create their own signs, so, too, had Deaf communities in various parts of the country created their own indigenous signing systems.
Gradually, the signs and rules of these informal sign languages became intertwined with the more established formal FSL. The resulting system is what we now call American Sign Language (ASL), a fully functioning language every bit as complex as any spoken language, with thousands of precise signs and complex rules of grammar Like spoken English, ASL is a continuously evolving language that tolerates fexibility to a greater extent than many people realize.
Variations in the specifc forms of signs abound in formal sign languages, not just across international boundaries, but even within countries. For example, Signs Across America (Gallaudet College Press) documents twelve different ASL signs for cereal, thirteen different ASL signs for cake, and fourteen different ASL signs for candy in the United States alone! With this variation in mind, we worked in consultation with Jamie Stevens, ASL interpreter for the Deaf, and under the guidance of the ASL department at Columbia College, Chicago, to determine for each ASL sign included in Appendix C the form that is most commonly used today within the United States.
