensure they were still important for common use.
Since technology sign concepts were a fairly recent addition to ASL, I enlisted the aid of some dear friends and colleagues to arrive at a consensus of what signs were used by deaf people throughout the United States. (Please keep in mind there will be some regional sign differences in certain parts of the country.)
For their invaluable input and rather lively and spirited discussions, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to
Randy Bessner, Pagan A. Thomsen, Lisa J. Berke, Kellie McComas, Brenda Aron, John Plecher, Nat Wilson, Christine Visser, Eric Scheir, and Adam Novsam.
Helen and Arthur Novsam, Adam's hearing parents who chanced to be in Seattle for a visit and gladly offered some popular technology phrases.
Brenda Bessner, for the long, countless hours she spent painstakingly taking pictures of every sign concept and transferring more than a thousand of these photos to CDs.
Aline Smith and Laura Harvey for their artistic input on the cover of the third edition.
Dr. Marina McIntire, my former professor at California State University–Northridge and friend, for her perusal of the second edition and suggested changes.
Nancy Creighton, for her invaluable assistance with the new art.
Kristi Winter and Katie Roberts, for their gracious linguistic input on ASL.
Holly McGuire at McGraw-Hill, for her guidance, patience, and diplomacy throughout this project.
Bee, Fern, Marie, Lisa, Kristen, and Nancy, my sisters in spirit.
Lou, Dad, and Diana: thank you always for your love, support, and guidance in the past. Like you said, let the universe take care of itself.
I hope you will find this third edition of
The American Sign Language Phrase Book
to be as worthy and helpful as the previous two editions. Best wishes and happy learning!
—Barbara Bernstein Fant
1
How to Use This Book
Copyright © 2008 by the Estate of Lou Fant and Barbara Bernstein Fant. Click here for terms of use .
A MERICAN S IGN L ANGUAGE , commonly abbreviated to ASL and occasionally known as Ameslan, is the sign language most deaf people use when they are communicating among themselves. It has its own grammatical structure, which differs from English grammar. You must approach ASL in the same manner you would approach any foreign language—do not expect ASL to be like
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