"A newly-revised and expanded compilation from the popular monthly magazine Deaf life."

Foreword /by Harlan Lane -- What is ASL? -- How ASL and deaf education began here (a reasonably brief history) -- Is there one sign language for all countries? -- Is there any similarity between Braille and ASL? -- Wasn't French sign language invented by the Abbe de l'Epee? -- Can you explain the structure of ASL? -- Is ASL a written language? -- How do deaf people learn sign language? -- Can born-deaf people appreciate puns and jokes involving homonyms? -- Are there such things as accents among signers from different regions or countries? -- "I want to learn bigger signs" -- "How can I improve my fingerspelling?" -- Are there any home correspondence courses in basic sign? -- What is Pidgin Sign English? -- How do I know if someone is using ASL or signed English? -- What is total communication? -- If ASL is the third most widely used language in the U.S., why don't all universities accept it as a foreign language? -- Why do so many deaf people have trouble with English? -- Why don't some deaf people like to read? -- Doesn't closed-captioning help deaf people improve their English? -- Why is there a movement to close down residential schools for the deaf in this country? -- What's the best clearinghouse for information about deafness? -- Is there any information on deaf children's learning problems? -- Can't all deaf people read lips? -- Speechreading protocol: a few words of advice -- "A deaf woman works in my office ... is it wrong to want her to verbalize"? -- Is is OK to use the terms "deaf-mute" and deaf-and-dumb"? -- What do you call a deaf person who doesn't speak? -- Can "deaf" be used as a noun (as in 'the deaf') or is it an adjective only? -- When I use the word "handicapped" my deaf friends get angry. Why is that? -- Do deaf parents breed deaf children? -- Do all deaf people benefit from hearing aids? -- The cochlear-implant controversy -- Why do most deaf parents raise a hearing child better than hearing parents raise a deaf child? -- The Deaf community includes both "deaf" and "hard-of-hearing." What other categories are there? -- What are some of the biggest problems face by late-deafened people? -- How do people become deaf? -- "Is hearing loss common in my family because of heredity, or because my grandmother fell down during her pregnancies?" -- Is deafness "bad karma?" -- What is deaf culture? Has anyone studied it from a sociological perspective? -- Should a hearing person write about deaf culture? -- How did Alexander Graham Bell almost succeed in wiping out deaf culture? -- Can all deaf people dance beautifully? -- Are deaf people visually sharper than hearing people? -- What difficulties do deaf people have when driving an automobile? -- Don't deaf people have to wear dark colors? -- "Do deaf people show a slight difference in their facial anatomy?" -- Aren't deaf people more prone to accidents? -- Why do so many deaf people work in printing, post-office, and factory jobs? -- Should I buy a manual-alphabet card from a peddler? -- Why are successful deaf persons put down by other deaf people? Can't they appreciate successful achievers? -- Why do deaf people use the term "hearing"? -- What's deaf people's real attitude toward hearing people who learn sign language? -- Why don't some deaf people trust hearing people? -- What do you mean, "An interpreter is a person who earns money off deaf people's language"?! -- In our city, churches are beginning to reach out to the deaf community. Is this the case in other parts of the U.S.? -- How do deaf people feel when a hearing person approaches them in public using sign language? -- Is it bad manners to interrupt signers to tell them you're taking a course in ASL? -- Some of my deaf friends react with dismay to the "ILY" sign. Don't they like it? -- Deaf audiences clap for a hearing speaker and wave for a deaf one. What should hearing audiences with no background in deaf culture do? -- Should my office clerks be given different, lesser duties because they are deaf? -- Do deaf people ever wish they were hearing? -- What bothers a deaf person the most about hearing people?.