Sign Language

For centuries, people who were hard of hearing or deaf

have relied on communicating with others through visual
cues. As deaf communities grew, people began to
standardize signs, building a rich vocabulary and
grammar that exists independently of any other
language. A casual observer of a conversation conducted
in sign language might describe it as graceful, dramatic,
frantic, comic or angry without knowing what a single sign
meant.
There are hundreds of sign languages. Wherever there are communities of deaf people,
you'll find them communicating with a unique vocabulary and grammar. Even within a
single country, you can encounter regional variations and dialects -- like any spoken
language, you're bound to find people in different regions who communicate the same
concept in different ways.
It may seem strange to those who don't speak sign language, but countries that share a
common spoken language do not necessarily share a common sign language. American
Sign Language (ASL or Ameslan) and British Sign Language (BSL) evolved independently
of one another, so it would be very difficult, or even impossible, for an American deaf
person to communicate with an English deaf person. However, many of the signs in ASL
were adapted from French Sign Language (LSF). So a speaker of ASL in France could
potentially communicate clearly with deaf people there, even though the spoken languages
are completely different.
There is no direct correlation between natural sign languages and spoken languages
speakers of sign language communicate through concepts, not words. While it is possible
to interpret sign language into a spoken language such as English and vice versa, such an
interpretation would not be a direct translation.
Most speakers of sign language find it difficult to learn it from books and static pictures. The
way a speaker signs a concept can say more about his meaning than the sign itself.
Pictures don't capture the nuances that are intrinsic for clear communication with sign
language, and sometimes it is difficult to communicate the motions some signs require
without video, animation or an in-person demonstration.
The Sign Language Alphabet
American Sign Language is a visual language that
incorporates gestures, facial expressions, head movements,
body language and even the space around the speaker. Hand
signs are the foundation of the language. Many signs are
iconic, meaning the sign uses a visual image that resembles
the concept it represents. For instance, to express the concept
of "deer" in ASL, you would hold your hands up to either side
of your head, fingers spread, to represent antlers.

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Actions are often expressed through hand signals that mimic the action being
communicated if you wished to sign the concept "eat," you would bring your fingers and
thumb of your dominant hand together as if holding food and then move your hand toward
your mouth.
The alphabet is an important series of signs. Some hand signs for letters resemble the
written form of the respective letter. When you use the hand signs for letters to spell out a
word, you are finger spelling. Finger spelling is useful to convey names or to ask someone
the sign for a particular concept. ASL uses one-handed signals for each letter of the
alphabet (some other sign languages use both hands for some letters). Many people find
finger spelling the most challenging hurdle when learning to sign, as accomplished
speakers are very fast finger spellers.
To express an ongoing action, such as "thinking," you would make the sign for "think" twice
in a row. Some signs in ASL can serve as either a noun or a verb, depending on how you
sign them. In general, you'd sign a verb using larger hand gestures and a noun by using
smaller gestures that are doubled. At times, this can cause confusion. The sign for "food" is
the same as doubling the sign for "eat," yet the sign for "eating" is also a repeated "eat"
sign. In these cases, the receiver usually knows what you mean by the context of your
sentences or the size of your gestures.

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