Which term describes culturally appropriate interaction and the norms of conversation in ASL discourse?

Which term describes culturally appropriate interaction and the norms of conversation in ASL discourse?

• A. Discourse
• B. Interlanguage
• C. Interference
• D. Eye gaze

Answer: (A)

Discourse is the term that captures how conversation is organized and culturally appropriate in ASL. It covers how signers manage turns, introduce and shift topics, and use space and nonmanual signals—like eye gaze, facial expressions, and head movements—to communicate clearly and respectfully. Eye gaze is a key tool within ASL discourse for signaling attention and turn-taking, but it’s a component of the broader discourse system rather than the overall concept itself. Interlanguage describes a learner’s evolving language system between languages, and interference refers to cross-language influence on learning; neither describes the norms of ASL conversation.

Discourse is the term that captures how conversation is organized and culturally appropriate in ASL. It covers how signers manage turns, introduce and shift topics, and use space and nonmanual signals—like eye gaze, facial expressions, and head movements—to communicate clearly and respectfully. Eye gaze is a key tool within ASL discourse for signaling attention and turn-taking, but it’s a component of the broader discourse system rather than the overall concept itself. Interlanguage describes a learner’s evolving language system between languages, and interference refers to cross-language influence on learning; neither describes the norms of ASL conversation.