American Sign Language vs. English based signs?

Question

To anyone who is Deaf, or any of my fellow hearies who are "Deaf at Heart". Almost every Deaf person I know is very militant on the signing vs. oral stance, with most being on the signing side, However, when it comes to the language of choice, 3 times out of 4 it is ASL. the odd thing is, the people who are so pro-ASL most likely either grew up with SEE, an English based sign system. That is what I intend to teach my children (should they be deaf), I know that ASL is the language of the culture, but from what I have noticed, growing up around Deaf friends, is that the ones that grew up using SEE, or at least PSE or contact sign, have a much better grasp of english, which correlates to higher scores and and a better chance at lifelong success. Also, those people are more able to "code switch" between english and ASL, depending on who they're among. Could someone please give me a valid reason as to why ASL should be a first language over and English Signing system?

Answer 1

Most my deaf friends are just happy I know any sign.  They are happy if u try to finger spell.  SEE can be too wordy.   As for your kids, why not have them and  find out if they can hear before you decide on sign language.  

Answer 2

I am assuming it is because ASL is just easier to understand, and shorter to sign. I've always been taught that ASL is the language of choice. After they grasp ASL, then they can go on to learn English, (for writing, etc...)

Answer 3

About the answer above that "ASL is just easier to understand, and shorter to sign", it's true in part, but I think that the reason is deeper than that.

ASL IS the natural language to express ideas by the American Deaf. It's more than the vocab. It's more than signing. It's about all the visual whole. The non manuals, the facial expressions, the speed when signing, the placement. ASL is just a beautiful way to express the thoughts and the feelings in a rhythmical way. SEE is just wordy and make you lose the flowing rhythm in the signing.

Maybe helpful if you want to become bilingual (learning English), what it's never a bad thing to do (I think the more languages you learn, the easier it's to interact in this planet). But it's not mandatory, billions of people just know one language in the world. If I have to decide between ASL and SEE, ASL wins hands down. Recomend as second language English, not SEE.