verb (used with object), inferred, inferring. 1. to derive by reasoning; conclude or judge from premises or evidence: They inferred his displeasure from his cool tone of voice. 2. (of facts, circumstances, statements, etc.) to indicate or involve as a conclusion; lead to. 3. to guess; speculate; surmise.
The modern recorded history of sign language began in the 17th century in Spain, in part with Bonet. In 1620, Juan Pablo Bonet published ReducciÃ³n de las letras y arte para enseÃ±ar a hablar a los mudos (Summary of the letters and the art of teaching speech to the mute) in Madrid. Considered the first modern treatise of the phonetics of sign language and the use of sign language to teach speech to the deaf, this book depicted Bonet's form of a manual alphabet. His intent was to further the oral and manual education of deaf people in Spain.
ASL emerged as a language in the American School for the Deaf (ASD), founded in 1817. This school brought together Old French Sign Language (OFSL), various village sign languages, and home sign systems; ASL was created in this situation of language contact.esides North America, dialects of ASL and ASL-based creoles are used in many countries around the world, including much of West Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. ASL is also widely learned as a second language, serving as a lingua franca. ASL is most closely related to French Sign Language (FSL).