What is the difference between sign language and ASL?

Question

Sign language is any system of communication using visual gestures and signs, whereas ASL is a specific visual language used by Deaf people in the United States and parts of Canada that uses handshape, movement, and facial expression to convey meaning.

Sign language is a specific visual language that uses handshape, movement, and facial expression to convey meaning, whereas ASL is any system of communication used by members of the Deaf community in the United States.

Sign language is any system of communication using visual gestures and signs, whereas ASL is the letters of the English alphabet represented by hand signs.

Sign language and ASL are the same.

Answer 1

The first option is the correct explanation:

Sign language is any system of communication using visual gestures and signs, whereas ASL (American Sign Language) is a specific visual language used by Deaf people in the United States and parts of Canada that uses handshape, movement, and facial expression to convey meaning.

In essence, sign language can refer to any variety of signed languages used by Deaf communities worldwide, while ASL is a specific language with its own grammar, vocabulary, and cultural context.