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Sign language is different in every country -

The idea that sign language is universal is a common misconception.

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Sign language is different in every country -

Most countries have their own sign language and those languages are, for the most part, mutually unintelligible.

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ASL and BSL are mutually unintelligible -

For example, it might be assumed that because speakers of British and American English are able to understand each other, the same is true of American Sign Language (ASL) and British Sign Language (BSL).

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ASL and BSL are mutually unintelligible -

However, ASL and BSL are actually mutually unintelligible, sharing only 31% of signs in common.

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Dialects exist in sign language too -

Just as there is regional variation in spoken language, so too does sign language vary as you move up and down or across a country.

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Dialects exist in sign language too -

In BSL, for example, signers in Manchester have their own way of signing the numbers and days of the week.

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Sign languages have their own grammar -

The grammatical rules of sign languages tend to be well established, and it’s perfectly possible to sign with poor grammar.

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Sign languages have their own grammar -

For example, in order to properly construct a question in sign language, you must assume the correct eyebrow position.

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Brain damage affects signers in the same way as speakers -

Trauma to the head can sometimes cause brain damage that renders it difficult for a speaking person to formulate sentences.

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Brain damage affects signers in the same way as speakers -

Brain damage can affect the ability to use sign language in the same way: following a trauma, a person may still be able to make gestures, but may be unable to put those gestures in the correct order needed to convey meaning.

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Sign language uses faces as well as hands -

A common misconception about sign language is that it only uses the hands.

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Sign language uses faces as well as hands -

In fact, signers regularly use facial expressions and body language as well as manual gestures to express themselves.

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Signers in some languages use only one hand -

In ASL, for example, the alphabet is signed with one hand.

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Signers in some languages use only one hand -

In BSL, however, the alphabet is signed using two.

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Name signs are used to refer to people -

It is common for signers to adopt a sign name so that others don’t have to fingerspell their name all the time.

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Name signs are used to refer to people -

It is customary upon meeting a signer to let them know your sign name.

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Each sign has five components -

Each sign in a language is comprised of five different components: hand shape, palm orientation, location, movement, and facial expression.

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Each sign has five components -

Altering any of these components will change the meaning of the sign. For example, in ASL the difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is communicated by the direction in which the palm is facing.

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Sign languages do not represent spoken languages -

Sign languages develop in deaf communities independently of any spoken language.

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Sign languages do not represent spoken languages -

There can be a lot of overlap, however, since signers often read and lip-read their surrounding spoken language and this influences the way in which they sign.

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Children acquire sign and spoken languages in the same way -

When children first learn to sign, they do so with simplified gestures and by stringing signs together without having a full grasp of the grammatical rules.

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Children acquire sign and spoken languages in the same way -

Children improve their ‘baby-signing’ by learning from and interacting with those around them.

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The number of signers worldwide is unknown -

There are no official figures for the number of people who use sign language worldwide, but according to the Communication Service for the Deaf, in 2019 there were one million users of ASL alone.

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The number of signers worldwide is unknown -

Users of the communication method include not only those who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, but also family members of those individuals and people with communication disorders.

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Sign language is an ancient tradition -

It is often thought that sign language is a recent phenomenon, perhaps due to the late introduction of schools for the deaf and the fact that many sign languages are not legally recognized.

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Sign language is an ancient tradition -

In reality, however, sign language can be traced back thousands of years, and one of the earliest records of the existence of a sign language dates back to Plato in the 5th century BCE.

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Interpreters are in short supply -

It takes a huge amount of commitment to become a professional sign language interpreter. Most BSL interpreters, for instance, need to train for seven years before they are fully qualified.

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Interpreters are in short supply -

This means that the demand for interpreters largely outweighs the supply and unfortunately signers often find themselves without an interpreter in times of need (such as at a medical appointment).

See also: Celebrities who speak English as a second language

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