ASL vs. English: What's the REAL difference?

Vlog | Destiny Yarbro | September 25, 2025 | 20 min watch

Video Transcript

Did you know that before 1960, ASL was seen as inferior? In fact, some people called it “monkey gestures”! Now we know better and you will too after this video! ASL vs. English: What’s the REAL Difference? ASL and English are completely different from each other. I’m going to break down the difference into 10 points (maybe more than 10… :) ). For each one, I’ll expound on it, give you a quick example to make it clear, and share whether most ASL students think it’s a hard or easy concept to learn. That way not only will you recognize the differences, but I hope it will help you identify the easy wins on your ASL journey. 

#1: Visual vs. Spoken

#1 is an obvious one: ASL is a visual gestural language while English is a spoken, auditory, and written language. That’s it. Example and expansion not really needed :) (But I’ll explain more later.) This concept is a big challenge for many ASL students but not all, interestingly. I’ve noticed that if you’re a visual thinker and learner, signing visually is easier for you. If you’re a kinesthetic learner, again, it’s much easier for you. But if you’re an auditory learner, ASL may be a little tough for you. :) 

#2: Iconicity vs. Arbitrary Meanings

This means that ASL signs often look like their meaning. So if you see a new sign, you can often understand the meaning easily. English is very different. Maybe you’re reading and you come across a massive word and you have no idea what it means. If you know Latin or Greek or even German, it can help you figure out the root of the word to guess the meaning. But with ASL, you can see the meaning in the actual sign. For example, the sign COOK makes sense when you think of flipping hamburgers or pancakes. You can easily link the meaning to the sign in your mind. 

#3: Directional Verbs

English is hard because each word needs the correct verb ending like “-ing” or “-ed” or many other endings. ASL is easy with directional verbs, meaning: “I give you a ___,” “You give me a ___,” “She gives me a ___,” “I am giving y’all a ___,” “They are giving me a ___,” “They give each other ___.” So you can see that the verb goes different directions to show who is doing the giving. You may struggle with this concept a little at the beginning. Are directional verbs easy or hard for most ASL students? Definitely easy! Once the concept clicks in your mind, it’ll be simple for you from then on. “You give to me,” or “I’m going,” “I’m coming,” “I’ll go to you and then I’ll go to her and then I’ll come back home.” You use the visual space in front of you.

#4: Pronouns and Indexing

Pronouns are like “you” or “me.” Just so you know, pronouns are simple in ASL. They’re not related to gender, they’re just pointing. “You,” “Me,” “He,” “She,” “They,” “We.” See? Simple! Now “Indexing” means what? For example, if I’m chatting with you about my mom I could point to my right to say “she” and when I refer to her throughout the conversation, I don’t have to sign “my mom” every time, I just point to this same place on my right and use directional verbs. Like, “She let me know” or “She will let you know.” So you set up a place (index) for a certain person for that conversation. When indexing finally clicks for ASL students, they find it easy from that point on. They see it as simple and no longer hard. 

#5: Time Markers

I love learning new languages, both signed and written. But I’ve noticed that some languages are super challenging when it comes to time. For some languages, every verb changes depending on the time, like “-ed” in English meaning past, “-ing” meaning now, and verb endings for future occurrences. Just so you know, time in ASL is super easy. At the beginning of a conversation, set up a time marker. For example, you’d sign “yesterday” and then share what happened, or “future” and that will apply to the rest of the conversation (unless you set up a new time marker). You don’t have to say “finish” (past) after every single verb. Just saying “yesterday” shows that this happened in the past. So are time markers easy or hard for ASL students? Well it depends. ASL students like time markers if they’re signing themselves—it’s easy to say “past,” “future,” “already,” or “will.” But if you’re trying to understand someone else signing time markers, you may find yourself saying, “wait, when? in the past?” So I think it’s easy to sign, but hard to comprehend. 

