This introductory text celebrates another dimension of diversity in the United States Deaf community -- variation in the way American Sign Language (ASL) is used by Deaf people all across the nation. The different ways people have of saying or signing the same thing defines variation in language. In spoken English, some people say "soda," others say "pop," "Coke," or "soft drink;" in ASL, there are many signs for "birthday," "Halloween," "early,"...