What is a visual language? I really hadn’t thought about it. Seeing it on NAD’s site, it seems obvious to me that it’s another phrase for ASL. Still, why not use “ASL”? Why this longer locution?

What other visual languages are there? Well SEE1 and 2 aren’t languages. But they are visual representations for English which is a language. Hm. Oh, there’s cued English, which is a visual representation for English too.

Well, at that rate, written English is a visual representation for English, too! So a visual language is, what? Anything that needs be seen to be understood? So the only thing excluded are spoken and tactile (e.g. Braille) forms of a language?

That leaves a pretty wide range for what “visual language” might mean, eh? Not what you might expect to see on a national organization for the deaf’s public copy.

Seems to me “ASL” is more direct, properly accurate, and less confusing than “visual language.”

To then find out that SEE1/2 have been called “visual languages” before points out the coded meaning that might not be apparent to non native ASL signers. Very interesting. I mean, if you really want to be inclusive, why not use “signed languages” since ASL is not the only one in the world? That’s still potentially coded but gets back into signing territory at least. But that was not used.

I have no idea about the reasons for this language choice, as I said I’m on the outskirts of all this. But I’m very familiar with the power of language and how the choice of words affects the presentation. And NAD’s use of “visual language” raises quite a few questions from even a relatively uninformed bystander.