Word List Author Note: Featured Deaf History Fact: American Sign Language was recognized as a true language in 1965 after William C. Stokoe and two Gallaudet colleagues published the "Dictionary of American Sign Language on Linguistic Principles.” The publication was the result of multiple grant-funded research projects, which started with the first NSF grant Stokoe received in 1960 to study ASL. The 1960 NSF grant funded research to determine ASL's structure and form and was the first linguistic study of ASL.
