I am learning Italian right now. I've heard many people say that learning multiple languages at once is a risky idea, since you can easily confuse them. However, would that apply to ASL?
I've heard ASL has its own grammar, but I would not lose any Italian accent I develop, right? I also don't see it interfering in my conversations, since I couldn't accidentally say a word in ASL. Overall, is it safe to learn ASL with another spoken language?
One advantage of sign language is that the it is learned differently from spoken languages. The only thing sign language has in common with more "traditional" languages is "vocabulary." But in sign language, you "speak" with your hands and "hear" with your eyes, rather than with your mouth and ears. That makes languages harder to confuse than two languages that are spoken and heard with mouth and ears.
It's possible that the use of more parts of the body will help you learn sign language and a spoken language more easily than two spoken languages.
Yes, when it comes to ASL or any language, I get interference from all the languages I've ever studied. As for ASL, like this sentence, it is a topic comment grammar. So experience wise, you can expect interference.