#6: High Context vs. Low Context

Remember how I mentioned before that time marking is easy to sign but hard to understand? ASL is what’s called a high context language. English is a low context language. This means that if you want to join in a conversation and understand what’s going on, you have to get there at the beginning. Meaning if you join in a conversation that has already started, you might find it tough to understand because they already set up time markers, they already set up pronoun indexing, who all is being talked about. So to jump into a conversation is tough! English is different, it’s low-context, meaning if you join a conversation late, it’s easier to understand because every verb shows the time, “-ed” means it happened in the past. Every time they say “he” or “she,” you’ll know if it’s a man or woman, which helps piece together clues. In English, they’ll say names over and over again like, “And John said this” and “John said that,” so you can pick up easily what/who is being talked about. So that’s the difference between high and low context languages. This is a hard concept for ASL students to learn, yes, but MUCH harder for interpreters. If they miss something at the start, they spend the rest of the conversation trying to figure out who and when. 

#7: Classifiers

This is completely unique to ASL. There is no equivalent in English. Classifiers (signed CL) are used to describe. This isn’t charades—it’s a sophisticated system of gestures that enable description. This concept is super complicated and if you want to learn more about them, I’m probably not the best teacher for this, but there are many good videos on YouTube about this topic so you can Google “classifiers” to learn. In essence, classifiers are a complex system of gestures that show movement and relationships between items or people. Different hand shapes can show someone walking, dancing, stomping, blinking, nodding, or moving in specific ways. Classifiers show movement and enable descriptions. Classifiers are a huge challenge for all ASL students. All of them. Take a deep breath because if you’re struggling with this, that’s totally fine and normal. You’ll pick it up with time (and practice!). 

#8: Simultaneous Information

English is typically linear, meaning words stand alone and go in a specific order. ASL is different. The same story can be shown in ASL with fewer signs and more visual information at once, using facial expressions and classifiers. To let go of English word order is tough for ASL students, but when it finally happens, you’ll feel so free! You won’t feel hindered or stuck by English word order. 

#9: Grammar Structures

ASL has its own grammar and syntax. Signing word order is unique from English. For new ASL students, this concept is tough. I try to help by telling them to “sign like Yoda.” Real ASL structure often looks like Object + Subject + Verb, similar to Japanese or Hungarian. ASL also uses spatial and visual grammar, showing relationships with movement rather than word endings. Visual and kinesthetic learners find this easier, while auditory learners may struggle. 

#10: Facial Expressions

In English and ASL, facial expressions convey emotions, but in ASL they also convey grammar. For example, one sign can mean “Truth,” “Really?” or “Are you sure?” depending on facial expression. Eyebrows down can mean “Why?” while eyebrows up means “Because.” Many ASL programs require acting classes to strengthen this skill. For some learners, facial expressions are the hardest part—but they are essential. 

#11: Role Shifts

In English, you’d typically say, “My mom said ___” or “He said ___ and then I said ___.” In ASL, you shift roles by physically embodying the speaker. This shows who is talking. Some students find role shifting easy, especially if they enjoy acting, while others find it challenging.

#12: Number Systems

English only has two: cardinal (one, two, three) and ordinal (first, second, third). ASL has many: numbers for time (hours, ages, days, weeks), rank (race places, building floors), and measurement (heights, sizes). Numbers are one of the hardest parts of ASL for most students because there are so many variations. 

#13: Cultural Context

ASL is deeply rooted in the Deaf community and culture, unlike English which spans many countries. This makes ASL unique, with cultural references like “train gone sorry” or flashing doorbells. Cultural context takes years of involvement in the Deaf community to fully understand, but it’s essential. 

Conclusion

Finally, in 1960, William Stokoe, a linguist, researched ASL and proved it was its own full, complex language—not “monkey gestures.” He gave the Deaf community the recognition and proof they needed. English and ASL are completely different—obviously! 

If you’re motivated to learn more ASL, you can with InterSign University, where Deaf teachers around the world teach their sign languages, including ASL. 

Thank you for watching! Thank you for supporting by subscribing! ILY and bye! 

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